For the second time in three months, some apps that rely on Facebook's developer tools to log users in to their accounts are crashing on launch. Update: Facebook claims to have resolved the issue.
Developers are reporting that multiple apps have again been affected by a problem in the Facebook SDK which they use to streamline the process of logging users in or allow sharing of content. Reports vary, but the problem appears to have begun around 6:20 a.m. ET.
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This is the same process that has previously proved controversial because of user's data being sent to Facebook, but the apps affected now appear to solely be using the SDK's login process. Reportedly, the apps affected include high-profile ones such as Spotify, SoundCloud, Waze, Imgur, and TikTok.
- Jan 10, 2018 Apple has already faced down a major security issue in macOS High Sierra before the end of 2017, but it looks like one more has cropped up. This week, another password-related bug was submitted to Open Radar, and it details how anyone with physical or remote access to a Mac can access the system preferences for the Mac App Store with any password.
- Apple has fixed a bug in its desktop operating system that could have given hackers access to the entire OS. Released on Thursday, Mac OS X 10.10.5 resolves scores of holes and technical glitches.
'We are aware and investigating an increase in errors on the iOS SDK which is causing some apps to crash,' said Facebook in a statement posted to the company's developer forums. The problem appears to have begun affecting apps around
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The crashes are not consistent, with other users reporting no problems. However, developer Alex Karimov is among those filing bug reports with Facebook and says many users are affected. 'Currently we have 2K+ crashes on all products that use Facebook SDK and application is still crashing,' he said in the forum.
In the same discussion thread, developer Hellen Smith reports that 'it seems to have spiked and receded, with a few 'aftershocks'.' Smith and Karimov are among many developers asking Facebook to roll back its software to a point before the crashes began.
A previous, and seemingly similar, bug in May 2020 was resolved by Facebook within around two hours, and saw the majority of affected apps restored soon after.
Using Facebook's SDK is generally an easier process for developers than each implementing their own login and user authentication process. It's similar to the newer 'Sign in With Apple,' although Facebook's SDK is dramatically wider used than that.
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Update 10:31 ET: Facebook has labelled the bug as 'Resolved' after some eight hours.
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Mac Os Bug
Back at the tail end of November, Apple had to rush out an emergency security patch after news of a serious security flaw surfaced in macOS High Sierra. That bug allowed users to log into a system by typing “root” for a login, then hitting enter for a login attempt several times in a row. Now there’s a new bug; it isn’t as much of a risk as that one, but it’s still a significant issue.
The bug appears limited to High Sierra (Sierra isn’t affected), and has been verified by Macrumors as existing in 10.13.2, the latest version of the operating system. Macrumors states that it cannot reproduce the error on the beta versions of macOS 10.13.3, suggesting it’ll be fixed in an upcoming release. Nevertheless, it remains active for now.
Reproducing the bug is fairly simple and involves the following steps, as laid out by eholtam, who found the bug:
1) Log in as a local admin
2) Open App Store Pref pane from the System Preferences
3) Lock the padlock if it is already unlocked
4) Click the lock to unlock it
5) Enter any bogus password
The expected behavior, obviously, is that the login attempt will fail. The actual behavior is that the login and unlock attempt works perfectly. The bug only works when you’re logged into an administrative account, but it’s another example of how Apple seems to have dropped the ball on setting user policies and permissions properly. While not nearly as risky as the earlier login bug, Apple clearly didn’t perform some due diligence testing it needed to engage in. Being able to change preferences in the App Store allows you to change the schedules for app updates, system updates, and security updates. Flipping those settings could be used in conjunction with another attack to ensure a system wasn’t patched to close a security hole, though local access or at least administrator access from a remote location are required.
The optics of the situation are worse, given that Apple specifically declared it would revisit its practices to prevent a reoccurrence. Back in late November, the company wrote: “We greatly regret this error and we apologize to all Mac users, both for releasing with this vulnerability and for the concern it has caused. Our customers deserve better. We are auditing our development processes to help prevent this from happening again.”
Clearly that audit isn’t quite finished yet. There’s no current workaround to this issue, so the only real option is to wait for Apple to provide a solution.