OneKey founder warns older iPhones have unpatchable chip vulnerabilities

Yishi says BootROM flaws in iPhone 11 and earlier models could expose seed phrases to anyone with brief physical access If your crypto seed phrase lives on an aging iPhone, OneKey’s founder thinks you should move it. Soon. On November 1, 2026, Yishi, the founder of OneKey, warned that iPhone 11 series devices and earlier models carry hardware vulnerabilities that no software update can fix. He said these flaws could potentially expose wallet seed phrases to attackers who get their hands on the phone, even briefly. Two flaws, one uncomfortable problem The warning centers on two known exploits. Both target the BootROM, a layer of the iPhone that most users never think about. Think of the BootROM as the foundation poured under a house before any walls go up. It is the very first code that runs when an iPhone powers on, and it is etched directly into the chip. Because it is baked into the hardware, Apple cannot push a patch to rewrite it. The first exploit, checkm8, affects iPhone models from the 4S through the X. It has been public knowledge since 2019. The second, usbliter8, is the newer concern. It impacts the iPhone XS, XR, the 11 series, and the second-generation iPhone SE, and it...