PS4 hack: CTurt confirms PS4 Kernel exploit

This Just in, developer Cturt (@Cturte) confirmed on twitter that he has a Kernel exploit working for the PS4. He also hints that he’s not the only one who’s been working on this (as is often the case on these things)

Although no proof has been given at this point, CTurt is a trusted source of information on this, as he has released lots of his work on the 1.76 Webkit exploit already: the PS4 Playground tools and PS4 SDK come to mind.

There are not much details on the vulnerabilities used at this point, but it is fair to assume the exploit relies on the 1.76 webkit exploit as the launch vector. As such, although that Kernel exploit might be available on later PS4 firmwares (and, we might dream, up to the latest firmware), it is probably only going to be useful for the handful of people who have stayed on 1.76.

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So, there are a few ways this could play:

1. CTurt and the people who worked on the kernel exploit publish a few proof videos, but keep the exploit to themselves, at least for now, until more significant progress is made on the exploit
2. The exploit is confirmed patched on recent firmwares, in which case they can freely publish it for people who want to investigate more (but this means it will not be useful for “normal” people, until people use this kernel exploit to learn more about the PS4 internals)
3. Somebody leaks the information, the exploit is patched before it becomes useful

It is also a bit early at this point to understand what Kernel access truly means here, and if it’s a “full” PS4 Jailbreak. I can picture clueless gamers already calling out piracy as a dangerous conclusion of this game, but kernel access does not necessarily mean that hackers have found a way (or intend to) break the applications and games encryption. It probably means, however, better access to the console hardware and ways to run unsigned code (think homebrews and emulators at this point).

PS4 kernel exploit finally working! Thanks to everyone involved!

— CTurt (@CTurtE) December 6, 2015

It could be a while before this turns into anything useful for the scene, but this is certainly exciting news. And just when I thought all hope was lost… Stay tuned for more!

Hu, now I kinda want a 1.76 PS4…

Source: CTurt on twitter