Apple has released iOS 11.2.6 today, which includes a bug fix for the Indian language (Telugu) character that crashes an iPhone and makes apps like Messages, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp inaccessible. The bug was discovered last week, allowing anyone to send a simple character to an iPhone to crash the device and lock out access to certain messaging apps. The bug also affects Safari and the built-in Messages app on macOS and the Apple Watch. Apple released updates for watchOS, tvOS, and macOS to stop the crash from happening on those platforms, too.
Apple promised an update before iOS 11.3 and it’s arriving today in the form of iOS 11.2.6. All current betas of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS also fix the crashing problem. This is the third time in the past few months that Apple has issued iOS 11 updates to fix bugs that crash iPhones. In December, Apple took the highly unusual step of issuing a significant iOS update just hours after an iPhone crash bug started occurring. Last month, a single link could freeze an iPhone, but Apple was able to resolve it with the release of iOS 11.2.5.