In case you didn’t already know, there’s a new kernel exploit out in the wild that renowned Google Project Zero security researcher Ian Beer recently published a writeup about. CVE-2025-24203, which is being referred to by the iPhone & iPad hacking community as dirtyZero or mdc0, is a kernel exploit that allows for certain system customizations akin to what the MacDirtyCow exploit was once capable of on supported firmware.
Citing Apple’s ‘About the Security Content of iPadOS 17.7.6’ support page, this kernel exploit allows apps to modify protected parts of the file system, which is precisely what makes the resulting apps capable of doing what they can, even without a jailbreak for the host device.
Some developers have already started taking advantage of the exploit to create system customization tools that can apply hacks and changes to the iOS & iPadOS mobile operating systems on versions ranging from iOS & iPadOS 16.0-16.7.10, 17.0-17.7.5, and 18.0-18.3.2 without a jailbreak.
Since iOS & iPadOS 17.7.6 patched this exploit, it’s worth noting that it doesn’t work on iOS & iPadOS 17.7.6 (or any version of iOS or iPadOS 17 newer than that) or on iOS & iPadOS 18.4 and later.
We’ll showcase at least two of the utilities that make use of CVE-2025-24203 in more detail below:
MDC0
MDC0 is a tool by iOS developer Huy Nguyen (@Little_34306) that takes advantage of the aforementioned kernel exploit to unlock various device customizations that generally wouldn’t be possible without a jailbreak.
Citing the project’s GitHub page, MDC0 supports the following features:
- Hide the Dock blur background
- Transparent notifications, media player, and folder background
- Hide the Home Bar
- Hide the flashlight and camera shortcuts from the Lock Screen
- Hide the blur effect from the App Switcher
- Disable the camera app’s shutter sound on J/A or KH/A devices
- Remove the passcode theme
- Make changes to the Status Bar on iOS 16
- Disable call recording notification sounds on iOS 18
- Allow multiple apps to run simultaneously in separate windows
From what we can gather, the last option for allowing multiple apps to run simultaneously in separate windows works even on the latest iOS & iPadOS versions without any exploitation needed, while the remaining features do require the use of the exploit on supported firmware.
A separate respring utility is required to save whatever changes you make.
The MDC0 app can be perma-signed on devices that run TrollStore, or sideloaded on non-TrollStore devices by way of utilities such as AltStore Classic or Sideloadly. You can acquire the MDC0 app for free from the project’s GitHub page.
dirtyZero
Another device customization toolbox that’s currently available is dirtyZero by iOS developer @skadz108, and it offers some of the same customization options, albeit fewer and with a slightly different unser interface that includes a sleek log at the top.
Citing the project’s GitHub page, dirtyZero supports the following features:
- Hide the Dock
- Hide the Home Bar
- Hide the folder backgrounds
- Hide the notification backgrounds
- Hide the unlock background
The dirtyZero app can be perma-signed on devices that run TrollStore, or sideloaded on non-TrollStore devices by way of utility such as AltStore Classic or Sideloadly. You can acquire the dirtyZero app for free from the project’s GitHib page.
Whichever app you choose to use, both are being frequently updated with new features. It’s worth noting that MDC0 currently supports more features out of the box at the time of this writing, but the developer behind dirtyZero is undoubtedly adding more in the future, as it seems the exploit is capable of much more.
Do you plan to take advantage of any of the hacks and add-ons made possible with this exploit, or are you already jailbroken? Let us know in the comments section down below.