Software

Pwn20wnd revises iOS 12-compatible unc0ver v3.0.0 pre-release with bug fixes and improvements

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 23, 2019

Hacker and unc0ver lead developer Pwn20wnd revised the unc0ver v3.0.0 pre-release to beta 29 on Friday with official support for iOS 12.0-12.1.1 on A8X-A11 devices, but as you might come to expect, this momentous initial release is being closely trailed by a multitude of bug fix updates to warrant tool stability for the end user.

Two of those updates came as revisions to the unc0ver v3.0.0 pre-release on Saturday. Citing a couple of Tweets shared by Pwn20wnd, beta 30 and beta 31 each tie up some of the initial tool’s loose ends and incorporate an important “safety improvement:”

Luca Todesco has released a WebKit RCE exploit that works on iOS 12.1.4 and earlier

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 22, 2019

Before the days of Electra and unc0ver dawned upon us, there was Yalu, an iOS 10-centric jailbreak too by the talented hacker Luca Todesco (@qwertoruiopz); but apart from a few teasers here and there, the jailbreak community hasn’t heard much him since the Yalu days – that is, until now.

In a bombshell Tweet shared this week, Todesco released what appears to be a WebKit-based exploit that allows remote code execution (RCE) in web browsers with JIT. What’s more is that the exploit was only just fixed three days ago, which means it should be viable on all versions of iOS up to Apple’s latest release – 12.1.4:

Pwn20wnd hypes iOS 12 jailbreak, confirms A12 support imminent

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 21, 2019

It seems like the calm before the storm as we continue waiting for a public iOS 12 jailbreak with Cydia and Cydia Substrate support to surface, but rest assured, hacker and unc0ver lead developer Pwn20wnd is on it.

In various subtle updates provided just this week, Pwn20wnd updated his Twitter Bio to say “Jailbroke iOS 11 and iOS 12” and updated his Twitter profile name to say “Pwn20wnd is preparing unc0ver for iOS 12…” seemingly to tease that the iOS 12 jailbreak is nearly complete:

A brief summary of this week’s small updates to the Sileo beta preview

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 21, 2019

The Sileo Team has been hard at work this week, renovating the Sileo beta preview and its various dependencies for optimal performance on devices that have been jailbroken using Electra.

As you might come to expect, the Sileo Team has been incrementally updating the community via Twitter with blurbs about what's new. Given just how much has changed in the Sileo beta preview since our last coverage, this piece will sum up everything new from this week.

ElectraTV now supports tvOS 11.0-11.4.1 in version 1.3.2, adds several bug fixes & improvements

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 20, 2019

On Wednesday, the Electra Team announced an update to the ElectraTV jailbreak tool for the Apple TV, officially bringing it up to version 1.3.2 to match that of the iOS version of the tool.

In a Tweet shared this morning by the Electra Team, we learn that ElectraTV 1.3.2 now supports tvOS 11.0-11.4.1 thanks to a port shared by @nitoTV and @Jaywalker. Furthermore, the update brings bug fixes and improvements:

Jake Blair demos ‘spicy’ untethered jailbreak for iOS 11.x, provides no ETA

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 18, 2019

While there’s been a lot of news encompassing progress on the iOS 12 jailbreak as of late, that hasn’t hindered third-party iOS 11-centric projects from making historic progress. One of the latest involves an untethered jailbreak for handsets running iOS 11.x.

Indeed, while it might seem too good to be true at first glance, iOS developer Jake Blair Tweeted a demonstration video from YouTube Monday afternoon showcasing his “spicy” untethered jailbreak on what appears to be an unknown iteration of iPad mini:

Samg_is_a_Ninja teases Siri Shortcut for jailbreaking and installing Cydia on iOS 12

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 18, 2019

Siri Shortcuts became a major feature when iOS 12 debuted, but will this have any implications for the upcoming iOS 12 jailbreak from team unc0ver?

A Captivating new teaser video shared to /r/jailbreak Monday afternoon by iOS developer Samg_is_a_Ninja demonstrated the official use of a Siri Shortcut for unofficial means: jailbreaking and installing Cydia.

Pwn20wnd shares progress update concerning the iOS 12 jailbreak with Cydia & Cydia Substrate support

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 18, 2019

In case you’ve been MIA these past few weeks, hacker and unc0ver lead developer Pwn20wnd has been working hard on a full-fledged iOS 12 jailbreak with Cydia and Cydia Substrate support. And as it would seem, he’s quickly approaching the finish line.

Small revisions to the unc0ver v3.0.0 pre-release here and there have added ‘partial’ iOS 12 support for certain devices without Cydia or Cydia Substrate; but thanks to a rootfs remount released just over a week ago, we’re now closer than ever to enjoying all the perks of a full-blown iOS 12 jailbreak with Cydia and Cydia Substrate. But just how close are we?

Pwn20wnd gets jailbreak tweaks working under Cydia Substrate on iOS 12

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 16, 2019

Team unc0ver has been working exceptionally hard in the past several weeks to fully jailbreak iOS 12, and while co-creator Sam Bingner teased a functional Cydia app on iOS 12 just this week, he also noted that there was still a lot of work to be done before it’d be ready for the general public.

Fortunately, hacker and unc0ver lead developer Pwn20wnd dropped a bombshell Saturday morning when he Tweeted that he had successfully gotten jailbreak tweaks to run with the help of Cydia Substrate on iOS 12:

WorkFFS: A tweak made to resolve freezing and crashing issues with certain apps

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 16, 2019

If you've ever been unfortunate enough to encounter unwanted freeze-ups and crashes when launching specific apps, then you aren’t alone. As it would seem, iOS developer Muirey03 was getting tired of experiencing similar problems, thus a new free jailbreak tweak dubbed WorkFFS was conceived.

Citing the developer, WorkFFS fixes an issue where some apps would freeze up on the splash screen at launch and do absolutely nothing for nearly 20 seconds before inevitably crashing. Apps that are purportedly known to exhibit this problematic behavior include:

LaughingQuoll to work on Sileo compatibility with other jailbreaks

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Sileo is a forward-thinking package manager for jailbroken handsets that strives to compete directly with Jay Freeman’s renowned Cydia app; but at the time of this writing, Sileo is in its beta preview stages and is only officially supported by the Electra Team’s Electra jailbreak.

Third-party means of installing the Sileo package manager on Pwn20wnd’s unc0ver jailbreak surfaced just over a month ago (obviously not officially supported by the Sileo Team), but have since been broken by changes to the electratools GitHub page. Fortunately, official support for the unc0ver jailbreak could come sooner rather than later.

Chariz and Packix repositories will soon merge, augmenting the experience for users and developers alike

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated February 19, 2019

Chariz and Packix are two of the most popular third-party repositories for Cydia today, and as you might come to expect, the founders of each have become good friends along the way. But an announcement shared just this week via the Chariz Twitter account conveyed that the two repositories will soon consolidate into one, promising substantial improvements to the user experience for jailbreakers in the process.

Citing the announcement, the aforementioned merger was a project seven months in the making and represents an entirely new direction for both repositories as they unite into one and improve consumer services for the greater good.