iOS 5 on iPad 2 Security Vulnerability Spotted

Since the launch of iOS 5 the iPad 2 has gained a security issue which allows a smartcover, or any other magnet, to be used to bypass the lock screen.

Although some of the things you can do when bypassing the lockscreen are limited, if you leave an app open on your device it can allow users to get in and delete apps or use the last app you had open. If you close out the app you are last in then the user can still delete apps and look at what you have (and search spotlight), the user cannot open apps.

To recreate this, the steps below can be used (created by 9to5Mac):

1) Lock a password protected iPad 2
2) Hold down power button until iPad 2 reaches turn off slider
3) Close Smart Cover
4) Open Smart Cover
5) Click cancel on the bottom of the screen

There is a temporary fix for this until Apple [AAPL] release an update and that is to just disable switching on the iPad 2 by the magnetic cover. We don’t know when iOS 5.0.1 or 5.1 will be launched but expect it to be available OTA (over the air) within the next few weeks to iron out a few other the bugs found in the operating system since launch.