How to Detect Cydia Jailbreak Against iOS Apps Using AI
This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Detect Jailbreak in iOS apps.
What Is Cydia?
Cydia is an alternative app store for jailbroken iOS devices that bypasses Apple’s security protocols, allowing users to install unauthorized apps and modifications. While jailbreaking offers customization, it significantly compromises device security by granting elevated privileges that expose the device to malware and unauthorized data access. Apps downloaded from Cydia often fail to comply with regulatory standards like GDPR or HIPAA, increasing the risk of data breaches.
Preventing app access on jailbroken devices is critical for maintaining compliance and safeguarding sensitive data from high-risk environments where personal information may be exposed or stolen.
How Appdome Protects iOS Apps Against Cydia?
Appdome’s dynamic Detect Jailbreak plugin for iOS prevents the use of Cydia by identifying jailbreaking activity and blocking apps from running on compromised devices. This protection ensures that unauthorized modifications, such as elevated privileges or installation of unverified apps, are detected and prevented. By addressing the risks associated with jailbreaking utilities like Cydia, Appdome safeguards sensitive data, ensures app integrity, and maintains compliance with regulatory standards. Mobile developers can leverage Appdome’s Threat-Events™ to collect detailed data on Jailbreak attacks and tailor in-app responses based on detected threats.
Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Jailbreak Detection Plugins:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect Jailbreak , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Jailbreak Detection
- Mobile App (.ipa for iOS)
- Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
How to Implement Detect Jailbreak in iOS Apps Using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending iOS Apps that Detect Jailbreak without an SDK or gateway:
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Designate the Mobile App to be protected.
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Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.
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iOS Formats: .ipa
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Jailbreak Detection is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, Swift, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other iOS apps.
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Select the defense: Jailbreak Detection.
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Jailbreak Detection feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.
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When you select the Jailbreak Detection you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Jailbreak Detection.
Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Jailbreak Detection protection
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):
Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary
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Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
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Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Jailbreak Detection feature as shown below:Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Jailbreak Detection feature
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Add the Jailbreak Detection feature to your security template.
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Navigate to Build > Security tab > OS Integrity section in the Appdome Console.
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Toggle OnJailbreak Detection.
(a) Choose to monitor this attack vector by checking the Threat Events checkbox associated with Jailbreak Detection as shown below.
(b) To receive mobile Threat Monitoring, check the ThreatScope™ box as shown below. For more details, see our knowledge base article on ThreatScope™ Mobile XDR.Figure 4: Selecting Detect Jailbreak
Note: The Appdome Platform displays the Mobile Operation Systems supported by each defense in real-time. For more details, see our OS Support Policy KB. -
Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Jailbreak Detection:
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Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense
If the Threat-Events™ setting is not selected. Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Jailbreak.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection
When this setting is used, Appdome detects that the app is running on a Jailbroken device and using Cydia and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing, enforcement, and user notification. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ to Detect Jailbreak Detection Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense
When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Jailbreak (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Detect Jailbreak Detection Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Configure the User Experience Options for Jailbreak Detection:
With Threat-Events™ OFF, Appdome provides several user experience options for mobile brands and developers.- App Compromise Notification: Customize the pop-up or toast Appdome uses to notify the user when a threat is present while using the protected mobile app.
- Short message Option. This is available for mobile devices that allow a banner notification for security events.
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Localized Message Option. Allows Appdome users to support global languages in security notifications.
Figure 5: Default User Experience Options for Appdome’s Jailbreak
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Jailbreak Detection Threat Code™. Appdome uses AI/ML to generate a unique code each time Jailbreak Detection is triggered by an active threat on the mobile device. Use the code in Appdome Threat Resolution Center™ to help end users identify, find and resolve active threats on the personal mobile devices.
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Congratulations! The Jailbreak Detection protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Jailbreak Detection feature in iOS Apps
After building Jailbreak Detection, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Jailbreak Detection protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Jailbreak Detection protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
Figure 6: Certified Secure™ certificate
Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Jailbreak Detection has been added to each iOS app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Jailbreak Detection and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.
Using Threat-Events™ for Jailbreak Intelligence and Control in iOS Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Jailbreak is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Jailbreak in iOS Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Jailbreak shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Jailbreak are:
Threat-Event™ Elements | Detect Jailbreak Method Detail |
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Appdome Feature Name | Jailbreak Detection |
Threat-Event Mode | |
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE | Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging. |
ON, IN-APP DETECTION | Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce). |
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE | Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection). |
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check | |
Visible in ThreatScope™ | |
Developer Parameters for Detecting Jailbreak Threat-Event™ | |
Threat-Event NAME | JailbrokenDevice |
Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
Threat-Event REF | 6801 |
Threat-Event SCORE | |
currentThreatEventScore | Current Threat-Event score |
threatEventsScore | Total Threat-events score |
Threat-Event Context Keys | |
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message | Message displayed for the user on event |
failSafeEnforce | Timed enforcement against the identified threat |
externalID | The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events |
osVersion | OS version of the current device |
deviceModel | Current device model |
deviceManufacturer | The manufacturer of the current device |
fusedAppToken | The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app |
kernelInfo | Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine. |
deviceID | Current device ID |
reasonCode | Reason code of the occurred event |
buildDate | Appdome fusion date of the current application |
devicePlatform | OS name of the current device |
updatedOSVersion | Is the OS version up to date |
timeZone | Time zone |
deviceFaceDown | Is the device face down |
locationLong | Location longitude conditioned by location permission |
locationLat | Location latitude conditioned by location permission |
locationState | Location state conditioned by location permission |
wifiSsid | Wifi SSID |
wifiSsidPermissionStatus | Wifi SSID permission status |
threatCode | The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device. |
internalError | Internal error code as hex |
extendedMessageText | Internal error code |
rInternalErrorCode | Internal error code |
reason | Reason for the root detection |
With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), iOS developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in iOS applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Jailbreak is detected.
The following is a code sample for native iOS apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Jailbreak Detection:
Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.
x
let center = NotificationCenter.default
center.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("JailbrokenDevice"), object: nil, queue: nil) { (note) in
guard let usrInf = note.userInfo else {
return
}
let message = usrInf["message"]; // Message shown to the user
let reasonData = usrInf["reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause
let reasonCode = usrInf["reasonCode"]; // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"];
// Total threat events score
let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"];
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"];
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured iOS Apps by using Jailbreak Detection. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.
Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Jailbreak Detection
After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps.
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores.
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
Related Articles:
Here are some KB articles related to Cydia and iOS Jailbreaking:
- How to Detect PlankFilza File System Tool, Protect iOS Apps
- How to Detect Checkra1n iOS Jailbreak, Protect iOS Apps
- How to Detect Magisk Hide in Android Apps
How Do I Learn More?
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
Thank you!
Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.