The pathway is obvious- build a signed image that lets you guess unlimited passwords at maximum speed. Apple doesn&#x27;t have to <i>do</i> it to make it apparent it would work. The avenue is already in use:<p><i>As many jailbreakers are familiar, firmware can be loaded via Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) Mode. Once an iPhone enters DFU mode, it will accept a new firmware image over a USB cable.</i><p>The special &quot;backdoor&quot; Apple has access to:<p><i>Before any firmware image is loaded by an iPhone, the device first checks whether the firmware has a valid signature from Apple. This signature check is why the FBI cannot load new software onto an iPhone on their own — the FBI does not have the secret keys that Apple uses to sign firmware.</i><p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.trailofbits.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;02&#x2F;17&#x2F;apple-can-comply-with-the-fbi-court-order&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.trailofbits.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;02&#x2F;17&#x2F;apple-can-comply-with...</a><p>As for &quot;the attack firmware could leak&quot;- well, so could the signing keys.