Older iPhones have an unfixable security flaw - why it can't be patched and the models affected

ZDNET reports on "usbliter8," a boot ROM (SecureROM) vulnerability discovered by Paradigm Shift that affects devices with Apple A12 and A13 processors (including certain iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch models). The flaw is hardware/ROM-based so it cannot be patched by a software update; exploitation requires physical access and device reboot, and researchers could not bypass Data Protection, limiting exposure to targeted, physically executed attacks. Paradigm Shift published details to raise awareness and recommends migrating to newer hardware as the primary mitigation.