We’ve been hearing reports that Comex, that legendary jailbreak hacker, has discovered another PDF exploit within iOS 5 that could allow for another userland jailbreak, such as JailbreakMe.
Comex posted the above image as a teaser for the exploit on Twitter, and it’s not to difficult to piece together the “puzzle” of what Comex might be referring to. The image holds certain clues, which any Jr. Gumshoe (Carmen Sandiego reference – yes, I am that old) could put together.
The first thing to notice in the image is the PDF sign, and the diamond-shaped icon that is on it. While the PDF sign is a clear reference to his previous userland exploit, the diamond is a bit less obvious – it references the term Alpine, which is the default root password for iOS devices.
There can only be one conclusion: Something mighty interesting is cooking in the jailbreak kitchen, and Comex seems to be the chef. Comex’s last exploit was patched by Apple in 4.3.1, never to be seen again – but his trick could certainly top his last act.
It’s entirely unclear whether the upcoming jailbreak is for iOS 43.3 or iOS 5, but considering that there are already simple untethered jailbreaks available for iOS 4.3.3, and iOS 5 is just around the corner, I quite doubt that Comex would reveal his secret prematurely, only to have it swiftly patched by the time iOS 5 is released to the public.
Whether this delightful trick has been cooked up for iOS 4.3.3, or iOS 5, one thing is clear: we’ll likely be seeing the return of Jailbreak Me, the simple tool that lets you jailbreak your iOS device right from Mobile Safari, in the near future.
Are you as excited as I am for this? Sound off in the comments!
