Linux returns to PS3. Yes, that's both fat & slim models.

[Niode]

Sony could just rush out the ps4

They could if they wanted to commit financial suicide. Especially considering the next offerings from Microsoft or Nintendo could easily surpass it if they know what they are up against. There's a reason why console launches are roughly at the same time or within a year of each other. Release your hand too early and you just give the game away for your competitors to make something more ground breaking.

I honestly can't see what they can do, the hackers have got them up against the wall. Especially since the metldr key has been released. This means that the system is completely open to anything, custom firmware, custom bootloader. Anything. The system is completely exposed from the ground up. That's the reason why Fail0verflow was able to SSH into the linux kernel from startup. Notice how the PS3 doesn't load GameOS. No interaction with the system is seen apart from the initial turn on. They just power up, no power-eject is done. It loads a linux kernel from boot up.

[Flake]

In baby terms, could someone explain to me how this exploit is different from how other game systems have been hacked? I get the sense that this is a big deal but I don't have the technical knowledge to really understand.

[noiseredux]

In baby terms, could someone explain to me how this exploit is different from how other game systems have been hacked? I get the sense that this is a big deal but I don't have the technical knowledge to really understand.

in baby terms, if Sony tries to patch this then every PS3 game released before RIGHT NOW doesn't work anymore. So they can't patch it.

[Betamax001]

Huh I wonder what Sony will do...

[Hobie-wan]

Huh I wonder what Sony will do...

Shit their pants. That's the only thing they can do.

[Niode]

In baby terms, could someone explain to me how this exploit is different from how other game systems have been hacked? I get the sense that this is a big deal but I don't have the technical knowledge to really understand.

This works in the same way that Sony signs (encrypts) their own software. That's every single piece of code that runs on the PS3, from the firmware PUPs (firmware update packages) to the games executable (eboot.bin) right down to the bootloader (think something similar to a BIOS on a computer). They worked out how Sony's master key works, and they are using that exact same encryption method to sign their own software. There is NO exploit. This will work on 1.0 to 3.55 firmware (and quite possibly beyond).

Other systems need some sort of exploit that bypasses the security, by using an overflow attack which bruteforces the system by causing the CPU to execute code outside of valid memory or some sort of more elegant hack. This 'hack' works with the security fully intact. Something we haven't seen since the Dreamcast. In short, Sony's security is an absolute joke at the fundamental level. Hypervisor is useless if it thinks what it is executing is valid signed code.

[lisalover1]

When it rains, it pours. Just yesterday, the master keys were also found for the PSP:
http://pspslimhacks.com/mathieulh-found ... g-psp-now/

Anyway, awesome news on the PS3 master keys being found; never have I seen a system hacked in such an absolute manner. So, are there any homebrew applications out right now that use this, as in a currently-released Linux Re-Installer? I can just update my PS3 to the latest firmware and use any homebrew that is signed with these keys, and all Sony can do is crawl into a fetal position and cry for mommy?

[noiseredux]

When it rains, it pours. Just yesterday, the master keys were also found for the PSP:
http://pspslimhacks.com/mathieulh-found ... g-psp-now/

Anyway, awesome news on the PS3 master keys being found; never have I seen a system hacked in such an absolute manner. So, are there any homebrew applications out right now that use this? I can just update my PS3 to the latest firmware and use any homebrew that is signed with these keys, and all Sony can do is crawl into a fetal position and cry for mommy?

wow amazing on the PSP too.

So... can the homebrewers make a PS2 emulator for the PS3?

[Hatta]

I don't see why people don't think Sony can't patch this. Yes, they'd need to redesign their encryption so it's not vulnerable to the same attack. That's doable.

Then they'd need to make a white list of games generated with the old keys. This is not a "monumental task". They signed every one of those games in the first place, so they should have the signatures on file. Shouldn't take much more than a properly formed SQL query to get that list.

Then they need to sign that list with the new keys, so nobody can add anything to the whitelist of games.

Then they just have to get you to apply the new firmware update. They can do that by requiring it for future PS3 releases, and including this firmware on new PS3 consoles.

This exploit means that all present and past PS3 encryption is broken. It does not mean that all PS3 encryption will remain broken into the future.

[Flake]

Lol, I still only barely understand what you guys are talking about but the gist is clear: Sony's gaming division is starting 2011 totally fucked in half.