SPTM/MIE deep dive: sptm.t8160 820.22 -> 820.40.24 (+64 KiB)
- docs/SPTM-MIE-27.2.md: separate SPTM firmware changed (kernel __DATA_SPTM is not the monitor); new DART GAPF race, GMMU TLBI verification, iommu refcount, Dekker locks, hibernation handoff/latch checks; TXM build-only; Exclave +229 KB; MIE SK tag-page check unchanged (210 insns, relocated) - candidate directions: DART unganged-GAPF race, hibernation handoff page count, SK tag-page aliasing, dangling tag storage; no working bypass - correct the earlier claim that SPTM was unchanged - tools: fw_diff, string_xref, func_string_diff
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# SPTM / MIE deep dive — iOS 27.2 (24B119) vs 27.0.1 (24A446)
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This is the part that the kernelcache alone cannot answer. SPTM is a separate
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firmware image in the IPSW (`Firmware/sptm.t8160.release.im4p`), and it **did**
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change in 27.2. The earlier note that "SPTM is unchanged" was based only on the
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kernel's `__DATA_SPTM` segment and was wrong: that segment is identical, but the
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SPTM monitor itself is not.
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## Component inventory
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| Component | 27.0.1 | 27.2 | Change |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| `sptm.t8160` | 1,261,600 B · SPTM-820.0.22 | 1,327,136 B · SPTM-820.40.24 | **+65,536 B** |
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| `txm.iphoneos` | 557,088 B · Image4 374~7022 | 557,088 B · Image4 374~8637 | build-only |
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| `exclavecore.t8160` | 33,259,754 B | 33,489,130 B | +229,376 B |
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| kernel `__DATA_SPTM` | 311,296 B · sha f4bc1e5e… | 311,296 B · sha f4bc1e5e… | **identical** |
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| kernel MTE strings | `VM_KERN_MEMORY_MTAG`, taggable pages | same | unchanged |
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SPTM segment sizes:
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| Segment | 27.0.1 | 27.2 |
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|---|---|---|
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| `__TEXT_EXEC` | 425,984 | 425,984 |
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| `__LATE_CONST` | 524,288 | **589,824** (+65,536) |
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| `__TEXT` / `__DATA` / `__BOOTDATA` | 98,304 / 65,536 / 98,304 | same |
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The +64 KiB is entirely in `__LATE_CONST`; the executable text kept its size but
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its hash changed (`347aa218…` → `064c286f…`), so functions were edited/relocated.
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## What 27.2 adds to SPTM
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String diff (32 new, 7 removed) is dominated by IOMMU/DART and hibernation
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hardening — none of it is named in the 162-CVE advisory:
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- `VIOLATION_T8110_DART_UNGANG_GAPF_RACE`
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- `%s: %s: iommu_read_refcnt (0x%hhx) > read_refcnt(0x%x) for FTE %p`
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- `%s: Failed to verify TLBI`
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- `%s: The GMMU TLBI verification register should be 8B-aligned`
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- `gmmu-tlbi-verification-reg` / `gmmu-tlbi-verification-bit`
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- `%s: UAT Dekker gate acquisition timed out after %llu ns`
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- `%s: UAT Dekker lock acquisition timed out after %llu ns`
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- `%s: dart %p (%s:%u): relaxed_rw_protections and allow_pte_remap are not supported together`
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- `%s: dart %p (%s:%u): Inconsistent unganged clock protection configuration`
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- `VIOLATION_NVME_ILLEGAL_HIBERNATION_QUEUE_LATCH`
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- `hib_header_copy->handoffPageCount < HIB_HANDOFF_PAGECOUNT_LIMIT`
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- `sptm_allow_vm_isa_internal_guests`, `sptm_is_iuou_or_iuos_device`
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- `SPTM-820.40.24|2026-10-03:14:50:35`
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The TLBI string has five code xrefs in 27.2, at functions starting near
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`0xfffffff0270c7aac`, `0xfffffff0270c85f8`, `0xfffffff0270c987c`,
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`0xfffffff0270cacf4` and `0xfffffff027109940`. These are new/edited DART
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invalidation paths, not present in the 27.0.1 image.
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The DART violation names are not referenced by a direct `adr`/`adrp+add` — they
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are indexed through a violation table, so their exact raiser is a table lookup.
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The name itself is the evidence that 27.2 adds a check for the T8110 DART
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"ungang GAPF" race.
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## MIE / MTE surface
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MIE is not a single binary. The relevant pieces are:
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- **SPTM**: manages tag pages and checks `MTE tag page containing SK tags is
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mapped`. The function is at `0xfffffff0270c6320` in 27.0.1 and
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`0xfffffff0270d7028` in 27.2; both are exactly 210 instructions, same prologue
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and same range-check shape (`subs` + `ccmp` against two globals). It was
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relocated, not rewritten.
