In a solemn reminder that no system is 100% safe and unhackable, it was announced over the weekend that security researchers have managed to successfully hack Apple’s proprietary ACE3 USB-C controller, which handles both power delivery and works as a sophisticated microcontroller with access to internal systems.
Introduced with iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, the ACE3 USB-C controller is much more than a standard USB-C chip; it also runs a complete USB stack and connects to internal devices buses including the Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) application processor and System Power Management Interface (SPMI) bus. The ACE3 features personalized firmware updates, disabled debug interfaces and cryptographically validated external flash memory.
All these capabilities make the chip both an integral part of Apple’s ecosystem and a very attractive target for both security researchers as well as for cybercriminals. However, the ACE3 USB-C controller, which is manufactured by Texas Instruments for Apple, is harder to exploit than its predecessor, the ACE2. The security researchers had to use more advanced hardware techniques to crack ACE3, while ACE2 was easier to exploit with software vulnerabilities.
A breakthrough of this nature has obvious implications for device security, given ACE3’s integration with the device’s internal systems. The security flaw achieved by researchers could lead to untethered jailbreaks, persistent firmware implants capable of compromising the main operating system or unauthorized access by malicious actors.
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