Apple iPhone USB-C Hacked—What You Need To Know

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Now security researchers have disclosed details of a successful bypass of Apple security protections to hack the iPhone USB-C controller.
For everyone else, here’s the TL;DR. ForbesAndroid And iPhone Security Attacks—All Users Warned To Do This Now The ACE3 custom USB-C controller was introduced with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro series, which brought the change to USB-C for Apple’s smartphone users.
Stacksmashing Explains The iPhone USB-C Hack Vulnerability Risk I spoke to Roth to find out more.
I asked Roth about the potential impacts that his USB-C hack could have on iPhone security.
Roth told me that he had reported both his earlier ACE2 attack and the ACE3 attack to Apple.

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It hasn’t been the most comforting few weeks for Apple users, as 100 million macOS users are already in shock over news of a new credential-stealing attack, Safari users have been warned not to click twice, and there has even been a report that iOS is more hacked than Android. Security researchers have now revealed information about how to successfully get around Apple security measures in order to hack the iPhone USB-C controller. What does this entail for the security of smartphones, then?

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hacking the USB-C controller for iPhones.

Recently, a security researcher’s talk from the 38th Chaos Communication Congress, or 38C3, in Hamburg, Germany, at the end of 2024, was made available on video. The renowned Chaos Computer Club organizes the four-day conference, which covers “technology, society, and utopia.” It is usually guaranteed to produce something startling for the security community. 38C3 was no exception, and in my opinion, the most shocking aspect was the hacking of Apple’s highly customized ACE3 USB-C controller, which debuted with the iPhone 15 series. Thomas Roth, who goes by the hacker handle stacksmashing, identifies as a security researcher who “makes videos on hardware security, reverse-engineering, and everything else I find interesting.”. And fortunately, they do. If you have a technical mindset, you should watch the entire 38C3 presentation video. Here is the TL;DR for everyone else.

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The transition to USB-C for Apple smartphone users was brought about by the introduction of the ACE3 custom USB-C controller with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro series. According to Roth, the iPhone is a “full microcontroller running a full USB stack connected to some of the internal busses of the device” in addition to controlling USB power delivery. The researcher was able to accomplish code execution on the ACE3 by taking advantage of a wide range of techniques, such as side-channel analysis, electromagnetic fault-injection, and reverse engineering. What does all of that mean? Accordingly, Roth could dump the ROM and examine functionality.

I’ve asked Apple for a statement.

The risk of an iPhone USB-C hack is explained by stacksmashing.

I asked Roth for more information. First, there’s good news: Roth informed me that the research “does not have much impact beyond the iPhone/MacBook,” so you can rest easy about the wider smartphone ecosystem, Android users take note. I questioned Roth about the possible effects his USB-C hack might have on iPhone security, but what about iOS users? Roth clarified that there are numerous ways that modern smartphones can be insecure, including software that runs on the main processor, baseband software (which manages mobile connectivity), the secure element, or chips like the ACE3. According to Roth, the biggest challenge is how someone can start researching a chip in a device for which there isn’t any firmware or documentation available. Roth stated, “It basically lays the groundwork for further research by showing how one can get code-execution (and dump the firmware) of the ACE3, and by having the firmware, one can now start looking for software vulnerabilities that might be there.”. Therefore, if any new security flaws are discovered, things might start to get interesting from this point on. To be honest, they’re really intriguing, depending on who discovers them. After all, not everyone who investigates hacking of this kind has the same motives as Roth.

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Regarding that, I inquired about Roth’s communication with Apple about the results of his study. Roth informed me that he had notified Apple of both the ACE3 attack and his previous ACE2 attack. According to Roth, “they initially assured me that they would fix the ACE2 (software) attack in the fall of 2024, but they later informed me that they won’t fix it because it’s a hardware issue.”. Regarding the ACE3 attack, however, Roth stated that Apple “saw the attack complexity and said that they don’t see it as a threat – I agree with that sentiment but wanted to at least have reported it!” The rationale used, according to Roth, was that “this is essentially foundational research, the first steps that are needed to find other attacks on the chip,” as previously explained. “.”.

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