Crucial iPhone source code posted in unprecedented leak
Written by Steve Dent
Photothek via Getty Images
Crucial iPhone source code posted in unprecedented leak
Critical, top secret Apple code for the iPhone's operating system was posted on Github, opening a new, dangerous avenue for hackers and jailbreakers to access the device, Motherboard reported. The code, known as "iBoot," has since been pulled, but Apple may have confirmed it was the real deal when it issued a DMCA takedown to Github, as Twitter user @supersat noted.
iBoot is the iOS code that ensures a secure boot by loading and checking that kernel is properly signed by Apple before running the OS. The version that was posted to Github, supposedly by a Twitter user named @q3hardcore, was for iOS 9, but much of it likely still exists in the latest version, iOS 11.
The code can't be compiled because certain files are missing, but researchers and hackers who know what to look for could probe it for vulnerabilities. "This is the biggest leak in history," author and security researcher Jonathan Levin told Motherboard. "The leaked sources of iBoot ... bring us closer to a truly liberated iOS booted on generic arm boards and/or emulator," he added on Twitter. Levin and other security researchers believe the code is the real deal.
iPhones used to be relatively easy to jailbreak before Apple introduced the "secure enclave co-processor" with the TouchID of the iPhone 5s. Now, it's nearly impossible for hackers to even find bugs in iOS code, making iOS exploits relatively rare, unlike in Windows and Android. As such, the iBoot leak is exposing code that hardly anyone has seen before.
The iBoot dump first appeared last year on Reddit, but received little notice from the security community until it hit Github. Apple considers iBoot to be such a critical part of iOS that it offers $200,000 for vulnerabilities, the most in its bug bounty program. That means the release of the source code could amount to a gold rush for many researchers.
Via: Motherboard
Source: Github
This is extremely exciting and scary. I chose iPhone for its security over others in recent devices, yet I found myself looking for a jailbreak when looking through settings finding that some of the most basic settings are locked and unchangeable.
@engadgetnews do you think this is connected to the intel processors Apple released concerns about having a fatal flaw? If they were able to use the intel chip flaw to intercept information normally encypted then it would mean complete breakdown of their intellectual property security system not only users security. Scary to think that the intel chip flaw is essentially undetectable, so did Apple get plagued by it and is that how the iBoot source code found?
On a positive note I hope this means I can jailbreak my iPhone 7 soon!
Good question, but right now there's no evidence to suggest that the Spectre of Meltdown bugs were used to extract this data. Seems like a relatively standard leak.
Thank you for the clarification, I like to speculate!
is this something that an org like NSA could use to get into iPhones that are locked and Apple is refusing to unlock?
If that is the case and with the track record of our data security agencies (USA), they probably found it as they do some other zero days and accidentally leaked it.
That brings me back to the FBI asking Apple for the key to access this terrorists iphone. While Apple refused for security reason (the FBI's cyber security is shit), the FBI proceeded to hack it on their own (after McAffy told them they should be able to do it, but they keep that low-key to calm iPhone users in the US).
Now this iBoot. I'm feeling more like this is a big news for small time hackers, whereas the bigger ones with the skills probably could've breached this a while ago.
But I'm no one to really know the depths of this subject..
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awesome, keep posting Great stuff.
iOS sits in a weird space for me. On the one hand, I understand it has it's place (trying) to be user friendly and relatively simple. That has been what Apple has done best in my opinion. On the other hand, I really wish the ecosystem was more open and we could probe the system and bring some of the enhancements they have to other ARM based computers and OSes, if at all possible. I am a big fan of users having complete control over their system, and this could allow it if in the right hands. In the wrong hands, this could turn dangerous and make iOS a huge attack point if people can execute code early and silently. Who knows though. We have to constantly find the right balance of security and openness, even though some might say one leads to the other.
The moment I’ve seen the post it popped in. How long will it take from now with this knowledge to create an untethered jailbreake for all the iPhones? If this part of the software is so important, probably someone can find a 0 day vulnerability and can create a good jailbreake.