iOS 11.3 is the Big One. It is the most important update yet for iOS 11 and vital to
A massive security hole has been found in iOS 11 which causes Siri to read aloud your private notifications, even if your iPhone or iPad is locked.
In fact, all you have to do to exploit this is simply ask Siri to read notifications and it will comply giving a full rundown including the content of new emails, Facebook, Skype, Telegram and WhatsApp messages. Perhaps unsurprisingly, only Apple’s own Messages app is unaffected.
Right now the only workaround is to disable all iOS lockscreen notifications (Settings > Notifications > Show on Lock Screen).
Credit for this important discovery goes to Brazilian site Mac Magazine. It found that not only has this exploit been in place since iOS 11.2.6, but it has also been left unpatched in all six developer and public betas of iOS 11.3. With the iOS 11.3 now believed to be locked down and due for release at any moment, a fix may well have to wait for a future update.
Interestingly the Siri exploit does not exist in iOS 11.2.5 or earlier so it was introduced by the troubled iOS 11.2.6 release. Consequently, you may want to put off upgrading to iOS 11.3 until we know more. I have reached out to Apple for comment on this and will update this article when/if I get a response.
Update March 23rd: Apple has issued a general statement to publications that it is "aware of the issue and it will be addressed in an upcoming software update". Apple chose not to say whether a fix will come in iOS 11.3 or a future release.
After a string of increasingly bizarre iOS 11 bugs, this is the last thing the company needs on a generation dubbed “Apple’s Vista”...
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