Jailbreak (computer science)
In computer security, jailbreaking is defined as the act of removing limitations that a vendor attempted to hard-code or hard-wire into its hardware and/or software.[1] It is a form of privilege escalation.
The term may have originated with the use of toolsets to break out of a chroot or jail in UNIX-like operating systems[2]. This allowed the user to see files outside of the file system that the administrator intended to make available to the application or user in question.
The term was first used in its modern meaning in the iPhone/iOS jailbreaking community and has also been used as a term for PlayStation Portable hacking; these devices have repeatedly been subject to jailbreaks, allowing the execution of arbitrary code, and sometimes have had those jailbreaks disabled by vendor updates, especially in the case of iOS devices.
iOS jailbreaking
[edit]iOS systems including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch have been subject to iOS jailbreaking efforts since they were released, and continuing with each firmware update.[3][4] iOS jailbreaking tools have included the option to install package frontends such as Cydia and Installer.app, third-party alternatives to the App Store, as a way to find and install system tweaks and binaries. To prevent iOS jailbreaking, Apple has made the device boot ROM execute checks for SHSH blobs in order to disallow uploads of custom kernels and prevent software downgrades to earlier, jailbreakable firmware. In an "untethered" jailbreak, the iBoot environment is changed to execute a boot ROM exploit and allow submission of a patched low level bootloader or hack the kernel to submit the jailbroken kernel after the SHSH check.
Other phones
[edit]A similar method of jailbreaking exists for S60 Platform smartphones, where utilities such as HelloOX allow the execution of unsigned code and full access to system files.[5] or edited firmware (similar to the M33 hacked firmware used for the PlayStation Portable)[6] to circumvent restrictions on unsigned code. Nokia has since issued updates to curb unauthorized jailbreaking, in a manner similar to Apple.
Rooting is the equivalent concept for Android phones and other devices.
Console jailbreaking
[edit]In the case of gaming consoles, jailbreaking is often used to execute homebrew games. In 2011, Sony, with assistance from law firm Kilpatrick Stockton, sued 21-year-old George Hotz and associates of the group fail0verflow for jailbreaking the PlayStation 3 (see Sony Computer Entertainment America v. George Hotz and PlayStation Jailbreak).
AI jailbreaks
[edit]Jailbreaking can also occur in systems and software that use generative artificial intelligence models, such as ChatGPT. In jailbreaking attacks on artificial intelligence systems, users are able to manipulate the system to behave differently than it was intended, making it possible to reveal information about how the model was instructed by the vendor (the "system prompt") or to induce it to respond in an anomalous or harmful way.[7][8][9]
These attacks typically simply require prompting the AIs with specific phrasal templates - no software is typically required, although software could theoretically be used to "industrialise" such exploits, and some research has been done in this direction.[9]
In 2024, a consortium of AI firms founded HackAPrompt.com, a competition to encourage users to find new and effective AI jailbreaking techniques.[10] These and other findings from "ethical hackers" have been used by AI model providers to try to improve AI safety.[10]
See also
[edit]- Prompt injection - a technique where third parties leave instructions for AIs in text that may be fed to an AI, seeking to manipulate its behaviour and potentially derive unauthorised access to information and/or capabilities
References
[edit]- ^ "Definition of JAILBREAK". www.merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Cyrus Peikari; Anton Chuvakin (2004). Security Warrior: Know Your Enemy. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-596-55239-8.
- ^ James Quintana Pearce (2007-09-27), Apple's Disagreement With Orange, IPhone Hackers, GigaOm, archived from the original on 2020-09-23, retrieved 2026-05-03
- ^ "Reports: Next iPhone update will break third-party apps, bust unlocks]". Computerworld on v1.1.3. Archived from the original on 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ^ Phat^Trance (Feb 16, 2010). "Announcement: Forum down for maintaining". dailymobile.se. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
Just wanted to let you guys know that the forum is down for maintaining. It will be back online in a day or so (i kinda messed up the config files and need to restore one day old backup, so i thought why not update the entire server platform)
- ^ "Bypass Symbian Signed & Install UnSigned SISX/J2ME Midlets on Nokia S60 v3 with Full System Permissions". Archived from the original on 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ "What is Jailbreaking in A.I. models like ChatGPT?". Archived from the original on 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
- ^ "ChatGPT's 'jailbreak' tries to make the A.I. break its own rules, or die". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2023-03-02. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
- ^ a b Zou, Andy; Wang, Zifan; Carlini, Nicholas; Nasr, Milad; Kolter, J; Fredrikson, Matt (2023-12-20). "Universal and Transferable Adversarial Attacks on Aligned Language Models". arXiv:2307.15043 [cs.CL].
- ^ a b Jamie Bartlett (29 Apr 2026). "Meet the AI jailbreakers: 'I see the worst things humanity has produced'". The Guardian.