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Apple working on fix for iOS 7 lock screen hack

Apple is scrambling to fix an exploit that can allow access to images and apps from the iOS 7 lock screen.

Nic Healey Senior Editor / Australia
Nic Healey is a Senior Editor with CNET, based in the Australia office. His passions include bourbon, video games and boring strangers with photos of his cat.
Nic Healey

While iOS 7 has provided a lot of bug fixes for Apple users, it has also opened one new exploit that Apple is quickly working to patch.

Screenshots taken from an iPhone 4S after using the lock screen exploit. (Credit: ZDNet)

The iOS 7 bug involves entering a series of taps and presses on the lock screen (video below). This is rather involved and difficult, but once done, it allows access to the images stored in Camera Roll, as well as all the apps that are used for sharing those images, such as Twitter.

CNET's sister site ZDNet has confirmed the exploit and replicated it on an iPhone 4S, an iPhone 5 and the new iPhone 5c.

An Apple spokesperson told AllThingsD that the company is "aware" of the issue and will deliver a fix soon.

Until an official fix is available from Apple, iOS 7 users can set up a temporary stop gap by disabling access to the Control Center on the lock screen. From Settings, go to Control Center. From here, swipe the option on Access on Lock Screen so that it no longer displays on the lock screen.