Apple CEO Tim Cook. CBS / "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" The FBI has moved to vacate the court hearing in its case against Apple that was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, and the hearing has been canceled.

In a motion filed on Monday, the FBI says that it has discovered a new way to unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook's iPhone without Apple's help.

"[A]n outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking Farook's iPhone," reads the motion.

Previously, the FBI said that the only way it could access the iPhone was to order Apple to rewrite iOS to allow it to bypass its security passcode. Apple refused the FBI's order, setting off a tense legal battle.

The hearing may not happen at all if the FBI is able to access the iPhone without Apple's help. It sounds like the agency wants to give this method a shot before going through a long legal battle with Apple.

It's unclear who provided the FBI with a method to potentially unlock the iPhone, but the filing does mention that it came from someone outside the US government. It's also unclear whether or not Tuesday's hearing will still go through. But it sounds like the FBI wants to give this method a shot before going through a long legal battle with Apple.

Assuming that the method the FBI wants to use does work without Apple's help, then that means there's a potentially serious flaw in the iPhone's security and it can be unlocked even if it's protected with a passcode.

Apple was not immediately available for comment.

Here's the full text of the motion: