March 13th, 2008
iPhone 2.0 firmware hacked
Reports are in from Gizmodo that the iPhone 2.0 firmware has been hacked. As their article states:
The beta 2.0 firmware that comes with the iPhone SDK has been modified to unlock the iPhone and run any application. Part of the Pwnage Project, the hacked firmware will allow you to do anything you want, including the installation of both official and unofficial apps, and even patches.
…
They told us that this is all part of their previous Pwnage project, which instead of trying to hack into the iPhone, directly patches the firmware itself to both unlock it, so you can use the iPhone with any carrier you want, and allow you to install any applications you want.
According to the Dev Team responsible for this, the custom 2.0 firmware will run unsigned applications without a single problem and that the firmware works with any service provider. Addtionally, the Dev Team claims that this is a true unlock and that Apple will have a very difficult time closing this hole. The Dev Team points out that this is not a simple jailbreak, but is in fact a hacked version of the firmware, allowing both signed and unsigned applications to run fine.
-Nate
Nathan McFeters is a Senior Security Advisor for Ernst & Young's Advanced Security Center in Chicago. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own and do not represent the views and opinions of Ernst & Young Advanced Security Center or Ernst & Young, LLP. Nathan has performed web application, deep source code, Internet, Intranet, wireless, dial-up, and social engineering engagements for numerous clients in the Fortune 500 during his career at Ernst & Young and has spoken at a number of prestigious conferences, including Black Hat, DEFCON, ToorCon, and Hack in the Box. He can be found at his Pwn* blog and XS-Sniper, a blog with Billy Rios. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
