Hacker Finds Bug In iOS 5 That Could Lead To Untethered Jailbreak

By

iOS-5-untethered-jailbreak

When Apple seeded its first iOS 5 beta to registered developers back in June, it was discovered the company’s next-generation mobile platform eliminated untethered jailbreaking and meant that hackers must connect their device to their computer every time they wanted to boot it up if they hoped to maintain their jailbreak.

Since then, however, reports surrounding an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5 have surfaced. The latest glimmer of hope comes from the Chronic Dev Team member Pod2g, who claims to have discovered a bug in the latest iOS 5 software that could lead to an untethered jailbreak.

Pod2g announced the news in a message via Twitter, which read:

Hey jailbreaking friends, I’ve found a bug that can untether iOS 5. Don’t expect a release soon, but I’m gonna work hard in it. [sic]

Unfortunately, Pod2g didn’t elaborate on the bug or his solution, but Redmond Pie speculates it could be a software-based “userland” exploit:

No details have been given regarding the bug, but, perhaps, it is a userland exploit like the five userland exploits which were announced by p0sixninja at this year’s MyGreatFest. These userland exploits – unlike bootrom exploits – are software-based and, hence, would be available for all iOS devices, including iPhone 4S and iPad 2 (as was shown by MuscleNerd of iPhone Dev Team), on the version of iOS which has the userland exploit.

The most famous userland exploit was JailbreakMe 3.0, the first and only solution for jailbreaking an iPad 2 under iOS 4.3.3, which is executed in a device’s mobile web browser. The hack was so popular that it was used to crack 1 million devices during its first 24 hours after launch.

All iOS 5 jailbreaking solutions up to this point have been tethered exploits. This means while jailbreaking the latest iOS firmware is indeed a possibility, hackers must connect their device to their computer every time they wish to boot it up.

Pod2g’s tweet suggests an untethered iOS 5 jailbreak is nowhere near public release at present, but this is certainly great news for jailbreakers.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.