You can deliver payloads through the cable, as this guy shows in hacking an android phone and an ipad with it. It also let's you inject keystrokes, copy all the available data and more besides. There's also a video on the hak5 channel showing them using new exploits to hack android phones with it.
You can't actually force the thing to run custom software though, only do whatever is possible with a USB device human interface device. Probably wouldn't do much if the phone's locked.
I think it just means run custom software on the cable itself, not on the device.
https://youtu.be/7YpJQT55_Y8
You can deliver payloads through the cable, as this guy shows in hacking an android phone and an ipad with it. It also let's you inject keystrokes, copy all the available data and more besides. There's also a video on the hak5 channel showing them using new exploits to hack android phones with it.
You can't actually force the thing to run custom software though, only do whatever is possible with a USB device human interface device. Probably wouldn't do much if the phone's locked.