String of characters in message can crash Skype – update

A single line of unicode can crash Skype. Sending the characters causes the program to crash at both the sender and the receiver. After that it is no longer possible to log in, unless an older version of the program is installed.

This is reported by users on Reddit following posts on irc. The issue occurs with version 7 or later of the application on OS X, iOS, and Windows. Version 5.x on Android also suffers from it. The bug was reported to Skype and since then it seems that the program has stopped allowing the offending character sequence. Linux users seem to be free from the problem for the time being.

To get rid of the problem, Windows must first remove the chat containing the code, then uninstall the program and install an older, 6.x version. Then you can log in again and everything would work again. On phones, the data from Skype must also be deleted first, before uninstalling and reinstalling. Skype loads the chat containing the string before the program is fully started.

Techblog Venturebeat has tested several set-ups and failed to crash the program on the Mac. A Skype spokesperson told the blog that the issue is known and a solution is being sought. At the moment, Skype appears to be blocking the string of letters and characters, but the service has not officially confirmed this yet.

The exploit is also reported on Skype’s own forum. Messages in chat groups also have an effect, so some people won’t even know who sent them the offending string. Skype itself advises people affected by the exploit to use the web version of the program.

Last week it turned out that iOS can crash due to a certain string of characters in a text, iMessage or Twitter message. It is a specific combination of Latin and Arabic characters. A fully working fix for the issue has not yet been released.

Update June 3, 17.03: Microsoft reports that the issues have been resolved. Users must download the latest version of the program from the Skype website to do so.