AdBreak

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

AdBreak is a jailbreak released on 24/09/2025 by hhhhhhhhh.

It is based on CVE-2012-3748.

Special thanks to Chris Evans (@scarybeasts) for a lot of the exploit code, hackerdude for the modified JB script.

Prerequisites

• You will need a PC, cable
• Non-blacklisted, registered, ad-enabled Kindle
• Firmware 5.18.1 and above (possibly patched post-5.18.5)

If you face any issues, please check the troubleshooting section. It also includes details on how you could possibly re-enable ads on a kindle which does not have them at present.

Installation Guide

Download the latest AdBreak release:

Download

If your Kindle is is not yet registered, make sure to follow these steps to prevent your Kindle from automatically updating before registering your device with Amazon. This will help you avoid an automatic firmware update during the registration process.

Please use WinterBreak on firmware 5.18.0.2 and below.

If you are on 5.18.5.0.1 download AdBreak from the troubleshooting section!

Download Ads

Leave your kindle for a while, connected to the internet, so it can download advertisements.

If you press the lock button, an advertisement should be displayed.

If advertisements aren't being downloaded after a while, a factory reset may help.

Aeroplane Mode

Once you have verified ads are displayed on the lockscreen, enable airplane mode.

View all ads

Click on the top right menu and select "View all ads", which should display multiple "special offers".

Copy .assets

Plug in the Kindle, open the system folder and and copy the ".assets" folder to your computer.

Unzip AdBreak

Unzip the previously downloaded AdBreak, and place the extracted contents within the ".assets" folder located on your computer.

Run The Replace Script

Windows:

Double click on "replace.bat" to run it.

MacOS/Linux:

Run find . -name 'details.html' -exec cp adbreak.html {} \; using a terminal.

Replace Kindle .assets

Delete the original kindle .assets and replace it with your on-PC modified copy.

Jailbreak!

Unplug, click on an ad and go through the popups, once you click Close on "Bang!", the jailbreak script should run.

You can safely ignore any "application error" popups, they are irrelevant.

Troubleshooting

FAQ

• The JB does NOT automatically remove advertisements, see Marek’s scriptlet.
• It will never work on the KS/Kindle Scribe, or the CS/Colorsoft! Ads can NOT be re-enabled there!
• No, this is not “UJ”/”Unnamed Jailbreak”. That is separate.
• On mass storage kindles, if you cannot see the system folder, you will have to navigate to the path manually, or follow this guide to see protected system folders.
• “Is there a way to make my device ad supported?” (see below)

Regarding 5.18.5.0.1

This is a troublesome version. Try using this build of adbreak instead. If it fails, wait for an official update. This is a patched build I quickly made adding offsets for said firmware version.

Enabling Ads

(needed for jailbreak, safe to remove later)

• Switch account region
  • Go to Manage Your Content and Devices → Preferences → Country/Region Settings → Change.
  • Select one of: US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, JP, CN
  • Use valid details (address, phone, email).
• Add payment method
  • Set a default credit card and billing address matching the chosen region.
  • No charge should occur.
• Enable special offers
  • In your Amazon account, turn on Special Offers for your Kindle.
• Sync kindle
  • Connect to Wi-Fi, eventually ads will appear on lockscreen.

Notes:

• If your kindle originally had no ads, re-disabling later is free.
• If your kindle is an ads model, disabling normally costs a one-time fee, but can be removed post-jb with a script.

Special Thanks

• Penguins184: This guide
• Ceoz: Enable-ad findings