Apple mistakenly lets hackers 'jailbreak' iPhones with iOS update

In the iPhone's early days, hackers would "jailbreak" the iPhone in order to install third-party apps that weren't available through the App Store. It's been a while since anyone seriously needed to jailbreak their iPhone, as there are plenty of apps and more customizable operating systems to choose from. But this weekend, hackers dusted off their jailbreaking skills when a vulnerability was discovered in iOS 12.4. Security researcher Pwn20wnd released the first free public jailbreak for a fully updated iPhone in years.

According to Vice, iOS 12.4, the latest version, reintroduced a bug that was fixed in iOS 12.3. Several iPhone users took to Twitter, claiming they used the Pwn20wnd jailbreak on their phones.

Unfortunately, the bug also makes it easier to hack iPhones. So, until iOS 12.4.1 comes out, many iPhones are at risk. One security researcher told Motherboard that someone could use this vulnerability to make a malicious app that could steal data from other apps on a user's phone. Given the security risks, you probably don't want to jailbreak your iPhone and you should beware of apps you download from the App Store until Apple re-patches the bug. If nothing else, this may take you on a memory lane trip, back to the days of the Cydia Store.