As you are probably aware, just a couple of days ago, developer felix-pb released two brand-new kernel exploits with a support range going from iOS 15.0 all the way up to iOS 16.5.

While iOS 16.5.1 and iOS 16.6 release is not supported, iOS 16.6 Beta 1 is both supported and still signed at the time I am writing this article, making this the biggest release of the year.

KFD, short for Kernel File Descriptor, is a project capable to perform Kernel Memory Read/Write operations on iOS, macOS, etc. The project bundles two vulnerabilities that can be exploited to obtain dangling PTEs, which the developer refers to as PUAF primitives, short for “physical use-after-free”.

IMPORTANT: Jailbreak applications use multiple iOS kernel vulnerabilities to enable tweaking and theming on iOS. While these applications are generally safe, using iOS vulnerabilities does reduce the security of your device and can expose the device to bugs, instability and unexpected behavior. User discretion is advised.

Can KFD be used for a full iOS 16 jailbreak on newer devices?

The short answer is yes! Let’s see why.

According to Dopamine Jailbreak developer, @opa334, this kernel exploit is powerful enough to be used for a jailbreak if we combine it with a PPL bypass.

Technically we would also need a PAC bypass for A12+ devices, but we could do without one if it comes to that as long as we have a PPL bypass.

It will require major rewrites and adaptations, but it’s possible to make a jailbreak that supports iOS 15.5 all the way up to iOS 16.5 and iOS 16.6 Beta 1 on all modern devices, including iPhone 14 Pro.

In other words, the iOS jailbreak community simply stepped on a gold mine with the release of the kfd exploits. Not only is this the first R/W kernel exploit to be publicly released for iOS 16, but it’s also incredibly powerful.

KFD for iOS 15.5 – iOS 16.5 (A12+)

The kfd project released by felix-pb is completely free and open-source, but it’s only available as source code. There’s no compiled IPA file available for you to test.

Of course, a compiled IPA file of an exploit isn’t much help for jailbreaking if you’re not a developer, you would still need to wait for an actual jailbreak tool to be made, but just in case you want to try it out on your device, I’ve compiled it on my Mac and uploaded it as a release on my GitHub fork of the kfd project.

It’s important to mention that this is just the compiled IPA of the KFD exploit project, not a jailbreak utility. I made no modifications to it other than to compile it and bundle the IPA file.

You can sideload the IPA with Sideloadly, AltStore, or whatever you prefer.

This is not a full iOS 16 jailbreak, just the KFD Kernel Exploit compiled in IPA format. It may not contain the proper offsets for your device. Please wait for a full jailbreak to be made with this.

More information about this iOS 16 exploit release

More iDevice Central guides