IBoot source code leakage of key iOS components and iosiboot source code Leakage

IBoot source code leakage of key iOS components and iosiboot source code Leakage

Yesterday (February 7), an anonymous developer uploaded the source code of the iOS Core Component on GitHub, which may facilitate hackers and security researchers to find the iOS vulnerability and put the iPhone in danger.

However, the source code information is no longer visible on the morning of the 8 th, and the project has been converted to Private,

IBoot is one of the key source code of iOS. It is marked as "iBoot" on GitHub and ensures that the operating system can start with trust. In other words, it is a program that loads iOS, it is the first process to enable the iPhone to run. It loads and verifies whether the kernel is correctly signed by Apple, and then executes the process, just like the BIOS in windows.

This Code applies to iOS 9, but some code may still be used in iOS 11.
Although some code for iOS and macOS has been gradually open-source in recent years, Apple is still very unhappy with open source code. In addition, Apple has paid great attention to the security of iBoot and the privacy of its code. If it reports bugs during startup through Apple's bounty program, it can get up to $0.2 million. Jonathan Levin, author of iOS and Mac OSX internal books, said: "This is the largest vulnerability in iOS history and will be a major event ."

Levin said the Code seems to be the real iBoot code because it is consistent with the code of its own reverse engineering. Another security researcher familiar with iOS also said that they think the code is real, but they do not know who is leaking, and Apple has not responded so far.

Levin said that by accessing the iBoot source code, iOS security researchers can better find vulnerabilities that may cause device leaks or jailbreak. This means that hackers can more easily find vulnerabilities and bugs that allow them to crack or decrypt the iPhone. Perhaps, such leaks may eventually allow senior programmers to simulate iOS on non-Apple platforms.

The previous version of iBoot allows hackers and hackers to decrypt user data through the iPhone lock screen. However, the new iPhone has a chip named Secure Enclave Processor, which enhances device security.

Levin adds that for common users, it means jailbreak is easier. These jailbreak functions were relatively easy to implement and are common in the past, but it is very difficult to use the latest iOS devices. These devices have advanced security mechanisms, even highly skilled researchers have difficulty finding bugs because they need to jailbreak the device before starting to detect it.

These security improvements have effectively killed the popular jailbreak community in the cradle. Currently, finding bugs and vulnerabilities in iOS requires a lot of time and resources. Therefore, the vulnerabilities generated are very valuable. This is why the jailbreak community is excited by source code leaks or any public vulnerabilities.

This source code was first published last year by a Reddit user named "apple_internals" on Jailbreak subreddit. This post has not received much attention, because the users are new and there is not enough Reddit karma; this post will soon sink. But its re-emergence on GitHub means it may be widely used in underground jailbreak communities and iOS hacker circles.

Levin said: "iBoot is a component Apple has always insisted on, and they are still encrypting its 64-bit code. But now it is open in the form of source code ."