Ever since Sony‘s PlayStation 5 made its initial debut in late 2020, hackers were all over the console in attempts to jailbreak it. In 2021, the console’s Debug menu was unlocked, signaling a breakthrough. Almost a year later, Twitter users @StretchEcho and @SpecterDev successfully circumvented Sony’s security using a WebKit exploit.
For those unaware, jailbreaking is the process of exploiting the flaws of a locked-down electronic device to install unauthorized software, which in this case would be pirated PS5 game titles.
The hack and the associated Python scripts can be found on Spectre Dev’s GitHub page. Only PlayStation 5 systems running firmware version 4.03 or lower are compatible with it. Both console versions may be jailbroken, although doing so requires a PC or Mac. A kernel panic occurred when one user attempted to run it on version 4.50. Even with the correct version, it may need to be executed more than once because it doesn’t always function.
The exploit isn’t as good as some of the previous PlayStation 4 jailbreaks because it doesn’t allow code to be executed on the machine. The Debug menu and writing data to the hard disc are still accessible, which could allow developers to explore the internals of the PS5 further, enabling the development of unofficial patches and emulation for older consoles.
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(via Wololo)