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- **Kernel**: the MTE page allocator (`VM_KERN_MEMORY_MTAG`, taggable pages, MTE
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fill thread) has the same strings in both builds; no new MTE logic appears in
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the 62 new kernel strings.
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- **Exclave core**: carries the PMM tag machinery (`pmmtag_l4_decode`,
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`Conclave MTE tag check fault`, shared-memory tags), and grew by 229,376 B.
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That is a separate firmware update; no CVE in the advisory names it.
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So the MIE *policy* surface in SPTM and XNU is unchanged in 27.2. The only
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MIE-adjacent code that changed is inside Exclave, which is a separate domain.
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Related SPTM strings that were already present in 27.0.1 and remain:
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- `%s: Dangling tag storage reference from previous mapping attempt`
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- `%s: Found SK-owned memory in non-wired memory`
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- `%s: dart %p (%s:%u): power down not permitted as SK still using the DART`
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The dangling-tag check is a real state machine: a previous tag-storage mapping
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attempt can leave a reference that SPTM detects later. It exists in both builds,
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so it is not a 27.2 fix; it is an audit target.
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## Why Titan does not transfer
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Titan (iOS 16.1–17.4b3, A14–A17) is not an SPTM logic bug. It uses:
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1. AGX coprocessor code execution to overwrite the AGX `power` thread state;
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2. the AGX hibernation context to restore a attacker-supplied `TTBR1_EL1` and a
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second ROP stack (microPPL bypass);
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3. a self-referencing page-table entry to map and write any physical page,
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defeating PPL/SPTM.
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Apple patched the AGX thread-state PAC in 18.1b4 and the TTBR restore in 17.4b4.
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The 27.2 SPTM diff is not a return of that bug: it is DART/hibernation hardening
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inside the monitor. A 27.2-era bypass would need a new primitive that can either
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(a) make SPTM map a page table it does not protect, or (b) corrupt the tag/SK
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metadata that SPTM trusts. There is no such primitive in the diff.
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## Candidate bypass directions (hypotheses, not PoCs)
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These are grounded in the 27.2 changes and the unchanged MIE checks. None is a
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working exploit; each needs a reachable primitive that the firmware diff does
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not supply.
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1. **DART unganged-GAPF race.** 27.2 adds a violation for a race between
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unganging a DART and a page-table remap. On 27.0.1 the race can leave a stale
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DART translation if a mapping is unganged while a PTE is remapped. A stale
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IOMMU translation is a DMA read/write primitive to memory SPTM considers
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protected. Reachability: a userclient that owns DART mappings (IOGPU, display,
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NVMe, PCIe). This is the closest analogue to a "SPTM bypass", but it is an
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IOMMU bypass, not a page-table permission bypass.
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2. **Hibernation handoff page count.** 27.2 adds
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`hib_header_copy->handoffPageCount < HIB_HANDOFF_PAGECOUNT_LIMIT` and the
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NVMe hibernation queue latch violation. On 27.0.1 a corrupted hibernation
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header could make SPTM restore from a handoff page it did not size-check.
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Reachability: modifying the hibernation image or the NVMe queue, not an app.
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3. **SK tag-page aliasing.** The SPTM check only rejects a tag page whose
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physical address falls in the `[start,end)` range loaded from two globals. A
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mapping that aliases the same physical tag page at a different PA, or a
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remap that changes the range after the check, would let user-controlled tags
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cover SK memory. That is an MIE bypass: forge the tag for an SK page, then
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read/write it. Reachability: a kernel primitive that maps tag storage with a
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user-influenced PA; not present in the 27.2 diff.
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4. **Dangling tag-storage reference.** SPTM already detects a dangling
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reference from a previous mapping attempt. A race between unmap and remap of
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tag storage could leave the stale reference usable; the freed tag page could
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be reallocated as a user tag page. Same MIE impact as (3).
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## Verdict
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- SPTM **did** change: 820.0.22 → 820.40.24, +64 KiB, DART/TLBI/hibernation
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hardening. The kernel-side `__DATA_SPTM` being identical is not evidence that
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SPTM is unchanged.
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- No SPTM/MIE bypass is named in the 27.2 advisory, and no page-table permission
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check was removed or weakened in the diff. The changes add checks.
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- MIE policy in SPTM/XNU is unchanged; Exclave changed separately.
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- A working bypass was **not** produced. The candidate paths above need a
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reachable primitive (DART userclient, tag-storage mapping, or hibernation
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image control) and a device session; writing one blind would be guesswork.
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## Reproduce
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```bash
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python3 tools/ipsw/remote_ipsw.py extract <url> sptm work/fw/27.2-sptm.im4p
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python3 tools/ipsw/ipswlib.py kernel ... # IM4P/LZFSE decode
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python3 tools/string_xref.py work/fw/27.2-sptm.bin "Failed to verify TLBI"
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python3 tools/fw_diff.py work/fw/27.0.1-sptm.bin work/fw/27.2-sptm.bin
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```
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