A week following the deployment of iOS 10.3, Apple has released version 10.3.1 that mostly will patch security vulnerabilities found on the immediate predecessor. With the new bug fixes now rolling out, will the latest OS update prove another jailbreak killer?
The OS bump is considerably light and weighs only 30MB but installing it is highly recommended for all compatible iOS devices that now include the 32-bit iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C, which iDownloadBlog.com said is among the notable feature jump included with the update. But more importantly, v. 10.3.1 is designed to plug a Wi-Fi hole cited in a recent note by Google's Project Zero researchers.
If left unpatched, the same bug is believed to be an opening for hackers to penetrate a targeted device by simply executing arbitrary code. Installing the update immediately will shut down this window for potential attacks, iDB said on its report.
The security patch is certainly welcome and one thing seems clear, Apple is quick to send out the fix for problems identified on its mobile operating system. And that's like telling hackers they have little room to operate on planned intrusions.
Apple's swift reaction on the identified vulnerability also indicates that the tech giant is unwilling to cede even an inch of ground that can be used as exploits for potential iOS jailbreaks. This has been the pace showcased since iOS 10 was released and consequently jailbreak maker encountered difficulties in cracking deep the latest iOS series.
This was manifested by the inability of hacking groups like Pangu and TaiG to jailbreak any versions of iOS 10. To date, only one working solution has been provided and courtesy of iOS security researcher Luca Todesco. But the Yalu102 JB tool, based on iOS 10.2, from Todesco remains in beta status and it's unclear if there are plans to finalize the jailbreak.
Todesco himself has confirmed that modifying iOS 10.3 entails a lot of hard work if not impossible, and likely more so with the 10.3.1 update. The same hacker has indicated that jailbreaking has a better chance with 10.2, somehow conceding that anything higher will prove as jailbreak killers. And it seems that the statement is spot on with the 10.3.1 update - that the OS version could turn out another silent jailbreak killer.
But jailbreaking prior to iOS 10.3 is far from dead. There's the Yalu jailbreak solution from Todesco plus the Home Depot and Pangu9 tools that will work on all 32-bit devices with the big boost coming from the soon-to-release iOS 9.x Re-store bug.