Typically I'd expect memory intensive webGL processes to crash the browser (only), but here this threejs demo took down the whole operating system with it. Tried it on both iPhone and iPad Air with updated iOS 8.1.2.
I've seen this before on the Mac: especially in the PowerPC era, it used to be quite easy to accidentally craft OpenGL code that would trigger a bug in the GPU driver, resulting in either a GUI lockup or a kernel panic.
It's disappointing and worrying to see this happen on iOS. One of the original concerns against WebGL was that its direct mapping into OpenGL would enable exploits based on GPU driver bugs.
Why I generally agree with you, I see a silver lining on this cloud, namely, in that hundreds of people out there today will have a few minutes away from pixels. It's a Sunday after all---step away from the pixels.
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[ 1.4 ms ] story [ 30.6 ms ] threadIt's disappointing and worrying to see this happen on iOS. One of the original concerns against WebGL was that its direct mapping into OpenGL would enable exploits based on GPU driver bugs.
You link a page that explains what's going on and give a warning about clicking the link.
You don't link the exploit directly so anyone using an iPhone blue screens.