Towards the end of last year, we started to see an incredible amount of progress in the iOS jailbreaking community. With exploits coming out left and right, it seemed as if the community was gradually making its way towards a future with a jailbreak that coincides with the current release. While we’re not quite at that point yet, there has been a recent jump in progress towards an iOS 11.2.6 jailbreak that brings us one step closer to a jailbreak in parity with the latest firmware.
While a security researcher has already demonstrated that it’s possible to gain access to iOS 11.3 via a 0day bug, the rest of us aren’t privy to that information, so the jailbreaking community is still working on an iOS 11.2.6 jailbreak. Today’s information is in regards to an iOS 11.2.6 jailbreak – a welcome breakthrough that comes as Apple stops signing the firmware in hopes that more people will move to iOS 11.3.
It’s important to state that this isn’t an iOS 11.2.6 jailbreak by any means. Rather, it’s a very important part of what may eventually lead to a full jailbreak. It’s very rare that a single release completely jailbreaks the iPhone on the first try. A collection of various people’s contributions to the process builds on the collective knowledge until the community has enough information to build an iOS 11.2.6 jailbreak. Unfortunately, that day isn’t today, but we’re one step closer to a future with a jailbreak that is only one update behind.
It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see a future in which the jailbreaking community is caught up with the retail release unless Apple starts to make some serious security missteps, but we’re inching closer and closer as time goes on. If we can manage to be within one release, that’s a pretty good place to be considering Apple tends to patch out issues when they’re discovered by ambitious jailbreakers.
This new progress towards an iOS 11.2.6. jailbreak comes in the form of a Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization exploit. Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization, or KASLR, is a technique that some technology companies employ in order to make exploits more difficult. By placing various objects at random rather than fixed addresses, it’s possible for Apple to make it very difficult for jailbreakers to do their jobs. This new revelation shows that it’s relatively easy to bypass that system, and brings the community one step closer to a full iOS 11.2.6 jailbreak.
At this point, it’s unclear just how fast a full jailbreak will happen, but if the progress over the past few weeks is any indication, it shouldn’t be too long before we have our hands on a crack for the iOS 11.2.6 operating system. Moving forward, this KASLR exploit may give developers and hackers the tools they need to continue development – with yet another obstacle out of the way. Our best bet is to wait and see what inevitable progress happens after the bypassing of this key security feature.
