Upcoming Wii U hack for firmware 5.5.0 announced for Christmas
And here I was, complaining that this year’s Christmas hacks were not coming. Now we’ve got announces of a Kernel exploit on the PS4, Black-fin on the PS Vita, and today, an IOSU exploit release on the Wii U.
Hykem, known for his hacking work on many, many consoles, just confirmed he’ll try to release a Christmas present for Wii U owners. He’s clarified today on GBATemp that he has an exploit running on IOSU, up to firmware 5.5.0, the latest and greates Wii U Firmware.
Wait, what’s IOSU on the Wii U?
Alright, for those of us not familiar with Wii U hacking, IOSU is basicallly the operating system of the Wii U when it runs in Wii U mode. It’s what we could compare to the “native” world on the PS Vita per opposition to the PSP Emu. In particular, IOSU is responsible for security checks on the Wii U, verifying that you’re not trying to run unsigned code, etc.
So yep, having compromised IOSU is a big deal.
Hykem’s exploit on Wii U 5.5.0
Hykem confirmed he compromised IOSU, and that his exploit works up to firmware 5.5.0. His exploit does not require PPC Kernel access, which means kernel exploits won’t need to be revealed for this one to work. (in other words, the Wii U scene has several aces up its sleeves and won’t need to reveal all of them at once).
Hykem wants to release the exploit for Christmas, but he points out there is still lots of work to do, specifically:
- Port the exploit to all firmwares where it makes sense (I’d say that it’s most important to release it for the latest firmware first?)
- Obfuscate the exploit so that Nintendo have a hard(er) time patching it, giving more time for users to be aware of the exploit release.
- Add mechanisms to the exploit so that people don’t update by mistake. This probably means an option set by default to block auto updates and block specific Nintendo addresses such as nus.c.shop.nintendowifi.net
So, at this point there’s no guarantee this will be released exactly on December 24, but Hykem’s confirmed the exploit and his intent to meet this deadline. His full statement:
This is great news! I might be getting one anywho! 😀
inf4 piracy demands. Patients is key to getting your backup loaders, but paying money does allow for more games ya’know.
Didn’t the Sega Dreamcast Utopia Boot Disc to allow you to play c0pied games and imports come out around Christmas 2000? Or was it 1999 right after the consoles release. It had a spinning reindeer for the graphic and snow falling 😉
Maaaan good ol’ Utopia Boot Disc and DiscJuggler. Them were the days lol.
Not so old : re-plugged my old Dc for my 8y old son.
Good shoot of nostalgia 🙂
I burned some games that were defunct CD ;).
Crazy Taxi with Offsprings !
Ok, and after the IOSU access ? Loadline or other game launcher ?
At the moment, the main limitations behind loadiine are because it is spoofing the vulnerable app. (Either Smash Bros 4 or Mii Maker). Thus, the Wii U places certain limits and expects the ISO to perform the way that official game does.
Theoretically, full IOSU access means that we can send the correct information to the Wii U about the game being run; in other words, near 100% backup compatibility. (Among other things). Hykem stated that whatever he is planning on releasing does not specifically require kernel access, but it does seem that there is a working kernel exploit on 5.5.0. (It just needs lots of work before its releasable.) What the existing kernel exploit doesn’t allow, IOSU will. Assuming Hykem’s IOSU exploit really gives complete control over it (he never directly said that it does), then consider the Wii U fully cracked and wait for the goodies to flood in. 🙂
There’s one thing I don’t understand: information about the existing 5.3.2 exploits on gbatemp describes the “official kernel exploit”. It doesn’t sound like this gives full access. Does this refer to something else than the kernel exploit mentioned here?
Thanks for the info! Any reliable ways of preventing futue wii u auto updates for the moment? Im guessing blocking through our routers? But just wanna be certain
Refer to this guide: https://gbatemp.net/threads/wii-u-homebrew-preparation.385895/
don’t connect to internet xP
Use TubeHAX dns to prevent update to 5.5.0!
Looking forward to this one, was on 5.4 when loadiine came out for 5.3.2, so just updated to 5.5 and be done with it. Although the missus MAY have got me a wii u game for Xmas.. :/
OH BABY
Planning to get a WiiU soon, what is the current latest firmware?
5.5.0 (:
It is 5.5.0 as of writing..
Happy mappy
Any idea on if this is going to require any games to run or is this another webkit exploit?
Just gotta prepare to have to buy software if the need arises 😛
So what exactly is this going to mean? Also will this have any affect on the vWii Soft Mods?
means if you decide to use the exploit you’re gonna have a better system than if you don’t
??? I hacked my WiiU when i got it when it first came out and its still playing Wii backuos now. So why is this needed?
Im guessing maybe the exploit was patched so it cant be patched anymore?
I got my WiiU about 3 months after launch ans its been through many firmwares and its still playing backups so nothing has been patched. I still have the homebrew channel working and all the homebrew thats been installed over the years.
I’m pretty sure this is a WiiU land hack and not for the vWii. The hack it sounds like you’re utilizing.
This is for Wii U backups, not Wii backups…
My U has auto updated to 5.5.0 and is not connected to the internet. All the internet spots requier a password so how ??
That’s impossible.
Last time i updated was to 5.4.0 to see if there was anything new on store. It has been plugged to the power cable and the internet connection was removed :/
I’ve heard certain games have firmware updates on disc. Splatoon is one that I’m sure of, though I don’t know if any have 5.5.0 at this time.
Splatoon have 5.3.2 update built-in
Maybe you used game with 5.50 fw included
time to buy a wii u 😀
Nice just thinking about getting one too. I heard earlier fws might eventually have emunand though so I’ll still spring for one of those unless we get more details on this
Hi dudes from Everywhere. I pray my best everyday since the first time i heard about this promess of a better world…..Hurry up, Hykem….It Will be a great present for my kids for Xmas….Whatever, enjoy Eve, enjoy ‘tout court’….
http://imgur.com/xcbyHQ8
Christmas is on the 25th…
Exploit delayed….so we must wait!
http://wololo.net/2015/12/24/wii-u-hack-hykems-iosu-exploit-on-5-5-0-slightly-delayed/
Please dont gave us the Hykem’s exploit on Wii U 5.5.0 until 2018 Christmas we all here want wait until then. We dont need the exploit until 2018 thanks. Please make us wait a long time and make us pay for it. Thanks and have a wonderful day.
yeah (Y)