--- title: Why are people suddenly adding Apple Lightning cables to... description: A hardware exploit called usbliter8 uses the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 (RP2350) as a tool for jailbreaking or bypassing Apple devices with A12/A13/S4/S5 chips,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-people-suddenly-adding-apple-lightning-cables-to-raspberry-pi-pico-2-boards--osanzine7 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Why are people suddenly adding Apple Lightning cables to Raspberry Pi Pico 2 boards? | daily.dev og:description: A hardware exploit called usbliter8 uses the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 (RP2350) as a tool for jailbreaking or bypassing Apple devices with A12/A13/S4/S5 chips,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-people-suddenly-adding-apple-lightning-cables-to-raspberry-pi-pico-2-boards--osanzine7 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/OsaNzInE7.png og:image:alt: Why are people suddenly adding Apple Lightning cables to Raspberry Pi Pico 2 boards? og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Why are people suddenly adding Apple Lightning cables to Raspberry Pi Pico 2 boards? **[CNX Software](https://daily.dev/sources/cnx-software)** · [@cnxsoft](https://daily.dev/cnxsoft) · 2 min read · 10 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A hardware exploit called usbliter8 uses the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 (RP2350) as a tool for jailbreaking or bypassing Apple devices with A12/A13/S4/S5 chips, including iPhone XS/XR/11 and certain iPads and Apple Watches. The exploit targets an unpatchable BootROM/SecureROM bug in the Synopsys DWC2 USB controller that standard computer USB stacks can't trigger, which is why a Pico board with a Lightning cable is needed. The original disclosure by Paradigm Shift was taken down following a US federal court order from a Magnet Forensics trade-secrets lawsuit, but forks remain on GitHub and Chinese vendors already sell purpose-built RP2354A boards with Lightning and USB-C connectors for about $10. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the usbliter8 exploit and which Apple devices does it affect? Usbliter8 is an unpatchable, hardware-level BootROM/SecureROM exploit affecting Apple devices with A12, A13, and S4/S5 chips, including the iPhone XS, XR, and 11 series, certain iPads, and some Apple Watches. Created by Paradigm Shift, it was publicly disclosed on June 18, 2026, and enables jailbreaking, security research, and system recovery. It exploits a bug in the Synopsys DWC2 USB controller. _Security researchers tracking hardware bootrom exploits like usbliter8 can follow developments on daily.dev._ ### Why do people use Raspberry Pi Pico 2 boards with Lightning cables for iPhone jailbreaking? Raspberry Pi RP2350-based Pico 2 boards are used because the usbliter8 exploit targets a low-level bug in the Synopsys DWC2 USB controller found in these chips, which typical computer USB stacks cannot trigger. Wiring a Pico 2 to a Lightning cable lets it send the specific USB signals needed to exploit affected Apple A12/A13/S4/S5 devices. Prebuilt RP2354A boards with Lightning and USB-C connectors are now sold for about $10. _Hardware hackers repurposing microcontrollers for exploits like this follow the details on daily.dev._ ### Why was the usbliter8 exploit source code taken down from GitHub? The original Paradigm Shift blog post and GitHub code were removed following a U.S. federal court order tied to a trade-secrets lawsuit filed by Magnet Forensics. Despite the takedown, forks of the exploit remain available on GitHub and other sources, and the original post was preserved via an archive snapshot dated June 18, 2026. _Developers following legal fights over disclosed exploits can track the fallout on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Unpatchable usbliter8 Exploit Breaks Apple A12 and A13 SecureROM Boot Chain](https://daily.dev/posts/unpatchable-usbliter8-exploit-breaks-apple-a12-and-a13-securerom-boot-chain-fdgy9juoo) · Security Boulevard · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [A Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W-sized board with 41 GPIOs, 16MB flash, USB-C port](https://daily.dev/posts/a-raspberry-pi-pico-2-w-sized-board-with-41-gpios-16mb-flash-usb-c-port-erk8fbp8z) · CNX Software · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [A new unpatchable flaw in Apple chips opens the door to an iPhone jailbreak](https://daily.dev/posts/a-new-unpatchable-flaw-in-apple-chips-opens-the-door-to-an-iphone-jailbreak-qqrtgimnp) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [usbliter8 Exploit Achieves Code Execution in Apple’s Unpatchable SecureROM](https://daily.dev/posts/usbliter8-exploit-achieves-code-execution-in-apple-s-unpatchable-securerom-1zk5jtlnj) · Latest Hacking News · 11 upvotes · 1 comments - [Looking At A Real Fake Raspberry Pi RP2040 Board](https://daily.dev/posts/looking-at-a-real-fake-raspberry-pi-rp2040-board-jqt4w3iyj) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#apple](https://daily.dev/tags/apple), [#embedded](https://daily.dev/tags/embedded), [#raspberry-pi](https://daily.dev/tags/raspberry-pi), [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-people-suddenly-adding-apple-lightning-cables-to-raspberry-pi-pico-2-boards--osanzine7) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Why are people suddenly adding Apple Lightning cables to Raspberry Pi Pico 2 boards?","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-people-suddenly-adding-apple-lightning-cables-to-raspberry-pi-pico-2-boards--osanzine7","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-people-suddenly-adding-apple-lightning-cables-to-raspberry-pi-pico-2-boards--osanzine7"},"datePublished":"2026-08-20T09:22:35.374Z","dateModified":"2026-10-15T02:22:25.847Z","description":"A hardware exploit called usbliter8 uses the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 (RP2350) as a tool for jailbreaking or bypassing Apple devices with A12/A13/S4/S5 chips,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bbb2ed8691cbfcc91c8ca2ef00cae8d5?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bbb2ed8691cbfcc91c8ca2ef00cae8d5?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"CNX Software","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"CNXSoft","url":"https://daily.dev/cnxsoft","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1366138?v=4","interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"EndorseAction"},"userInteractionCount":510}},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-people-suddenly-adding-apple-lightning-cables-to-raspberry-pi-pico-2-boards--osanzine7","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":10},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"apple,embedded,raspberry-pi,security","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CNX Software","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/cnx-software"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Why are people suddenly adding Apple Lightning cables to Raspberry Pi Pico 2 boards?"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-people-suddenly-adding-apple-lightning-cables-to-raspberry-pi-pico-2-boards--osanzine7#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the usbliter8 exploit and which Apple devices does it affect?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Usbliter8 is an unpatchable, hardware-level BootROM/SecureROM exploit affecting Apple devices with A12, A13, and S4/S5 chips, including the iPhone XS, XR, and 11 series, certain iPads, and some Apple Watches. Created by Paradigm Shift, it was publicly disclosed on June 18, 2026, and enables jailbreaking, security research, and system recovery. It exploits a bug in the Synopsys DWC2 USB controller. Security researchers tracking hardware bootrom exploits like usbliter8 can follow developments on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why do people use Raspberry Pi Pico 2 boards with Lightning cables for iPhone jailbreaking?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Raspberry Pi RP2350-based Pico 2 boards are used because the usbliter8 exploit targets a low-level bug in the Synopsys DWC2 USB controller found in these chips, which typical computer USB stacks cannot trigger. Wiring a Pico 2 to a Lightning cable lets it send the specific USB signals needed to exploit affected Apple A12/A13/S4/S5 devices. Prebuilt RP2354A boards with Lightning and USB-C connectors are now sold for about $10. 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