An iPhone 11 exploit described as “uncorrectable” was published last month by cybersecurity research firm Paradigm Shift, then removed after a lawsuit was filed by digital forensics company Magnet Forensics, according to court documents. Magnet alleges the disclosed vulnerability substantially matched work done by its former employee, Mario Del Gaudio, and claims misappropriation of trade secrets.
Exploit at the center of a corporate dispute
A complaint filed this month in a federal court in Georgia asserts that the flaw disclosed by Paradigm Shift is “substantially the same” as the vulnerability Del Gaudio was working on prior to joining the new team. Magnet Forensics contends Del Gaudio revealed protected information belonging to his former employer. After the complaint was filed, Paradigm Shift pulled its blog post that detailed the exploit.
A boot ROM vulnerability — why it can’t be patched
The issue affects Apple’s A12 and A13 chips, which power devices including the iPhone XS and the iPhone 11 series, among others. It’s a boot ROM vulnerability — code stored in read-only memory on the chip — meaning it cannot be corrected with an iOS software update. That “uncorrectable” hardware-level nature is central: once exploited, the weakness persists until the chip architecture itself is replaced.
Security implications and the impact of limited disclosure
Paradigm Shift’s initial publication highlighted an exploit for the iPhone 11 that is difficult to mitigate by software alone. Pulling the blog reduced public access to technical details, while Magnet Forensics’ legal action seeks to establish whether trade secrets were appropriated and shared. Practically speaking, the combination of a persistent hardware vulnerability and ongoing litigation complicates public risk assessment and the responsible disclosure of technical information about the exploit.
(Note: the original French source ends abruptly; if you’d like, I can expand the coverage with additional context about the litigation or technical background.)
