Apple’s latest iOS firmware is one of hell of a security update with a ton of patches. Here’s what this means for jailbreakers and what’s the best course of action right now.
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iOS 11.3 tightens the security noose
With each iOS iteration, Apple plugs a lot of security holes, making jailbreaking even more difficult.
They managed to patch a whopping 45 security vulnerabilities in iOS 11.3 as compared to 33 vulnerabilities in iOS 11.2.
Among these bugs, there are three low-level kernel vulnerabilities that could potentially lead to a jailbreak.
All the kernel vulnerabilities mentioned above are jailbreak material. They allow the hacker to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, which is an integral part of every jailbreak tool.
Unfortunately, none of the developers mentioned above are interested in a jailbreak.
Security researcher Derrekr6, responsible for reporting the most powerful kernel vulnerability to Apple, has expressed interest in making his bug public.
Here’s what the hacker posted on his Twitter handle.
However, he is bound by contract and can only release his proof-of-concept after 90 days.
This means the bug will be available in public domain sometime around July 2018.
When can you expect a jailbreak?
Since these bugs were patched in iOS 11.3, they are still present in iOS 11.2.6 and below versions.
Therefore, an iOS 11.3 jailbreak is out of the question while there’s still a glimmer of hope for an iOS 11.2-11.2.6 jailbreak.
If a generous hacker decides to make a powerful exploit public, jailbreak developers will be able to get going.
Previously, many security researchers discovered some kernel exploits but nothing much came of them.
I believe by the time we get our hands on an iOS 11.2.x exploit, a lot of users would have already upgraded to iOS 11.4 or even iOS 12.
What do you think? Will the jailbreak community survive another onslaught by Apple? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
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So this will lead to a jailbreak soon ? For 11.2 to 11.2.6 ? I’m on iOS 11.2.5, should I upgrade to iOS 11.2.6 ?
That depends on a lot of factors actually. An exploit doesn’t guarantee that a full jailbreak tool will be released but it does make things easier. I would recommend staying on iOS 11.2.5.
I remember when IOS 10 was supposed to be “the end of jailbreaking”. There hasn’t yet been a version of IOS that wasn’t eventually Jailbroken. Be patient and don’t update, I’m sitting steady on 11.2.2 on my IPhone X and don’t plan on gong anywhere.
Yes, I remember people posting about that back in 2016. However, iOS 11 was jailbroken because of a single hacker (Ian Beer). We wouldn’t even have a jailbreak if it weren’t for him.