A group of Chinese hackers calling themselves “Pangu” have just released what they’re claiming is an iOS 7.1.1 jailbreak, and this time it looks like we might have a bit of evidence that it could be legitimate. (Update: reports are streaming in that the jailbreak does indeed successfully install Cydia on iOS 7.1.X devices.)
The story is still unfolding, but just moments ago the team uploaded the Windows counterpart of the iOS 7.1-7.1.x jailbreak on their website. As of right now, an installer for OS X isn’t available, but Macintosh is listed on the website so it appears one is coming soon.
According to the website it is compatible with the following devices:
- iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4
- iPad Air, Retina iPad mini
- iPod touch 5G
We’re assuming that it is compatible with other iOS 7.1.1 compatible devices as well such as Retina iPad (iPad 4, iPad 3) and iPad 2.
Note: Proceed with caution — there is no proof as of yet that the jailbreak is legitimate, so there could very well be phishing attempts and the like included in the download. It’s a Windows .exe file that surpasses 70 MB in size, leaving us to be even more suspicious. It’s worth noting however, that the package seems to have passed on Metascan (which runs the files by a long list of known malicious software trackers). There’s no way of knowing what kind of software is included with this jailbreak yet, even though it doesn’t seem to have any obviously malicious intent.
Aside from the piracy store and enterprise certificate… The http://t.co/R6FhChhJPN jailbreak does not have “spyware” or malicious trails.
— @[email protected] (@iH8sn0w) June 23, 2014
According to tweets from i0nic and the team’s webpage, the included exploit may very well have been disclosed by i0nic himself. The notorious iOS hacker had this to say:
FTR: if pangu team releases a public jailbreak with vulnerabilities disclosed to them during my training I consider this in no way okay.
— Stefan Esser (@i0n1c) June 23, 2014
Users are reporting that Cydia is indeed working perfectly fine. That said, as happened with the TAIG software back when evasi0n was released, there seems to be a bunch of Chinese software also being loaded.
@eliassfeir1 pic.twitter.com/qsxr7Mhsu8
— FlatDesignSucks (@FlatDesignSucks) June 23, 2014
Also, as seen by comments in a Reddit thread, countless people are reporting that their iOS 7.1.X device do indeed have Cydia installed:
“I appear to have Cydia, but also some super sketchy Chinese app. Mixed feelings.”
“me done ….. 🙂 ios 7.1.1. on my iphone 5 … thanks a tun for Panguuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu”
“Just a heads up to those who went through with the install: In Cydia, you can easily remove the PP Chinese app that was installed with the jailbreak. No worries there! In other news, I have biteSMS installed and running smoothly on my 5S which was never jailbroken (came with 7.1). Seems to be legit. As far as spyware/keyloggers/etc., I can’t confirm if it’s safe.”
“This does work, it basically asks you to set the date to January 2nd, and then touch the weird app it installs, but it does install cydia!”
“Just a heads up to those who went through with the install: In Cydia, you can easily remove the PP Chinese app that was installed with the jailbreak. No worries there! In other news, I have biteSMS installed and running smoothly on my 5S which was never jailbroken (came with 7.1). Seems to be legit. As far as spyware/keyloggers/etc., I can’t confirm if it’s safe.”
It’s only a matter of time before the evad3rs and i0nic have something to say about this on Twitter. We’ll keep this post updated as we learn more about the potential security risks with this jailbreak as well as whether or not we’ll be seeing a more official tool in the future…
Update 1:
Check out our step-by-step tutorial on how to jailbreak iOS 7.1.1 using Pangu.
Update 2:
MuscleNerd, member of the evad3rs has also confirmed that it is safe, though he thinks it is not worth upgrading to iOS 7.0.x for it.
(I personally wouldn’t jump from JB 7.0.x to 7.1.1 for this. But if I were at 6.x or 7.1.x already, it appears to be okay so far!)
— Ⓜ MuscleNerd (@MuscleNerd) June 23, 2014
Update 3:
Check out our post for the list of iOS 7.1.1 compatible jailbreak apps and tweaks.
Update 4:
If you did not uncheck the option to avoid installing the PPSync package, then check this post to find out why and how you should remove it.
Update 5:
If you’re facing bootloop issues when you restart your iOS device jailbroken with Pangu, then try this fix.
Update 6:
Pangu team has just released Pangu v1.1.0 for Mac and also added released an update for the Windows version to add support for English. They have also removed the check box to install the PPSync Chines pirated App store. So we’ve updated the tutorial according. The update also includes a fix for the bootloop issue, so if you were having a problem, you can try jailbreaking your device using Pangu v1.1.0.
Let us know how it goes in the comments below.
We’ll let you know as soon as Pangu for Mac is released, so don’t forget to join our Facebook Fan page, follow us on Twitter, add us to your circles on Google+, subscribe to our RSS feed or subscribe to our Daily Newsletter.
