• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

 | 

French Authorities confirm XSS.is admin arrested in Ukraine

 | 

Microsoft linked attacks on SharePoint flaws to China-nexus actors

 | 

Cisco confirms active exploitation of ISE and ISE-PIC flaws

 | 

SharePoint under fire: new ToolShell attacks target enterprises

 | 

CrushFTP zero-day actively exploited at least since July 18

 | 

Hardcoded credentials found in HPE Aruba Instant On Wi-Fi devices

 | 

MuddyWater deploys new DCHSpy variants amid Iran-Israel conflict

 | 

U.S. CISA urges to immediately patch Microsoft SharePoint flaw adding it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Microsoft issues emergency patches for SharePoint zero-days exploited in "ToolShell" attacks

 | 

SharePoint zero-day CVE-2025-53770 actively exploited in the wild

 | 

Singapore warns China-linked group UNC3886 targets its critical infrastructure

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Fortinet FortiWeb flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 54

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 533 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Radiology Associates of Richmond data breach impacts 1.4 million people

 | 

Fortinet FortiWeb flaw CVE-2025-25257 exploited hours after PoC release

 | 

Authorities released free decryptor for Phobos and 8base ransomware

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Hacking
  • Mobile
  • Security
  • Experts demonstrate a post-exploitation tampering technique to display Fake Lockdown mode

Experts demonstrate a post-exploitation tampering technique to display Fake Lockdown mode

Pierluigi Paganini December 06, 2023

Researchers devised a new post-exploitation tampering technique to trick users into believing that their iPhone is in Lockdown Mode.

Researchers from Jamf Threat Labs devised a new post-exploit tampering technique to trick users that their compromised iPhone is running in Lockdown Mode while they are performing malicious activities.

The researchers pointed out that the issue is not a flaw in the feature or an iOS vulnerability. A malware. The good news is that this technique has not yet been observed in the wild.

“While Lockdown Mode effectively reduces the attack surface on an iOS device, it’s important to remember that once a device is already compromised, Lockdown Mode doesn’t stop malware from operating.” reads the post published by the researchers. “Lockdown Mode doesn’t function as antivirus software, it doesn’t detect existing infections, and it doesn’t affect the ability to spy on an already compromised device.”

The Lockdown Mode was first introduced by Apple in September 2022 to protect its users against “highly targeted cyberattacks.

However, if the iPhone was previously compromised, the security feature cannot block the malware from running in the background, whether the user activates Lockdown Mode or not

Upon turning on the feature in the Settings app, the method -[PUILockdownModeController setLockdownModeGloballyEnabled:] is triggered. The -[PUILockdownModeController setLockdownModeGloballyEnabled:] is an objective-C method, the researchers exmpained that it is possible to use the method_exchangeImplementations Method Hooking technique to replace its content.

The researchers’ approach is simple, when the user activates Lockdown Mode, a file named /fakelockdownmode_on is generated as an indicator, triggering a userspace reboot. The researchers also intercepted other functions, including -[PUILockdownModeController lockdownModeEnabled()], to simulate the presence of this file.

The device did not reboot and allowed the researchers to inject code to maintain adaptable control over the Lockdown Mode. The researchers pointed out that even malware lacking a persistence mechanism can persistently run and spy on the user.

Fake Lockdown Mode

An attacker could also manipulate the Lockdown Mode on the Safari web browser allowing to view PDF files, which is not possible when the security feature is enabled.

The researchers published a video PoC to show how the technique works. A user activates LockdownMode in Settings, but the feature is not activated because it is still possible to view PDF files in Safari.

In August 2023, Jamf Threat Labs researchers developed a post-exploit persistence technique on iOS 16 that trick victims into believing that the device is in functional Airplane Mode. In reality, the researchers plant an artificial Airplane Mode that modifies the UI to display Airplane Mode icons and cuts internet connection to all apps except the rogue attacker’s application. Using this trick, the attacker can maintain access to the mobile phone even when the user believes it is offline. The researchers pointed out that this technique has not yet been used in attacks in the wild.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Apple)


facebook linkedin twitter

Fake Lockdown Mode Hacking hacking news information security news iPhone IT Information Security malware Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 24, 2025
U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 23, 2025
U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Hacking / July 24, 2025

    U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Hacking / July 23, 2025

    Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

    Security / July 23, 2025

    French Authorities confirm XSS.is admin arrested in Ukraine

    Cyber Crime / July 23, 2025

    Microsoft linked attacks on SharePoint flaws to China-nexus actors

    APT / July 23, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT