A hacking group going by the name of Fail0verflow has today claimed it has made a huge step forward in breaking open PlayStation 5 security. A Twitter post covered by Eurogamer states the collective has gained access to internal PS5 root keys, which are used to decrypt the console's firmware. It reads: "We got all (symmetric) ps5 root keys. They can all be obtained from software — including per-console root key, if you look hard enough!" If the group is one day successful, the system may be completely jailbroken.
As Eurogamer notes, Fail0verflow has in the past cracked the PS3 wide open, hacked the PS4, and gotten custom firmware to run on the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately for Sony, it sounds like this group knows what it's doing. "Another one bites the dust 😎," the hacking group says. Of course, Sony will likely counteract this with a PS5 firmware update.
While the collective's work to find these root keys doesn't mean the PS5 is compromised just yet, the discovery is said to be one of the first steps in jailbreaking a console. The screenshot embedded in the tweet above claims to be those very root keys. These keys can be used to reverse engineer firmware to look for exploits and possibly run unsigned code on PS5 systems. Fail0verflow also claims Sony won't have an easy time preventing hackers from accessing the firmware with a firmware update since the root keys cannot be rotated easily.
[source eurogamer.net, via videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 73
What a bunch of dorks!
In the end it wont matter streaming will be future why be because of these *****.
Not a fan of cracking current-gen hardware but I install CFW on all my older consoles. Current-gen stuff gets into very very dodgy territory. I expect to see Sony clamp down on this.
It should be noted jailbroken switches and also completely emulated switches have not harmed hw or software sales for that platform. And the ps5 is not currently emulatable.
Imagine being this big a virgin.
You know, I never felt the need to hack my PS4, and don't forsee me doing it to my PS5. That 60GB PS3 sitting over by my TV though? Oh you bet that's CFW'd. It was the only way I could play my legitimate acquisitions of the Japanese Ace Combat 3 (English patched) and Xenosaga 1 and 3 (no, releasing them only in NTSC-U and NTSC-J regions didn't stop me buying brand new discs from import retailers) on real hardware. I did also softmod my PS2 to do the same, but that was only through network booting and damnit sometimes you just want to pop the disc in the console and boot it that way (plus Xenosaga 3 didn't like my PAL PS2 and would show a great big transparent grey overlay every time I got near an NPC). Now, if they jailbreak the PS5 and write a 4K upscaling PS2 emulator, I might change my mind...unless Sony's big remake announcement in December with Yasunori Mitsuda is Xenosaga....in which case, what was the PS2 again?
@Jacko11 imagine being so jealous of a talented hacker/programmer you project your own virginity on them and use it pejoratively.
I wouldn't mind jailbreaking older stuff where the devs don't make a dime of it anymore anyway, but for newer games, especially indie or smaller team that would be a dirtbag move.
im sure they're living a fulfilling life
Some real salt in this comments section. 😂
@shadow2k ngl this proper made me chuckle. I am quite jealous of the infamous hackerman.
Though didn’t realise we had back hand support for hackers now 😂
I'd like to install CFW on my PS3 once the servers are kaput. It would be fun to play around with.
I wonder if it will hit the PSP levels of hacking.
It got to the point people had PSP's but no physical games.
@shadow2k true but his comment was funny
Yet again another Sony machine might b hacked ....maybe Sony should just hire these ppl to stop them shaming them with every console
To be fair, I'd quite happily buy a PS5 digital edition to run Linux on if there was a documented hack that allowed it.
The combination of power efficiency, compute power, size and how quiet it is would make for a great mid-tier PC. Write speed on the SSD isn't great, but that could just be my Steam library, booting off an nvme instead. As a bonus, I could still play PS5 games streamed from my disk edition console.
@Martsmall to be fair, defensive computer security is one of the few fields in software that's harder than writing video games, especially once a hacker has their hands on the hardware.
My comment on pure xbox was deleted because I mentioned that forza horizon 5 had been cracked already & that people that download the pirated version can play it before people that bought the game but didn't stump up the extra cash for the premium add ons
@Would_you_kindly on pc , 99% of pc games are cracked mostly on day of release
@Martsmall I know I just thought it was a bit stupid that people can play the game now by sailing the seven seas yet the people that bought the game have to wait for the game to 'release'
@Would_you_kindly I suppose it's personal choice whether they decide to pirate it or get it legit
Myself I won't do either driving games just ain't my thing I'm really crap at em ....unless it's burnout paradise lol
@shadow2k
You know, I never felt the need to hack my Ps3, My Ps4, My Psp or Vita in fact i never hacked anything
@Martsmall they pay top dollar for teams to point out exploits.
