iOS 7.1 Beta 4 Jailbreak: Apple Closes Evasi0n 7 Exploits In Latest Developer Beta For iPhone 5S And iPad Air

As Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) released iOS 7.1 beta 4 to developers this week, jailbreakers immediately began wondering whether the security holes and exploits used by the Evasi0n 7 jailbreak had been patched.

While some intrepid users on social news site Reddit created an unofficial version of Evasi0n 7 for iOS 7.1 beta 4, it appears that exploits used by Evasi0n may have been closed, according to user feedback after using the unofficially patched version of Evasi0n 7.

Note: International Business Times is not responsible for any damage caused by running jailbreak tools and unofficial software on your iOS device. Jailbreak at your own risk.

Several Reddit users have commented that their iPhone 5S, iPad Air and other iOS devices were stuck in a “boot loop,” indicating that exploits used by the Evasi0n iOS jailbreak may have been patched.

While this doesn’t fully indicate whether or not the exploits have been patched, some jailbreak developers have been relatively mum on the subject.

Previous beta versions, such as iOS 7.1 beta 3, didn't close any of the security holes used by Evasi0n at the time, which explains why the Evasi0n 7 jailbreak still worked before this latest iOS 7.1 beta 4 update.

As for why jailbreak developers have remained somewhat quiet, iOS security researcher and developer MuscleNerd left a note on his Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) account, explaining the relative silence from jailbreak developers:

While most iOS developers have been somewhat quiet on the details regarding the status of the Evasi0n 7 jailbreak on iOS 7.1 beta 4, a tweet by Coolstar, another developer, indicates that the exploits used by the Evasi0n iOS 7.x jailbreak have indeed been patched:

As for whether or not a jailbreak will arise for iOS 7.1 beta 4, iOS jailbreak developers such as iH8Sn0w have indicated that it is unlikely another Evasi0n update would surface before the final release of iOS 7.1.

Controversy arose among jailbreakers earlier this month after iH8Sn0w released his P0sixspwn untethered jailbreak for iOS 6.1.5, which supposedly "burned" a valuable jailbreak exploit, casting doubt on the possibility of finding a viable exploit to use for a public jailbreak.

If there are other iOS exploits out in the wild, iOS jailbreak developers probably will save them for a future jailbreak once iOS 7.1 or later is slated for a full public release, which is expected sometime in March. According to a tweet by iH8sn0w, iOS 7.1 beta 4 (build number 11D5134C) will expire on March 3 at midnight GMT.

In the meantime, it is still possible to jailbreak iOS 7.0 through 7.0.4 using the Evasi0n 7 iOS 7 jailbreak tool developed by the Evad3rs development team. If you’re currently running these versions, take a look at IBTimes’ jailbreak guide on how to run the Evasi0n jailbreak on your iOS device.

Are you planning to keep your jailbroken iOS device on version 7.0.4 once iOS 7.1 is fully released, or will you sacrifice your jailbreak for the latest update? Let us know in the comment section below.

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