A potential JailbreakMe 5.0 update could bring a safari-based jailbreak to iOS 11.3.1 devices.
JailbreakMe 5.0
The news regarding JailbreakMe 5.0 comes from a well-known developer and security researcher by the name of Niklas Baumstark. He has taken to Twitter with news that a bug that was recently released into the community can be exploited using Safari.
Ah, Ok. I was just confused about you exploiting the Ian Beer bug in your original tweet, then you referenced that bug which was attributed to Samuel.
— Paul Morris (@paulmorrishhl) June 16, 2018
Baumstark is still in the early days of the development process, but he does believe that this safari vulnerability could lead to a JailbreakMe 5.0 update that will allow unfettered access to iOS 11.3.1.
IOS 11.3.1 is not the most current of the iOS operating systems, but recent discoveries from Ian Beer — a prominent security researcher — have made it likely that it will be the next to be broken. Jailbreaks generally don’t match up with the most recent update as it takes time to crack the system, but iOS 11.3.1 isn’t too far behind — an encouraging fact given that the community was stagnant for quite some time.
Interestingly enough, it appears as if the iOS 11.3.1 jailbreak via JailbreakMe 5.0 will be developed using two different bugs. The first, as expected, is the recent release from Ian Beer of Project Zero. The second is a little more unexpected, and Baumstark will be taking advantage of CVE-2018-4233 which is a WebKit vulnerability that was first brought to light by Samuel Groß of Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative.
A Better Alternative
Baumstark hasn’t given us too much information about how the iOS 11.3.1 jailbreak will function, but it appears as if the combination of these two bugs allow for a safari-based jailbreak that is far more user-friendly than current jailbreak implementations.
Currently, in order to jailbreak a relatively recent build of iOS, users have to side load an IPA to their device — a process which often requires re-signing the app ever seven days.
The introduction of the potential for a JailbreakMe 5.0 would bring back to life one of the most popular jailbreaks in history, which has been praised time and time again for making the jailbreaking process more convenient and accessible for everyone.
It remains to be seen how the JailbreakMe 5.0 development process continues, but it’s important to keep expectations in check. At this point, we’re unsure whether it’s actually even being developed and Baumstark hasn’t been active in the jailbreaking community in recent history.
Still, the fact that it’s possible means that it’s very likely we’ll see a release sooner or later — whether that’s through Baumstark or another enterprising developer.
With multiple jailbreaking options on the horizon, the community is feeling more positive and collaborative than ever before. As Apple has beefed up their security, it has become more and more difficult to exploit vulnerabilities in the system. That hasn’t kept the talented development community from figuring out how to unlock the system and open its full potential — and for that we’re thankful.
