In the last few years, Apple has made it nearly impossible for the jailbreak community to enjoy full-fledged jailbreak on the latest iPhones. Devices running the older A7 through A11 chips have been jailbroken using the hardware exploit-based checkra1n jailbreak. Apple can’t patch it via a software update because it’s based on hardware. But users of newer iPhones running A12 or A13 chips were out of luck. Until now. A security researcher has achieved tfp0 jailbreak exploit on A13 devices running the latest iOS 13.4.1 software.
Security researcher achieves tfp0 jailbreak exploit
People who own devices powered by A12 or A13 processors rely on tfp0 exploits to enjoy jailbreaking. But tfp0 exploits for newer iPhones are rare and can be patched by Apple through a software update. Now a security researcher going by the Twitter handle @ProteasWang has revealed that they have achieved tfp0 jailbreak exploit on an A13-powered device running the latest iOS 13.4.1.
This is a tfp0 bug and exp which affecting iOS 13.4.1 on A13. pic.twitter.com/11B7a4XCGZ
— Proteas (@ProteasWang) April 19, 2020
The tfp0 jailbreak exploit gives @ProteasWang access to the kernel task port. It allows the security researcher to finally write his own arbitrary code to the device’s kernel memory. Gaining access to the kernel memory is one of the most important parts of the jailbreak process.
The security researcher could share his breakthrough with the creators of unc0ver and the upcoming Chimera13 tool. Typically, a tfp0 exploit that works on one type of device can be tweaked to make it work on another device as well. So, @ProteasWang can modify the exploit to make it compatible with A12-running iPhones as well.
Will A13 iPhones get a full-fledged jailbreak?
Only time will tell whether @ProteasWang will share his tfp0 exploit with the public. He hasn’t officially announced it yet. If the exploit is put in the public domain or at least shared with the jailbreak community, it will allow other developers such as CoolStar to implement it in their jailbreak tools.
Currently, there is no reliable way to jailbreak iOS 13.4.1 on devices running the A12 or A13 chips. Older iPhones are supported by the checkra1n jailbreak. Apple is expected to roll out some new software updates in the coming weeks before officially unveiling the iOS 14. It would be interesting to see whether the Cupertino company patches @ProteasWang’s tfp0 exploit.
Earlier this month, the checkra1n team released a semi-tethered jailbreak for iOS 13.4 and iOS 13.4.1. It is based on the checkm8 bootrom vulnerability, and supports only devices running A7-A11 chips.
