A lot of people are wondering if we’ll ever see a jailbreak for iOS & iPadOS 18, and while we don’t have a crystal ball clear enough to give you a definitive answer, we will say that there’s at least a chance the iPad (7th generation) gets a jailbreak thanks to being susceptible to the checkm8 hardware-based bootrom exploit and being compatible with iPadOS 18 – the last checkm8-vulnerable iPhone or iPad meeting both of those criteria.
The reason this still works on the iPad (7th generation) is because the checkm8 hardware-based bootrom exploit can’t be patched by software updates, so all Apple can do is implement more security roadblocks that simply make jailbreaking susceptible devices harder to do, but persistent hackers will make their way through eventually.
Speaking of which, talented hacker and palera1n team member @dora2ios just this week teased a video on X (formerly Twitter) of what appears to be this exact device being jailbroken on iPadOS 18. The video didn’t come without caveats, however, as @dora2ios said many things in this demo video are “broken” and that the jailbreak remains “incomplete.”
It’s likely that will change in the future as the palera1n team gets its hands dirty with iPadOS 18 in the future, but it’s also worth noting that the iPad (7th generation) isn’t the only checkm8-susceptible device getting updates later this year – so too are certain Apple TVs, including the Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K (1st generation).
A few months back, we shared how the palera1n jailbreak would be coming to tvOS so that checkm8-vulnerable Apple TV users could enjoy the use of hacks on their Apple-branded entertainment boxes. Interestingly enough, a recent teaser shared by hacker Nick Chan (@riscv64) in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) shows off a screenshot of the palera1n jailbreak on an Apple TV running tvOS 18:
Chan was sure to dispel any doubt by saying that it was achieved with “a pile of hacks” and that there are still “a lot of issues right now,” so it doesn’t seem like a release will happen anytime in the near future. But since the tvOS 18 software update is still in beta, it’s not like anyone is particularly rushing for this release just yet anyway.
As for newer devices that aren’t susceptible to the checkm8 exploit, which primarily covers anything with an A12 or newer chip, the unfortunate news is that there isn’t even a jailbreak for you yet on iOS & iPadOS 17, so we would expect that an iOS & iPadOS 18 jailbreak would take even longer, should one come at all.
Starting with iOS & iPadOS 17, Apple beefed up system security with something called Secure Page Table Monitor, which requires an SPTM bypass for a jailbreak to be made. Unfortunately, no one has come forward with one yet. So we will have to wait and see…
Are you excited about the palera1n-based teasers in the meantime? Let us know in the comments section down below.