Boot a Virtual iPhone via Apple's Virtualization.framework

Researchers have developed a method to boot a virtual iPhone using Apple's Virtualization.framework. The process involves a single command, vphone-cli vm create, which automates the entire pipeline from downloading the necessary files to applying patches, restoring the device, installing the Cydia-Framework (CFW), and starting the first boot.

Users can manually control the individual stages or re-run specific steps as needed. To update to a newer iOS version, users need to point the fw prepare command towards a desired IPSW file. The vphone-cli tool manages all created files under the ~/.vphone directory, keeping the files outside the repository and the .app to ensure portability.

Various patch variants are available, each with increasing security bypass capabilities. Users can configure their environment by setting active roots using $VPHONE_ROOT, $VPHONE_LIBRARY_ROOT, or $VPHONE_VENV_DIR. The system allows for disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Apple's Application Integrity Framework (AMFI) to achieve the most permissive setup.

However, AMFI restrictions can't be bypassed on nested virtualization hardware. Users can install apps by using the VM's Install menu, drag-drop, or file picker options. If a system binary causes crashes or hangs, users can rebuild ldid-procursus from source and link it to resolve the issue. vphone-cli provides a host control socket for programmatic control, enabling actions like screenshots, touch, swipes, hardware keys, and clipboard manipulation for AI-driven end-to-end testing.