Apple’s recent iOS 17.5.1 update addressed a peculiar issue where long-deleted photos were reappearing on devices, an anomaly initially attributed to “database corruption.” This problem, which affected a minor number of users, involved old files, including sensitive images, surfacing on iPhones without prior presence. Apple clarified that the glitch stemmed from a corrupt database entry within the device’s file system, affecting only local files and not those synced to iCloud. The company reassured that it does not access users’ photo or video files and emphasized that content is permanently erased following a complete device reset, countering claims of data persistence post-wipe.
Security experts from Synactiv delved deeper, revealing that the bug was introduced in iOS 17.5 through a migration routine designed to scan and re-import photos from the filesystem. This routine, which was removed in the 17.5.1 update, inadvertently caused old files to be re-indexed and displayed in photo galleries. The exact reason why these files remained on the filesystem initially remains unclear, with speculation around user actions like saving images to both the File and Photos apps but only deleting them from the latter.
Read more at The Verge…