What you need to know
- Someone was able to make their Mac play the Windows XP startup chime when turned on.
- It's all thanks to the T2 Checkra1n jailbreak.
- Don't try this a home, kids.
Some people just want to watch the world burn and I'm now putting YouTuber Martin Nobel into that category. I'm sure you'll agree after you watch his Mac mini play the Windows XP startup chime when powered on.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
Windows XP startup sound on new Mac mini thanks to T2 checkra1n jailbreak!
CC: @ethiogsm @adelRai2 #checkra1n #jailbreak @t8012dev pic.twitter.com/4wKMz4cV8nWindows XP startup sound on new Mac mini thanks to T2 checkra1n jailbreak!
CC: @ethiogsm @adelRai2 #checkra1n #jailbreak @t8012dev pic.twitter.com/4wKMz4cV8n— marty (@safetoshutdown) October 28, 2020October 28, 2020
Nobel says that the startup chime was made possible by the Checkra1n jailbreak. That's the T2 thing we've spoken about before. And it seems like a lot of work to make your Mac sound like a PC from the early 2000s.
Still, life would be boring if we were all the same wouldn't it?
Regardless, Apple might have a problem on its hands if it wants to try and stop this from happening. We're told that the vulnerability that makes this possible isn't fixable without swapping out some hardware.
Apple uses SecureROM in the early stages of boot. ROM cannot be altered after fabrication and is done so to prevent modifications. This usually prevents an attacker from placing malware at the beginning of the boot chain, but in this case also prevents Apple from fixing the SecureROM. The net effect is Apple cannot fix this problem without replacing the T2 chip, but as long as a machine is bootable into DFU, it can be "repaired" by a trustworthy second machine.
Hopefully the worst thing people do is make their Macs sound like PCs.
