iOS 4.3.4 Patches Jailbreak Exploit… And Is Immediately Jailbroken

On Friday, Apple released a minor update to iOS, version 4.3.4. The update patched the famous PDF exploit used by JailbreakMe 3.0, which allowed users to jailbreak any iDevice (including iPad 2) through a website. Some bloggers purported the latest update would also quell future jailbreaks- which anyone following the cat-and-mouse game between Apple and iOS hackers should know would turn out false. Well, it did, and less than 12 hours after the release of 4.3.4, a jailbreak was released by RedmondPie.

The jailbreak comes either in the form of a custom 4.3.4 bundle to be used with PwnageTool or simply by using the newly updated redsn0w tool. It is a tethered jailbreak, meaning if your device is restarted, the jailbreak must be reinstalled. RedmondPie’s jailbreak does not work on iPad 2.

While Apple has made pretty clear their opposition of jailbreaking, it is important to emphasize that 4.3.4 fixes a critical security hole- regardless of its use as a jailbreak exploit, a patch was necessary.

[RedmondPie via Engadget]

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Mike Keller is PCWorld’s resident iOS developer nerd. Catch Diary of a Developer every week here on GeekTech.