Experts Discover Method to Recover Deleted Files on iPhone

Cybersecurity researchers have demonstrated a new method for recovering previously deleted photos and files on the iPhone X running iOS 12.1. The discovery was made by Richard Zhu and Amat Cama during the Mobile Pwn2Own competition.

How the Recovery Method Works

When a photo is deleted on an iPhone, it is first moved to the trash, where it remains for 30 days before being permanently erased. Users can also permanently delete files immediately through the “Recently Deleted” folder, making recovery impossible through standard means. However, the researchers found a way to restore recently deleted photos using a security vulnerability.

The attack required direct access to the iPhone and exploited a vulnerability in the Safari browser, specifically in the JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler that processes code at runtime. The researchers were able to exploit this issue using a malicious Wi-Fi access point.

Potential Impact and Apple’s Response

Theoretically, this attack could be used to extract any data processed by the JIT compiler. The researchers demonstrated the method using a photo as an example. For their work, they received a $50,000 reward.

Apple has been informed about the vulnerability. While it remains unpatched for now, it is likely that the company will address the issue in a future iOS update.