Apple has just pushed out the iOS 10.2.1 beta 3 to developers with bug fixes and performance improvements. Hackers have had only limited success in jailbreaking Apple’s latest mobile operating system as the Cupertino company has been working tirelessly to patch the loopholes. Ever since the release of iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak by Team Pangu in July, there has been only one jailbreak release to the public: the Yalu + Mach_Portal for iOS 10/10.1.1, which is still in beta stage.
No proof of iOS 10.2 jailbreak on the horizon
Since Apple is no longer signing iOS 10.1.1, those who have upgraded to iOS 10.2 cannot go back to the previous version and jailbreak their iDevices. They have to wait for a new tool that could jailbreak the version 10.2 or later. There is no proof of a 10.2 jailbreak, but experts are working to bring one as soon as possible. There have been surprise jailbreak releases in the past.
The iOS 10.2 still has certain loopholes that can be exploited. Tweets by noted Italian hacker Luca Todesco indicate that the jailbreak could be released soon. Another hacker Stefan Esser has also claimed that an iOS 10.2 jailbreak would arrive soon. Todesco’s Yalu jailbreak supports only select 64-bit iOS devices. It was based on Google’s Project Zero exploits that Apple has already patched with iOS 10.2.
My fix for the issues in the 10.1 jailbreak will be to add support to 10.2. It will however not work on iPhone 7 on 10.2, just 10 and 10.1.
— @[email protected] (@qwertyoruiopz) January 7, 2017
Save your SHSH2 blobs
A couple of weeks ago, Todesco asked the jailbreak lovers to save their iOS 10.2 SHSH2 blobs at the earliest, just in case the tool shows up in the future. Saving the blobs would allow you to upgrade or downgrade to the firmware using Prometheus. If you haven’t saved it already, here is the step-by-step guide to saving your SHSH2 blobs while Apple is still signing it. And avoid the 10.2.1 update when Apple rolls it out to the public.
Last week, Todesco expanded the list of iPhones and iPads supported by his Yalu jailbreak tool. He has added a fix for TSMC for the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus and iPhone SE. If you own these devices powered by TSMC processors, you have to download @stickron’s TSMC fix along with the Yalu tool to jailbreak them. Todesco has urged users to avoid “Yucca Utilities” or another substrate enabler because they won’t work as expected with the TSMC fix.
iOS 10.2 vulnerable to Todesco’s KPP technique
Luca Todesco claimed in a tweet earlier this month that he had not planned a 10.2 jailbreak, but the OS is still vulnerable to his KPP technique that he used in the Yalu jailbreak. However, KPP alone isn’t enough to achieve full jailbreak. So, it has to be combined with another technique, probably by another developer, to achieve the full jailbreak.
10.2 is vuln to my KPP thing. Not blowing 0days for it ;)
— @[email protected] (@qwertyoruiopz) December 31, 2016
While an iOS 10.2 jailbreak is expected to arrive soon, it’s worth pointing out that jailbreaking your devic could have serious consequences. An Apple representative once warned that most of the iPhone and iPad users do not jailbreak their devices. Jailbreaking could violate the warranty and cause the device to become unstable and not work properly.
