Hacker publishes exploit to run Linux on PlayStation 4

Hacker kR105 has put a functional dlclose exploit online, which makes it possible to use homemade code on a PlayStation 4 with firmware 1.76. He also put the necessary files online to run Linux on the console.

The exploit had been known for some time, but turned out to be very unstable. In the latest version this seems to have been solved and kR105s version of the exploit also contains a working root, sandbox escape and jailbreak. However, it remains the case that it only works on PlayStation 4s with firmware 1.76 or older. In newer versions, the exploit is no longer possible.

Furthermore, the hacker provides an update for the PlayStation 4 Playground software, which makes it possible for people to start Linux without having to write a loader for it themselves. For this, a user needs a USB stick with a number of files that are freely available on Github. kR105 also supplies a distro of Linux for the PlayStation 4, so that interested parties do not have to compile a version themselves.

The exploit used to run Linux on the console is presumably the same exploit that the hacker group fail0verflow used during the Chaos Computer Conference in January this year. The group showed a working Linux kernel there on the PlayStation 4, and also released their PS4 fork of the Linux kernel. However, this did not immediately make it possible for people to run Linux on a PS4, because the hackers did not disclose which exploit they had used.