XcodeRootDebug

中文

Allow xcode to start a custom debugserver with root privileges to debug iOS apps.

Currently only tested on the following jailbroken devices:

iPhone 6s 14.2
iPhone 7 13.6.1
iPhone 7 15.6.1
iPhone X 16.6.1
iPhone 11 Pro 14.2

Theoretically supports iOS10 and above devices, including A12.

Repo：https://repo.byteage.com

How to use

Install

Add the source https://repo.byteage.com and install it directly
Download the source code, compile and install

Configuration

According to the device system version, find the corresponding dmg file in Xcode, such as /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/DeviceSupport/14.3/DeveloperDiskImage.dmg
Double-click the dmg to mount and copy /Volumes/DeveloperDiskImage/usr/bin/debugserver to ~/Desktop/debugserver
Copy the following content and save it to ~/Desktop/debugserver.entitlements

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>com.apple.springboard.debugapplications</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.backboardd.launchapplications</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.backboardd.debugapplications</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.frontboard.launchapplications</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.frontboard.debugapplications</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.private.logging.diagnostic</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.security.network.server</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.security.network.client</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.private.memorystatus</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.private.cs.debugger</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.private.thread-set-state</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.private.security.no-container</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.private.skip-library-validation</key>
	<true/>
	<key>com.apple.system-task-ports</key>
	<true/>
	<key>get-task-allow</key>
	<true/>
	<key>platform-application</key>
	<true/>
	<key>run-unsigned-code</key>
	<true/>
	<key>task_for_pid-allow</key>
	<true/>
</dict>
</plist>

Use ldid to sign new permissions on debugserver

cd ~/Desktop
ldid -Sdebugserver.entitlements debugserver

Copy the signed debugserver to the /usr/bin/debugserver path of the jailbroken device, and use the root user to give it executable permissions

chmod +x /usr/bin/debugserver

Execute debugserver to ensure normal operation

iPhone-X:~ root# debugserver
debugserver-@(#)PROGRAM:LLDB PROJECT:lldb-1403.2.3.13
 for arm64.
Usage:
  debugserver host:port [program-name program-arg1 program-arg2 ...]
  debugserver /path/file [program-name program-arg1 program-arg2 ...]
  debugserver host:port --attach=<pid>
  debugserver /path/file --attach=<pid>
  debugserver host:port --attach=<process_name>
  debugserver /path/file --attach=<process_name>

Restart lockdownd on jailbroken device

killall lockdownd

Connect the jailbroken device to the computer, open Xcode, and use the menu Debug->Attach to Process by PID or Name... or Debug->Attach to Process to attach to any process you want to debug.

Known issues

If you use Palera1n jailbroken device, you must install the ldid from the official source palera1n strap, and then copy debugserver.entitlements and debugserver to the jailbroken device , and execute the ldid -Sdebugserver.entitlements debugserver command on the jailbroken device, otherwise debugserver cannot be started. The ldid of the official source has been modified. Only by using it to sign the executable program can the command line tool be executed normally, otherwise an error will be reported.

Background

Usually, when we use xcode for real machine debugging, there are the following limitations:

The debugger can only be started with mobile permissions
The debugger that can be started can only be /Developer/usr/bin/debugserver

Based on the above limitations, the following problems arise:

Unable to debug system processes, such as: Cydia、Safiri
Unable to debug the app downloaded from AppStore, the app needs to be re-signed after smashing the shell

To solve the above problems, you need to use debugserver with high permissions. For the specific configuration process, you can refer to the article Tips and Problem Handling for Configuring DebugServer + lldb Debugging Environment under iOS12.

To solve the above limitations, you need to install this tweak.

After installing this tweak, it will allow developers to use xcode to start a custom debugserver with root privileges for debugging.

You can set the tweak in settings。

Article

You can read this post to get some information.

geekonion/XcodeRootDebug