A new unpatchable flaw in Apple chips opens the door to an iPhone jailbreak
Summary
A cybersecurity company published details of a vulnerability called "usbliter8" in older Apple chips (A12 and A13) that could help hackers unlock iPhones from 2018-2019, like the XS, XR, and iPhone 11. The flaw exists in the Boot ROM (the first code that runs when an iPhone starts up), which cannot be updated because it's permanently burned into the chip. While the vulnerability requires physical access to the phone, it represents a significant security risk because hackers could use it alongside other exploits to jailbreak (gain unauthorized access to and remove restrictions from) older iPhones.
Solution / Mitigation
According to Paradigm Shift, "migrating to newer hardware remains the most effective mitigation" because the Boot ROM flaw cannot be patched due to being immutable code burned into the chip.
Classification
Original source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/22/a-new-unpatchable-flaw-in-apple-chips-opens-the-door-to-an-iphone-jailbreak/
First tracked: June 22, 2026 at 08:01 PM
Classified by LLM (prompt v3) · confidence: 95%