macOS Emergency Update Fixes Admin Access Bug but Breaks File Sharing
The Apple macOS High Sierra bug has been an embarrassment for the company, with the latest OS version giving access to anyone on the keyboard without requiring a password. The fix that Apple rushed out for this issue, however, broke file sharing on Macs everywhere.
The macOS bug, simply explained, lets anyone with access to the machine unrestricted access to administrative control by simply typing "root" in the username of a login window and leaving the password field blank.
It could take one or several times, as Ars Technica points out when the authors tried it for themselves. The exploit lets any user take advantage of this massive hole in macOS with no passwords or special tools required.
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"Security is a top priority for every Apple product, and regrettably we stumbled with this release of macOS," Apple conceded in a statement it issued on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
"When our security engineers became aware of the issue Tuesday afternoon, we immediately began working on an update that closes the security hole," the statement continued.
"This morning, as of 8 a.m., the update is available for download, and starting later today it will be automatically installed on all systems running the latest version (10.13.1) of macOS High Sierra," Apple added, as quoted by ThreatPost.
This bug has not been seen in macOS Sierra versions 10.12.6 and older. Apple has since issued an apology to Mac users for the concern their oversight has caused and promised to audit their development processes.
The company may have to do some more apologizing again, however. After the macOS High Sierra security patch, some Mac users began to have issues logging in or connecting to file shares.
Apple has advised affected users to type some commands on their Mac's Terminal command line interface to fix the latest mishap, as reported by Apple Insider.
