Sakura Development team member @dora2ios, previously known for their effort in creating the kok3shi jailbreak for 64-bit iOS 9.3.2-9.3.5 devices, Tweeted attention-grabbing screenshots this week of a jailbroken iPhone running iOS 16.1.
The screenshots show us that the device is an iPhone X, as designated by the A11 chipset in the Terminal window, and that the jailbreak runs the Sileo package manager.
Something worth noting here is that @dora2ios has been active in the Hack Different Discord channel in which developers generally discuss the checkra1n jailbreak. This is the same channel where @siguza previously discussed plans for checkra1n for iOS 15, and @dora2ios used it as recently as this month to consult with peers.
Having said that, @dora2ios’ iPhone X on iOS 16.1 is likely jailbroken by way of the checkm8 exploit rather than a new and groundbreaking exploit or technique. The checkm8 exploit powers not only the venerable checkra1n jailbreak, but also the developer-based palera1n jailbreak for iOS & iPadOS 15.x that has made rounds lately amid the continued wait for a public iOS & iPadOS 15 jailbreak release.
In a follow-up Tweet that @dora2ios shared in Japanese, we can loosely translate that there are issues getting Substitute-based tweak injection to install and work properly. That said, tweak injection is probably broken as of right now, so the jailbreak wouldn’t be ready for public consumption.
While it’s unknown if @dora2ios plans to release their work when complete, the demonstration is noteworthy because we haven’t seen many iOS 16-centric jailbreak demonstrations since the firmware launched last month. Luca Todesco was among one of the first to show one off at the Hexacon security conference, and it drew attention from seasoned security researchers like @pod2g and @p0sixninja, among others.
While jailbreaking is obviously behind when compared to Apple’s firmware release schedule, it’s likely that we’ll see a public iOS & iPadOS 15 jailbreak before we see one for iOS & iPadOS 16. So like always, we suggest that prospective jailbreakers continue holding out on the lowest possible firmware and avoid software updates to enhance their odds of being able to jailbreak in the near future.