When making the leap into a new generation of video game consoles, it is normal for hackers to step up their efforts to breach the hardware of the past. With the PS4Although there are already multiple methods to hack it for different purposes for a long time, perhaps no exploit had generated as much conversation as the one you will meet today. Not just because of what it represents for the PS4, but also because of its potential impact on the PlayStation 5.
As collected Kotaku, the group of hackers made up of SpecterDev, ChendoChap and Znullptr claims to have an exploit that runs in the kernel of the PS4 and PS4 Pro. Therefore, it would be possible to run homebrew applications, emulators and unauthorized copies of games. It is worth mentioning that the exploit only works on consoles with the firmware 9.0 or lower. The following video shows that the hack does indeed work:
Hackers have apparently taken advantage of a couple of vulnerabilities on the PS4. The first is present in the browser’s webkit engine, while the other is a bug in a system file. To execute it, it is necessary to connect a USB memory “at the right moment” with the necessary file, a process that does not seem complicated.
What is relevant about this jailbreak compared to other proposals already existing on the PS4? First, it runs on a newer version of firmware — and earlier — which allows more consoles to be hacked.
However, one of the hackers involved dropped a piece of news that has many waiting. According he pointedOn twitter, the exploit may also work on the PlayStation 5. They haven’t been able to prove it because they don’t have Sony’s next-gen console – the shortage has hit everyone, clearly.
What’s next from now on? There is no doubt that the community will go to work to create homebrew applications of various purposes. For its part, Sony is surely already analyzing the case to identify the vulnerabilities and solve them through a firmware update. The patch would not only reach the PS4 and PS4 Pro, also the PlayStation 5 – if the presence of both vulnerabilities is confirmed on this console.