Recently Apple seeded iOS 4.2.6 for Verizon iPhone 4 which is now available for download. The release came before the February 10th 2011 launch date.
The obvious question to ask when a firmware is rolled out is whether or not it will be vulnerable to jailbreak exploits. In this case, the question is whether or not iOS 4.2.6 will be vulnerable to Geohot’s Limera1n exploit.
MuscleNerd from the iPhone Dev-Team believes that it is:
If the i4 crypto engine couldn’t get those, it would have been bad sign for limera1n. But it did, so there’s still hope.
Considering the fact that it isn’t vulnerable, then Verizon iPhone 4 owners would not be able to jailbreak their devices and would have to wait until somebody else finds a new bootrom exploit.
And if by any chance, iOS 4.2.6 is vulnerable to the Limera1n exploit, this would mean that at least a tethered jailbreak would be possible from day 1.
However, obviously for this to be confirmed, we need to wait until the Verizon iPhone 4 hits the stores on February 10, 2011.
Stay tuned for more as it comes !