A new vulnerability that could allow permanent jailbreaking of iPhone devices was recently discovered by a security researcher. The vulnerability, dubbed Checkm8, affects iPhone models from the 4s to the iPhone X.
This new flaw, for which no patch, was discovered by security researcher 'Axi0mx' (Twitter), and has also been publicly announced on GitHub.
Checkm8 targets the bootrom, which means the exploit exists in the primary code running on an Apple.
Since the bootrom code is read-only, fixing the flaw is almost impossible, either through patching or software updates.
The vulnerability works over USB, which means a person would need a computer to exploit it on Apple devices. Additionally, according to GitHub, users have been warned that the exploit could freeze the devices.
Which devices are vulnerable?
According to the tweet posted by Axi0mx, Apple devices from the iPhone 4S (with A5 chipset) to the iPhone X (with A11 chipset) are susceptible to the Checkm8 vulnerability.
Additionally, various iPad and even the fifth-generation iPod Touch are vulnerable. This means that the newer iPhone XS and iPhone 11 series cannot be hacked.
The flaw can be used to jailbreak and downgrade iOS devices, among other things. However, while it potentially affects millions of iOS devices, the fact that it requires physical access limits its reach.
Jailbreaking after a while
For those who don't know, jailbreaking on iOS devices was quite widespread and popular two years ago.
Users often jailbreak iPhones to gain features that were otherwise not available on the devices.
However, Checkm8 is not easy to deal with, making it one of the biggest jailbreak flaws of recent years. Apparently, it is welcomed by the jailbreaking community, as Apple will not be able to disable it without updating hardware .
