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MASTG-TECH-0092: Repackaging and Re-Signing

Tampering an app invalidates the main executable's code signature, so this won't run on a non-jailbroken device. You'll need to replace the provisioning profile and sign both the main executable and the files you've made include (e.g. FridaGadget.dylib) with the certificate listed in the profile.

Repackaging

First, let's add our own provisioning profile to the package:

cp AwesomeRepackaging.mobileprovision Payload/UnCrackable\ Level\ 1.app/embedded.mobileprovision

Next, we need to make sure that the Bundle ID in Info.plist matches the one specified in the profile because the codesign tool will read the Bundle ID from Info.plist during signing; the wrong value will lead to an invalid signature.

/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set :CFBundleIdentifier sg.vantagepoint.repackage" Payload/UnCrackable\ Level\ 1.app/Info.plist

Re-Signing

Finally, we use the codesign tool to re-sign both binaries. You need to use your own signing identity (in this example 8004380F331DCA22CC1B47FB1A805890AE41C938), which you can output by executing the command security find-identity -v.

$ rm -rf Payload/UnCrackable\ Level\ 1.app/_CodeSignature
$ /usr/bin/codesign --force --sign 8004380F331DCA22CC1B47FB1A805890AE41C938  Payload/UnCrackable\ Level\ 1.app/FridaGadget.dylib
Payload/UnCrackable Level 1.app/FridaGadget.dylib: replacing existing signature

entitlements.plist is the file you created for your empty iOS project.

$ /usr/bin/codesign --force --sign 8004380F331DCA22CC1B47FB1A805890AE41C938 --entitlements entitlements.plist Payload/UnCrackable\ Level\ 1.app/UnCrackable\ Level\ 1
Payload/UnCrackable Level 1.app/UnCrackable Level 1: replacing existing signature

Now you should be ready to run the modified app. Deploy and run the app on the device using ios-deploy:

ios-deploy --debug --bundle Payload/UnCrackable\ Level\ 1.app/

If everything went well, the app should start in debugging mode with LLDB attached. Frida should then be able to attach to the app as well. You can verify this via the frida-ps command:

$ frida-ps -U
PID  Name
---  ------
499  Gadget

When something goes wrong (and it usually does), mismatches between the provisioning profile and code-signing header are the most likely causes. Reading the official documentation helps you understand the code-signing process. Apple's entitlement troubleshooting page is also a useful resource.