It's easier to an extent to poke around for vulnerabilities than it is to make the thing secure in the first place believe it or not.
@flaming_kaiser streaming/subscriptions were always going to be the endpoint.. nothing to do with crackers and all about the money.
It's kinda funny reading the comments slating folk that do this kinda thing when it's the very same kind of people who help keep products secure and generally push the tech scene further along and help make sure software is preserved.
As an example, the PS1 classic used a forked home brew emulator which wouldn't have been possible as easily without work from teams like this.
@RedKnight34 good for you, except I live in a region that missed out on a lot of what would become my favourite games because publishers think all we play is FIFA and we're not interested in actually good games. And guess what - a lot of those games came out before region locking was frowned upon. So in order to play those games, I had to take extra measures so I could still buy them legitimately and play them.
the console hasn't even been out for a year this is disappointing. If they are successful I'm not going to be fool enough to actually buy games but that's not really the next-gen gaming I want so hopefully sony can come up with a stronger security
why are so many people upset by this? Rules are made to be broken... these guys find a challenge in doing these things. I find this so interesting how group of people can exploit hundreds and thousand of hours of work put into this, just to fail under these guys hands. I say Bravo
@Would_you_kindly With Xbox thankfully for most games, you can just change your region to New Zealand and get a day early. Been enjoying Forza Horizon 5 today (didn't buy the premium add on).
It looks awesome so far.
@Casco I'm going to wait for the premium edition to go on sale before I buy it
@Would_you_kindly I didn't buy it, just using GamePass. The New Zealand trick works for Gamepass games as well
Nice! I still haven't homebrewed my PS4 yet but I'm glad they are making progress so fast, I'm impressed 😁😁
@RedKnight34 then you are boring lol
@nessisonett agree, older consoles are fine to hack and play homebrew on, current gen not so much because everything is online, easy ban and all that
@Casco don't have gamepass I'll probably get a month for a quid in December though when Halo launches
@KayOL77 you weren’t around for the Dreamcast, were you?
I would prefer they properly hacked the PS4 like the PS3, PSP and Vita were. A hacked PS4 is absolutely worthless even if you happen to be on the magical required firmware.
As for PS5 I have no desire to hack it even if it was made easy, I usually hack the systems at the end of their lifecycles to fool around with them.
@shadow2k you mean jelly, as in "you so jelly"
also you probably mean "envious"
@Gamer_Girl_ " I can't even imagine how much money I saved over those thirty years or so"
Taking something that isn't yours. There's another word for it.
@johncalmc That's ironic considering we have profiles on this page. Lol
@Infernal :') this is true.
Removed - current gen piracy/emulation
I posted this exact thing in the forum, even with the exact tweet, hours before this article went up. It was deleted for "talking about current gen piracy" and now it's an article on the front page. Come on, guys. Get some consistency with the moderation.
@shadow2k Man how did you keep your 60gb from getting ylod? Mine failed after like 3 years. Was so pissed because of it being backwards compatible.
I have a hacked PS4 which is gathering dust under my bed. Can't be bothered with the faff to be honest. I have a PS5 but would have no real desire to hack it as that generally means you can't use it online.
@shadow2k to be fair though,have you seen the state of some of them 😂 however I never understood how the term virgin is used as a derogatory term,I wish I was one,bloody kids
@Gamer_Girl_ cant do what pirate games,media and TV it isn't hard ,I wouldn't brag about being a thief ,it isn't very becoming ,what you said there is the same as the resident shoplifter of a town saying, I haven't paid for a leg of lamb for years I just rob it from Iceland.
Honest question - besides what I assume is adding the ability to play games you… technically may not own (to be charitable), or are intended for a different region/system, what are the actual benefits of hacking/jail breaking a console?
@huyi
Nah hacking consoles are for virgins with no lives outside videogames
@Gamer_Girl_ It's not hard to get a console jailbroken, just need to know the right people or do a bit of research. You're talking like this is something only intelligent, educated people can figure out when in reality some people just don't like being leeches on the gaming industry. You're basically the gaming equivalent of a welfare case, if you're cool with that, go for it 👍
I don't tend to crack current gen machines (you are not hacking by implementing someone else's code) I'm a firm believer in the fact that once you buy something its your to do with what you like. But if I wanted to play pirated games I'd play them on the PC.
@boogieman117 Yes I was. The Dreamcast just straight up played copied discs. No IFS ands or buts.
