This got famous because:

- It really is a severe bug in a major platform (and by that I mean iOS not MacOS)

- It is easy to understand once spotted, so everybody who can read code in the entire planet can write about how stupid Apple is because they refuse to see the light and switch over to their favorite pet language/coding standard/methodology

- The NSA has massive MITM capabilities and is known to sabotage American products and this looks like a very, very convenient bug to have for them, leading to speculation that this could not be a mistake

- Apple haters.