How to Detect Unc0ver iOS Jailbreak, Protect iOS Apps
Learn to Detect Unc0ver in iOS apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.
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 Prevention 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).
Detecting Unc0ver on iOS apps by Using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending iOS Apps that Detect Unc0ver without an SDK or gateway:
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Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.
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Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System
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Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
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iOS Formats: .ipa
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Build the feature: Jailbreak Prevention.
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Building Jailbreak Prevention by using Appdome’s DEV-API:
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Jailbreak Prevention feature as shown below:
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Jailbreak Prevention feature via Appdome Console, to add the Jailbreak Prevention feature to this Fusion Set.
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Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set, as shown in Figure 1 above, and get the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):
Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, App Center, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Cirlce CI or other system:
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Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository
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Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Jailbreak Prevention feature
Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required). -
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Building the Jailbreak Prevention feature via Appdome Console
To build the Jailbreak Prevention protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.
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Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > OS Integrity section
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How: Toggle (turn ON) Jailbreak Prevention, as shown below.
If needed, Customize the Threat Notification to be displayed to the mobile end-user in a standard OS dialog notification when Appdome Detects Unc0ver.Figure 3: Detect Unc0ver option
Note: The App Compromise Notification contains an easy to follow default remediation path for the mobile app end user. You can customize this message as required to achieve brand specific support, workflow or other messaging. -
When you select the Jailbreak Prevention you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Jailbreak Prevention
Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Jailbreak Prevention protection
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Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Jailbreak Prevention:
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Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense
If the Threat-Events™ setting is cleared (not selected). Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Detect Unc0ver.
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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™ for Jailbreak Prevention Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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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 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 Prevention Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
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Congratulations! The Jailbreak Prevention protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Jailbreak Prevention feature in iOS Apps.
After building Jailbreak Prevention, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Jailbreak Prevention protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Jailbreak Prevention protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
Figure 5: 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 Prevention has been added to each iOS app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Jailbreak Prevention 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 |
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Appdome Feature Name | Jailbreak Prevention |
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 |
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. |
carrierPlmn | PLMN of the device |
deviceID | Current device ID |
reasonCode | Reason code of the occured event |
buildDate | Appdome fusion date of the current application |
devicePlatform | OS name of the current device |
carrierName | Carrier name of the current device |
updatedOSVersion | Is the OS version up to date |
timeZone | Time zone |
deviceFaceDown | Is the device face down |
locationLong | Location long |
locationLat | Location lat |
locationState | Location state |
wifiSsid | Wifi SSID |
wifiSsidPermissionStatus | Wifi SSID permission status |
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 Prevention:
let center = NotificationCenter.default
center.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("JailbrokenDevice"), object: nil, queue: nil) { (note) in
guard let usrInf = note.userInfo else {
return
}
let message = usrInf["message"]; // Message shown to the user
let reasonData = usrInf["reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause
let reasonCode = usrInf["reasonCode"]; // Event reason code
let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"]; // Current threat event score
let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"]; // Total threat events score
let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"]; // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserverForName: @"JailbrokenDevice" object:nil queue:nil usingBlock:^(NSNotification *org_note) {
__block NSNotification *note = org_note;
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) {
var threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore")
NSString *message = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"message"]; // Message shown to the user
NSString *reasonData = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause
NSString *reasonCode = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonCode"]; // Event reason code
NSString *currentThreatEventScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"currentThreatEventScore"]; // Current threat event score
NSString *threatEventsScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"threatEventsScore"]; // Total threat events score
NSString *variable = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"<Context Key>"]; // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
});
}];
const { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules;
const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents);
function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) {
NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action);
aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback);
}
export function registerToAllEvents() {
registerToDevEvent(
"JailbrokenDevice",
(userinfo) => Alert.alert(JSON.stringify(userinfo))
var message = userinfo["message"] // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = userinfo["reasonData"] // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = userinfo["reasonCode"] // Event reason code
var currentThreatEventScore = userinfo["currentThreatEventScore"] // Current threat event score
var threatEventsScore = userinfo["threatEventsScore"] // Total threat events score
var variable = userinfo["<Context Key>"] // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
);
}
RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter("JailbrokenDevice"));
class ThreatEventReceiver : BroadcastReceiver
{
public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
{
String message = intent.getStringExtra("message"); // Message shown to the user
String reasonData = intent.getStringExtra("reasonData"); // Threat detection cause
String reasonCode = intent.getStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Event reason code
String currentThreatEventScore = intent.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Current threat event score
String threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Total threat events score
String variable = intent.getStringExtra("<Context Key>"); // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
}
window.broadcaster.addEventListener("JailbrokenDevice", function(userInfo) {
var message = userInfo.message // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = userInfo.reasonData // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = userInfo.reasonCode // Event reason code
var currentThreatEventScore = userInfo.currentThreatEventScore // Current threat event score
var threatEventsScore = userInfo.threatEventsScore // Total threat events score
var variable = userInfo.<Context Key> // Any other event specific context key
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
});
Prerequisites to Using Jailbreak Prevention:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect Unc0ver , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Jailbreak Prevention
- Mobile App (.ipa For iOS)
- Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured iOS Apps by using Jailbreak Prevention. 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 Prevention
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:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
All apps protected by Appdome are fully compatible with any public app store, including Apple App Store, Google Play, Huawei App Gallery and more.
Features Similar to Jailbreak Prevention
Here are a few related resources:
Check out the following related KB articles:
Prevent Jailbreak Bypass and Jailbreak Hiding
Check out the full menu of features in the Appdome Mobile Security Suite
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
Thank you!
Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.