@boogieman117 If the Dreamcast refused to boot from cdr's the whole crisis could have been averted. Going to all that trouble to use gdroms and then just boots from a CDR. 🤯
@Gamer_Girl_ The gratitude and sense of reciprocation is strong for this one. 🙈
@ILikeStake so my 60GB PS3 was either refurbished or looked after well as I got it second hand five years ago and it's never failed on me. I keep it well ventilated and used regularly, no trace of any yellow lights yet.
@KayOL77 oh the days of running a SNES emulator on a completely unmodified Dreamcast that I had burned to a CD-R and yep, the damn thing booted it without so much more than another CD-R boot disc. I love my Dreamcast with a passion and will part with it only when I'm in the grave, but the fact of the matter is Sega's laughable "we'll make the discs 1GB CDs, that'll foil the pirates!" killed the poor thing dead. (Didn't help that the PS2 came battle ready with a DVD drive and sealed the coffin.)
@shadow2k I too loved my Dreamcast. But I remember the day my mate downloaded hack disc then crazy taxi and then I kind of knew that was that. 😟
@Jacko11 What a reductive comment. Are we still living in 1995 where being a computer nerd is somehow a bad thing? Nerds create all the games, search engines and social media you use daily.
I doubt this will hurt sales, because NO ONE CAN GET A PS5!!!!
@TooBarFoo The word ‘hack’ is extremely misused today thanks to boomers on Facebook and ‘life hacks’ lol. Embarrassing.
@Arnna it was a joke, calm yourself.
Are we still living in yesterday when the comment was made, replied to and still relevant?
Move along…
@Jacko11 Funnily enough, people from wildly different time zones use this site.
@Arnna I said what I said
@RedKnight34 oooh, savage! I hack game consoles out of boredom and a expression of rebellion against the anti consumer gaming industry, it's a powerful message 😁😁
#justbecauseican!
@Arnna even now, the situation is shameful! lol
@Flaming_Kaiser..... Nope hackers are not responsible for GAAS AND STREAMING, The video game industry greed is the reason we are going the streaming and Gaas route..... They are just using hacking and piracy as an excuse to push us in that direction...........
And if you believe that piracy has done anything to gaming then my friend the gaming industry has got you right where they want.
Rockstar have made and are making more money from GTA online than all the copies of all GTA games that have ever been pirated.
Gran Torismo has been on 2 console and clise to zero piracy in its history yet today its basically an online only/ semi-streamed game. No hacker forced polyphony to paywall the game but greed.
Removed - flaming/arguing; user is banned
@RedKnight34...............As a fellow gamer i cannot believe that in 2021 someone who considers themselves a gamer can still have diarrhea coming from their minds and mouths and in your case you have keyboard diarrhea.......
What you've just said is that same perception used to be given to anyone whi likes games before Sony made video games acceptale mainstream culture.
No matter what they did they don't derserve such crap nonsense coming from you.
By that logic then every gamer is a virgin wji has no life outside of maybe work or school.........
That is dumb from you anr totally unneeded in 2021.........
And besides there is nothing wrong with being a virgin.
Stoo usinh 1980's insults as it sjows your age.....
@MrCrowley...... If it was as easy as you claim then why would you need to know the right people l or even research......
Sometimes us gamers sound like idiots and keep on posting stupid comments.
If its so easy why don't you crack a ps5 right now and not need to know the right people.
Its like the hours of game time we spend on games make us stupid to think......
Its one of the dumbest comments i've read on Push Square..... Really now
Removed - flaming/arguing; user is banned
@TooBarFoo..... Hacking is hacking whether you are hacking a 1964 machine or 2022 Macbook pro........
It does not matter when you hack it..... It wad never designed or ment to be hacked........
So yoy are no different from any hacker and aren't moraly justified.......
@Arnna.... Lol 100 % correct... Lol
@Arnna..... Yeah true that.... there is too much 'hacking' nowadays for hacking to mean what is used to..... There's now food hacks, make up hacks and kinds of hackers......
Removed - offensive remarks
@GREGORIAN what are you even on about? Can we stick to comparing apples with apples?
But to reply to your off topic comment, no, games that need patches aren't the same as stealing from you. First of all, if you're unsure about the quality of a new game, you should refrain from getting it at launch. No one forces you to. You can get it as a complete experience later on or never, if you're not satisfied with the patches.
Again, the comparison doesn't make any sense. In one case you enjoy the hard work of a team for free. In the other, you get a subpar experience, but you still get something for which you paid or you eventually get the complete experience.
"So learn to zip it and keep you gaminhg morals to yourselve"
Tell me you have issues without telling me you have issues. Yikes. Sounds like you need help. Hope you eventually get it, even if you don't realize it now.
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