Jailbreaking News: iOS 12.4, the latest version of iOS, gets publicly jailbroken with unc0ver 3.5.0 – Made possible by Apple blunder in which they unpatched a vulnerability fixed in iOS 12.3!
For quite a while, newly-released/updated jailbreaks didn’t support the latest version of iOS but a previous version for which a public exploit is available. As a result, it’s usually impossible to restore to a version of iOS that has a jailbreak unless you have blobs and a compatible SEP is signed since Apple tightly regulates which versions you can install through version signing (SHSH). However, thanks to a security blunder by Apple, iOS 12.4 (the latest version of iOS as of this article) can be jailbroken with unc0ver!
Unc0ver 3.5.0 released with support for iOS 12.4 after it was found out that Apple unpatched a vulnerability patched in iOS 12.3!
Around 3 hours ago, pwn20wnd who is one of unc0ver’s authors (together with Sam Bingner) took the community by surprise and tweeted out that unc0ver 3.5.0 got released with support for iOS 12.4 which is the latest version of iOS meaning that it’s obviously signed and ready to be installed.
Unlike other times when a new version of iOS got jailbroken, this time it wasn’t because a new exploit, making use of a previously disclosed vulnerability, got released but because sock_port (the exploit by Jake James used to jailbreak iOS 12.1.3-12.2) got unpatched on iOS 12.4 (released on 22 July) after it was patched on iOS 12.3.
Apparently, this security blunder was discovered by Ahmed Aldeab 2 days ago and after it was verified by leading jailbreak developers, pwn20wnd got to work by updating and testing a new release of unc0ver presumably before Apple becomes aware of what happened and pushes a new version of iOS to patch the issue.
Which devices are supported? Should I update?
Similar to unc0ver on other versions of iOS, the following devices generations are supported:
- Apple A7 (iPhone 5S, iPad Air etc)
- Apple A8/A8X (iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 etc)
- Apple A9/A9X (iPhone 6S, iPad 5 etc)
- Apple A10/A10X (iPhone 7, iPad 6 etc)
- Apple A11 (iPhone 8, iPhone X)
- Apple A12 devices aren’t supported; these include the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPad Pro 3rd generation (11″/12.9″), iPad Air 3 and iPad Mini 5
- If you want a jailbreak on these devices, GeoSn0w (@FCE365) recommends staying on iOS 12.2 rather than updating to iOS 12.4 as PAC bypasses may not work there.
If you’re pondering on whether to update, this list might help you decide:
- If you’re on iOS 10 or earlier and have an A9+ device, I personally recommend updating to iOS 12.4 as app support for these versions is dwindling
- If you have an A7/A8 device, you’ll have to deal with a performance hit if you update to iOS 12.4 if coming from iOS 10.3.3 or earlier but better app support may be worth it. It’s doubtful that we’ll see another jailbreak in the near future so it may be a good idea to just bite the bullet now
- If you’re on iOS 11 on any device, I personally think that you should update as iOS 12 is generally more speedy and has better app support especially after iOS 13 gets released
- If you’re on iOS 12.0-12.2, it’s your call on whether you want to update since these versions already have a jailbreak and there’s little benefit (except Apple Card and minor performance/bug fixes) to updating
- If you’re on iOS 12.3/12.3.1, you must update to use this jailbreak since the sock_puppet exploit (which unc0ver 3.5.0 uses for jailbreaking iOS 12.4) doesn’t work there
- If you’re on iOS 13 beta, it’s pretty obvious that you have to downgrade if you want a jailbreak
- Apparently, pwn20wnd will be taking a look at whether current exploits work on iOS 13 beta (in case Apple did a screw up there as well) but that doesn’t mean a jailbreak for iOS 13 beta will be coming any time soon.
Conclusion
For those thinking that going to iOS 12.4 is a good idea (myself included as my iPad Pro 10.5″ was on iOS 11.2.5 prior to updating it before writing this article), it’s imperative you don’t take too long to update your device as it’s highly likely that Apple will swiftly release a new version of iOS (12.4.1) in order to fix their oversight! Finally, it’s worthy to note that you shouldn’t do an OTA update to iOS 12.4 but a full restore to avoid any problems cropping in the future!
Pwn20wnd plans to release unc0ver 3.5.1 soon which improves reliability on A11 devices running iOS 12.4 and fixes an app crash on iOS 11. I personally recommend waiting a few days before jailbreaking your iOS 12.4 device just in case there are any deal breaking bugs that you require you to restore to fix them. You should also save your blobs via 1Conan’s TSS Saver!
Unc0ver Download Link: https://github.com/pwn20wndstuff/Undecimus/releases
Cydia Impactor Download Link (to install the IPA with): http://www.cydiaimpactor.com/
pwn20wnd’s Patreon (for donating): https://www.patreon.com/pwn20wnd
Can this help me get into an iPad that is iCloud locked?
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Still have a iPad mini 2 on iOS 8.4 jailbreak. Think it’s time to upgrade.