R/W kernel access achieved on iOS 12 Beta 12

A group of professional security researchers just developed a new kernel exploit for iOS 12. Here’s all you need to know about it.

Read-write access achieved on iOS 12 Beta 12

Security researchers Simone Ferrini, jndok, and Filippo Roncari have achieved root access on iOS 12. Interestingly, the not so well-known trio exploited iOS 12 even though Apple is yet to officially unveil it.

The hackers also uploaded a video of the exploit on their Twitter channel. You can check out the video demonstration below.

iOS 12 Beta 12 – Kernel memory R/W exploit achieved, to be released soon. #RETWEET for visibility pic.twitter.com/QrLkUKDx2l

— Yalu Jailbreak (@Yalujb) September 7, 2018

A kernel exploit is the core component of a jailbreak, so a public kernel exploit pretty much seals it for us. But let’s not forget that there are a lot of other things to care about for developers; for instance, codesigning, filesystem remount, package manager, etc.

In other words, we still have a mountain to climb in order to get a working jailbreak tool like Electra1131 or Meridian.

Moreover, since the vulnerability lies in a beta version, Apple could theoretically spoil the party by patching it before releasing the iOS 12 GM update.

Generally, Apple Security Team patches a lot of “beta” vulnerabilities in the final build of a firmware.

What next for the jailbreak scene?

As jailbreakers, if we’ve learned one thing – it’s to assume that an exploit or a vulnerability will no go public.

But unlike other researchers, jndok intends to make this exploit public somewhere down the line. Hopefully, developers like Coolstar and Ben Sparkes will take it from there and build something out of it.

German hacker Siguza, however, thinks otherwise and claims this exploit will not see the light of day.

It’s definitely good news for those of you who upgraded or were forced to upgrade iOS 11.4.1 or above.

Though staying on the lowest firmware is recommended, it may not be ideal in this situation. If you are torn between staying and updating, go with the latter, sit tight, and don’t expect anything before iOS 12.1.1.

As always, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for round-the-clock iOS 12 jailbreak updates.