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A new unpatchable flaw in Apple chips opens the door to an iPhone jailbreak

28 d ago

A cybersecurity company has released details of a vulnerability in Apple chips that could aid hackers in unlocking older iPhones. Paradigm Shift, an offensive cybersecurity firm based in Barcelona, published a blog post and proof of concept for the flaw, dubbed “usbliter8,” on Friday. The vulnerability affects Apple’s A12 and A13 chips, used in iPhones from the XS and XR up to the iPhone 11 (released 2018–2019). It resides in the Boot ROM, the first code executed when an iPhone starts and its primary security barrier. Exploitation requires physical access via a cable connection. Because the Boot ROM is burned into the chip, the flaw is immutable and cannot be patched; Paradigm Shift advises users to migrate to newer hardware as the only mitigation. While the release is significant for security researchers and spyware vendors, it does not mean older iPhones are easily hackable by everyone. The exploit allows attackers to bypass initial security checks, but chaining additional vulnerabilities is still needed to access user data. Companies like Cellebrite and Magnet Forensics, which sell tools to hack seized iPhones, likely already possess similar techniques. Public iPhone jailbreaks have become rare because researchers often keep such flaws private to avoid Apple fixing them. Paradigm Shift did not respond to follow-up questions. The disclosure underscores that despite Apple’s strong security measures, vulnerabilities persist that sophisticated hackers can exploit.