There've been similar issues in both iOS and Android before - iOS had one recently where a text would cause repeated app crashes. Back in 2009 there was a full exploit via SMS on iOS, and just a few years back the Android stagefright exploit was barely spared from turning into a giant worm due to exploit mitigations and the diversity of devices. It's quite possible to see these attacks come to light in a much scarier way. That exploit is solid gold and they probably paid a small fortune for it.