Operating system Website www.jailbreakme.com | ||
Developer(s) Muddaser. Farache comex et al. Stable release 3.0 / July 6, 2011; 5 years ago (2011-07-06) | ||
JailbreakMe' is a series of jailbreaks for Apple's iOS mobile operating system that take advantage of flaws in the Safari browser on the device, providing an immediate one-step jailbreak unlike more common jailbreaks, such as Blackra1n and redsn0w, that require plugging the device into a computer and running the jailbreaking software from the desktop. Jailbreaking allows users to install software that is not approved by Apple on their iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad; JailbreakMe automatically includes Cydia, a package management interface that serves as an alternative to the App Store. Cydia Allows Installation of packages.
Contents
JailbreakMe's first version in 2007 worked on iPhone and iPod Touch firmware 1.1.1, the second version was released in August 2010 for firmware 4.0.1 and earlier, and the third version was released in July 2011 for iOS versions 4.3 to 4.3.3 (and was the first jailbreak for the iPad 2). JailbreakMe 3.0 has been used to jailbreak at least two million devices.
JailbreakMe 1.0
JailbreakMe, started in 2007, was originally used to jailbreak the iPhone and iPod Touch running the 1.1.1 version of iOS, then named iPhone OS. Using a TIFF exploit against Safari, this installed Installer.app. The vulnerability used in this exploit was patched by Apple in the 1.1.2 firmware.
This tool, also called "AppSnapp", was created by a group of nine developers.
JailbreakMe 2.0 Star
JailbreakMe 2.0, released by comex on August 1, 2010, exploits a vulnerability in the FreeType library used while rendering PDF files. This was the first publicly available jailbreak for the iPhone 4, able to jailbreak iOS 3.1.2 through 4.0.1 on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad models then current. This jailbreak was activated by visiting the jailbreakme.com web page on the device's Safari web browser.
The vulnerability used by JailbreakMe 2.0 was patched by Apple in iOS 4.0.2.
JailbreakMe 3.0 Saffron
JailbreakMe 3.0, released on July 6, 2011, can jailbreak most iOS devices on iOS 4.3-4.3.3 and iPad 2 on 4.3.3. It is the first publicly available jailbreak for iPad 2. JailbreakMe 3.0 exploits a FreeType parser security flaw (similar to JailbreakMe 2.0), using the form of a PDF file rendered by Mobile Safari, which then uses a kernel vulnerability to complete the untethered jailbreak. Comex also released a patch for this FreeType flaw, called "PDF Patcher 2", which is available as a free package installable via Cydia.
A few days before initial release, a beta tester leaked JailbreakMe 3.0 to the public. Comex said on Twitter, that this put him on a "time limit" to release the final version quickly.
The JailbreakMe website looks similar to downloading an App Store app. It includes a blue button saying "FREE", which turns into a green button with the word "INSTALL" when pressed once, much like any application on the App Store. After tapping "INSTALL", Safari closes, Cydia loads as a new app, and the device is now fully jailbroken with no reboot necessary.
On July 15, 2011, Apple released iOS 4.3.4 (GSM) and 4.2.9 (CDMA) to patch the flaws used by JailbreakMe.
Comex received a Pwnie Award at the Black Hat Conference in 2011 for "Best Client-Side Bug" for this work.
Comex was hired by Apple as an intern in August 2011.
Domain name transfer
On October 7, 2011, Conceited Apps, which had been allowing Comex to use the domain name for hosting sold the domain name jailbreakme.com to an allegedly "unknown" party. SaurikIT acquired the domain the next day.