After two years, Apple has finally managed to patch the bug behind the famed JailbreakMe exploit. This occurs less than a year after the hacker responsible for discovering the exploit, Comex, left jailbreaking for an internship at Apple.
The well-guarded JailbreakMe exploit was the first jailbreak that could be used with the iPad 2, and has lived unfettered for two years’ time. The exploit was particularly loved for its ease and simplicity - the procedure of jailbreaking a device using it involved simply visiting a website in the iOS browser, and a few seconds later, the process was done.
But now, in iOS 6, the exploit has finally been patched. Jailbreaker pod2g notes via Twitter "R.I.P. the exploit used by developers to root the device. Found by @comex in 2010. A 2 years old bug closed with iOS 6."
Obviously, the immediate suspicion in everyones mind is that Comex revealed the bug to Apple now that he is working for them. There isnt any proof of that, but its certainly a possibility.
As disappointing as this may be, the good news is that the kernel bug exploit couldnt be used for general release jailbreaks, as it required an iOS developer account. Therefore, any jailbreaks currently being developed for iOS 6 (like the one announced by iPhone Dev Teams Musclenerd) should not be affected by the patch.
Jailbreakers tend to have their own stock of secret exploits in the case that Apple destroys one of them. So, while it may mark the end of a very faithful exploit, the loss of Jailbreakme doesnt signal any doom for the jailbreaking community.
Source: Cult of Mac
