Jailbreaking consoles is nothing new, but no one has managed to fully jailbreak the PlayStation 5… yet. A hacking group recently claimed they’ve managed to partially crack the code of the PS5. Users may be able to follow in their example soon.
How far has the PS5 jailbreak gotten?
Hacking group fail0verflow recently tweeted they “got all (symmetric) ps5 root keys.” Root keys can be used in order to decrypt PS5 files and exploit unauthorized coding that’s previously been restricted by Sony. Fail0verflow suggests this won’t be an easy fix for Sony either, noting the root keys cannot be “rotated”. If a PS5 jailbreak goes through, this could mean trouble for Sony—unless they manage to put a stop to it before that happens.
Fail0verflow aren’t the only hackers digging further in uncovering PS5 secrets. Another Sony hacker, Andy Nguyen, shared a screenshot of the debug settings; these settings are typically only available to developers. However, Nyugen states there are “no plans for disclosure” or an ETA.
What does it mean to jailbreak a piece of technology?
The act of jailbreaking a console or some other electronic device, such as a smartphone, means “to remove restrictions imposed by the manufacturer or operator, e.g. to allow the installation of unauthorized software.” In short: you can do anything you want on your console—without being restricted by what the company who made it put in place.
Previous PlayStation consoles, such as the PS3, have been jailbroken in the past. Hacked into by the very same group who’s working on the PS5, fail0verflow, the PS3 jailbreak had large significance. Users had the ability to downgrade their system software to run emulated software and copy game discs to the PS3 harddrive.
While neither hackers have yet to fully uncover how to decode the PS5, they’re both certainly on a big step towards figuring it out. Whether Sony will be able to patch up these vulnerabilities before the hackers get any further or not, a PS5 jailbreak certainly seems possible.
Via, GamesRadar.
