How to Detect Unc0ver iOS Jailbreak, Protect iOS Apps

Last updated December 6, 2023 by Appdome

This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Detect Unc0ver in iOS apps.

What is unc0ver jailbreak?

Unc0ver is a jailbreak utility that allows you to unleash all capabilities of an iOS device, by escalating your privileges and allowing you to obtain permissions and access originally locked by developers.

Jailbreaking is the process of unlocking the iOS operating system on an Apple mobile device. A successful jailbreaking operation is a form of administrative privilege escalation, which bypasses Apple’s restrictions, resulting in full administrative control over the OS (the highest level of administrative privilege possible). Hackers often manage to perform jailbreaking by exploiting bugs in Apple’s software/firmware or modifying system kernels to allow read and write access to the file system. Because jailbroken phones give hackers a significant advantage in compromising applications, Jailbreaking is one of the primary methods used by all hackers – white hat and black hat alike – to compromise mobile applications.

How does Appdome block Unc0ver?

As an integral part of the Jailbreak Detection protection, Appdome blocks various packages widely used by hackers to perform jailbreaking, including unc0ver.

In so doing, Appdome allows users to avoid all security risk involved in jailbreaking, an operation that seriously compromises the mobile security model. Any iOS app that runs on a Jailbroken device is in a vulnerable state, where hackers can amplify and increase the magnitude of their attacks.

Any malicious actor who succeeds in jailbreaking an iOS-based device will find it much easier to disable anti-tampering protections as well as security protections, to make changes to the iOS file system, to change properties files, and to modify the device’s behavior in general. When iOS apps run on Jailbroken devices you really cannot trust any of the signals, messages, or behaviors associated with the device (or anything running on the device).

Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Jailbreak Detection Plugins:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect Unc0ver , you’ll need:

How to Implement Detect Unc0ver in iOS Apps Using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending iOS Apps that Detect Unc0ver without an SDK or gateway:

  1. Designate the Mobile App to be protected.

    1. Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.

    2. iOS Formats: .ipa
    3. Jailbreak Detection is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, Swift, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other iOS apps.
  2. Select the defense: Jailbreak Detection.

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Jailbreak Detection feature as shown below:
        fusion set that contains Jailbreak Detection .

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Jailbreak Detection feature
        Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required).

      2. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Jailbreak Detection feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.

      3. When you select the Jailbreak Detection you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Jailbreak Detection.

        Fusion Set applied Jailbreak Detection

        Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Jailbreak Detection protection
        Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      4. Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below): fusion Set Detail Summary image

        Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary

      5. Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
        1. Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
        2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
    1. Add the Jailbreak Detection feature to your security template.

      1. Navigate to Build > Security tab > OS Integrity section in the Appdome Console.
      2. Toggle On > Jailbreak Detection.

        (a) Choose to monitor this attack vector by checking the Threat Events checkbox associated with Jailbreak Detection as shown below.

        (b) To receive mobile Threat Monitoring, check the ThreatScope™ box as shown below. For more details, see our knowledge base article on ThreatScope™ Mobile XDR.
        Jailbreak Detection option

        Figure 4: Selecting Detect Unc0ver

        Note: The Appdome Platform displays the Mobile Operation Systems supported by each defense in real-time. For more details, see our OS Support Policy KB.

      3. Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Jailbreak Detection:
        1. Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense

          If the Threat-Events™ setting is not selected. Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Unc0ver.

        2. Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects JailbrokenDevice and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing, enforcement, and user notification. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ to Jailbreak DetectionDetect Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

        3. Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense

          When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Unc0ver (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Jailbreak DetectionDetect Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.

      4. Configure the User Experience Options for Jailbreak Detection:
        With Threat-Events™ OFF, Appdome provides several user experience options for mobile brands and developers.
        1. App Compromise Notification: Customize the pop-up or toast Appdome uses to notify the user when a threat is present while using the protected mobile app.
        2. Short message Option. This is available for mobile devices that allow a banner notification for security events.
        3. Localized Message Option. Allows Appdome users to support global languages in security notifications.

          Localized Message

          Figure 5: Default User Experience Options for Appdome’s Unc0ver

        4. Jailbreak Detection Threat Code™. Appdome uses AI/ML to generate a unique code each time Jailbreak Detection is triggered by an active threat on the mobile device. Use the code in Appdome Threat Resolution Center™ to help end users identify, find and resolve active threats on the personal mobile devices.
    2. Initiate the build command either by clicking Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 4) or via your CI/CD as described in Section 2.1.4.
    Congratulations!  The Jailbreak Detection protection is now added to the mobile app
  3. Certify the Jailbreak Detection feature in iOS Apps

    After building Jailbreak Detection, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Jailbreak Detection protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Jailbreak Detection protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below: Jailbreak Detection shown in Certificate secure

    Figure 6: Certified Secure™ certificate

    Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Jailbreak Detection has been added to each iOS app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Jailbreak Detection and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.

Using Threat-Events™ for Unc0ver Intelligence and Control in iOS Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Unc0ver is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Unc0ver in iOS Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Unc0ver shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Unc0ver are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Detect Unc0ver Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Jailbreak Detection
Threat-Event Mode
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging.
ON, IN-APP DETECTION Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce).
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection).
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check
Visible in ThreatScope™
Developer Parameters for Detecting Unc0ver Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME JailbrokenDevice
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF 6801
Threat-Event SCORE
currentThreatEventScore Current Threat-Event score
threatEventsScore Total Threat-events score
Threat-Event Context Keys
message Message displayed for the user on event
failSafeEnforce Timed enforcement against the identified threat
externalID The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events
osVersion OS version of the current device
deviceModel Current device model
deviceManufacturer The manufacturer of the current device
fusedAppToken The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app
kernelInfo Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine.
deviceID Current device ID
reasonCode Reason code of the occurred event
buildDate Appdome fusion date of the current application
devicePlatform OS name of the current device
updatedOSVersion Is the OS version up to date
timeZone Time zone
deviceFaceDown Is the device face down
locationLong Location longitude conditioned by location permission
locationLat Location latitude conditioned by location permission
locationState Location state conditioned by location permission
wifiSsid Wifi SSID
wifiSsidPermissionStatus Wifi SSID permission status
threatCode The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device.
internalError Internal error code as hex
extendedMessageText Internal error code
rInternalErrorCode Internal error code
reason Reason for the root detection

With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), iOS developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in iOS applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Unc0ver is detected.


The following is a code sample for native iOS apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Jailbreak Detection:


Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.



Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured iOS Apps by using Jailbreak Detection. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.

Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Jailbreak Detection

After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:

Related Articles:

Check out the following related KB articles:

Check out the full menu of features in the Appdome Mobile Security Suite

How Do I Learn More?

If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.

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