2 min read
Such is the state of Apple.
Occasionally, every operating system out there has bugs in it. Today macOS has fallen victim to this convention, and as far as bugs go, this one seems to be a big one. Unfortunately, it has also created a huge security issue, so if you have an Apple’s Mac running macOS High Sierra you should read on, for there’s an easy fix you can apply yourself.
An earlier report from Nokia has affirmed that iOS and Windows are more secure than Android. But it looks like this is not the case for macOS. Yesterday, some security researchers from Synack have revealed that anyone can break into macOS High Sierra by a very simple method. Anyone can easily type “root” as a username in High Sierra, leave the password field blank, click “unlock” twice, and you will gain full access.
This simple method allows you to log in as a ‘superuser’. It means you have read and write liberty on system files, including other user’s macOS accounts. Patrick Wardle, a security researcher at Synack thinks that hackers always see malware trying to get privileges and root access, as he says,
“This is best, easiest way ever to get root, and Apple has handed it to them on a silver platter.”
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— patrick wardle (@patrickwardle) November 28, 2017
How to fix your account?
It is obvious that this bug in macOS High Sierra is a bad sign for this operating system. However, we have come up with a quick fix which will allow you to get rid of this problem. What you can do is also very simple, as you can smartly set a root password. First things first, launch a Terminal window and type “sudo passwd -u root”, then enter your password. You will have to enter a new password for the root user. Once you will complete these simple steps, the bug will be removed easily.
It is not the first time macOS is facing security vulnerabilities. Earlier a bug made it possible for anyone to easily steal your password of Apple File System encrypted volume, which was fixed by Apple with an update. Hopefully, Apple has taken notice of this bug too and is working vigorously to fix it as soon as possible.
Image Source: PCmag
