Hacker team Calif has demonstrated a jailbreak on an iPhone with Lockdown Mode enabled, with the jailbreak appearing to remain in place after an iOS update. The demonstration comes just over a week after the group jailbroke an iPhone Duo on its launch day.
In a video shared by Calif, an iPhone 18 Pro is shown in Lockdown Mode before iOS 27.2 is installed. The device remains jailbroken after the update. The video does not establish whether the jailbreak can be installed on an iPhone already running iOS 27.2.
The footage shows a malicious PDF being sent to the target phone through AirDrop and accepted by the user. Calif has not shared further details, so the exact steps used to jailbreak the device are unknown.
Apple describes Lockdown Mode as “extreme protection” for people who may be targeted by sophisticated mercenary spyware. The feature blocks most message attachment types, limits web technologies, prevents FaceTime calls from unfamiliar callers, disables invitations to Apple services and removes location information from photos.
Calif has previously said it was disclosing vulnerabilities to Apple and did not plan to release a jailbreak tool for end users. Apple told TechCrunch earlier this year that it was not aware of successful mercenary spyware attacks against an iPhone in Lockdown Mode.
Sources: MacRumors.