iOS 12.4 jailbreak publicly released following accidental vulnerability unpatch by Apple
A hacker has released the first public jailbreak for iPhone in several years, according to the Motherboard who notes that with the release of iOS 12.4, Apple accidentally unpatched a vulnerability that it had originally fixed in iOS 12.3, paving the way for hackers to release this update.
Security researcher Pwn20wnd is behind the jailbreak which is compatible with all recent iPhone models running iOS 12.4 and many other versions below iOS 12.3.
Hackers generally keep their jailbreak secrets hidden from Apple so that the exploit which allowed for the hack to happen is kept unsolved. Jailbreaks are seen as the holy grail by many security researchers because it shows that Apple’s usual water-tight security can be breached.
iPhone users, including those using the iPhone XR have taken to social media to show off their newly-jailbroken devices. As a rule of thumb, Jailbreaking should be avoided. By “unlocking” your device you open up the possibility of data leaks, instability and bugs. Jailbreaking also voids your Apple warranty, meaning if your phone breaks (even if you have AppleCare+), Apple won’t touch it.
We will likely see Apple release an iOS 12.4.1 update this week to patch the exploit.