Paul Morris on December 29, 2017, 1:56 am

PS4 Firmware 4.05 Kernel Exploit Released, Here’s What That Means For Jailbreak, Mods And Homebrew

The iOS jailbreak scene is currently alive with activity, with a number of different jailbreaks recently released supporting different devices and firmware. Not wanting to be outdone, those involved in hacking Sony’s PlayStation 4, which includes Luca Todesco – of yalu102 jailbreak fame – have released a kernel exploit for PS4 firmware version 4.05.

Probably one of the most important things to note with this release is that this isn’t, nor is it intended to be, a full jailbreak for PlayStation 4 running firmware version 4.05.

This implementation, which is based on the highly discussed “namedobj” kernel exploit, allows developers to run arbitrary code at the highest kernel level which could theoretically allow someone with the correct knowledge and skill set to implement a full jailbreak type utility. The developers behind the tool have released the exploit but haven’t included any mechanism for “defeating anti-piracy mechanisms or running homebrew,” for obvious reasons.

In addition to posting the exploit publicly and giving credit to some of the individuals involved in its creation, the developer also claims that the exploit is incredibly stable with a success rate of around the 95-percent mark in all tests which preceded this release. It’s also important to note that this exploit is released for firmware version 4.05, which was initially released back in October 2016, meaning that a high number of PlayStation 4 consoles will have actually moved beyond this version in order to enjoy and access various online functionality offered by Sony and game publishers.

It will really only be the hardcore device owners who have been patiently waiting for something like this to materialize who may be sitting on version 4.05. With that said, given the issues that Sony had with George Hotz when a PlayStation 3 jailbreak was brought into the world, and the resulting court case, it will take a brave individual to out something solid in place that allows game modification and homebrew and walk that path again. This exploit of namedobj seems to have everything in place that’s needed in order for that to happen, so it’s really a matter of waiting to see if the original developers take up the task or if someone else with the courage and skills steps into the limelight.

Until that happens, you can check out the exploit in its entirety over on GitHub with a full technical write-up promised to come in the next couple of days.