Following his writeup on the Mast1c0re exploit yesterday, security researcher McCaulay Hudson has now released a full framework implementing the hack (download link below). What this release does technically, is enabling usermode PS4 homebrew on PS4 or PS5, on the latest firmwares, for people who have access to the exploitable game Okage Shadow King (PS2 game that runs on PS4/PS5, still available on the PSN at the time of writing)

What is Mast1c0re for PS5 and PS4?

Mast1c0re is an unpatched exploit for PS4 and PS5, which leverages a vulnerability in the PS2 emulation layer of Sony’s newer consoles. The vulnerability was disclosed, and described with great detail, by PlayStation hacker CTurt in September last year, but no full “user friendly” implementation was released then.

Back then, CTurt stated Sony had no plan to fix the vulnerability, has now been fully confirmed thanks to this release, and earlier videos showing that the vulnerability is still here, in the latest PS5 6.50 firmware (and, it is safe to assume, in PS4 10.01 as well)  as of February 2023.

Recently released Beta firmwares PS5 7.00 and PS4 10.50 still need to be confirmed, but there’s good reason to believe they are vulnerable as well.

Mast1c0re Framework –  What does this release do?

This release by McCaulay is primarily intended for homebrew developers and hackers who want to play with usermode PS4 homebrew on the PS4 and PS5. In its current state, this could lead with some significant effort to a PS4 Homebrew loader (running on both PS5 and PS4), although I’ve expressed my opinion on the probability of this happening,  earlier today:

Don’t get me wrong: Those who’ve known me for a while know I would *love* to see a PS4 usermode homebrew loader like HBL/VHBL (https://t.co/RPQ9UFVBro).

The reality though is that it has never happened on PS4 despite countless opportunities.

— Wololo (@frwololo) February 19, 2023

Down the line though, this usermode exploit could be used in combination with a Kernel exploit to lead to a PS4 Jailbreak on all current known Firmwares, and to…well, whatever can be done with a hacked PS5 today (which is not much). This implies having a Kernel exploit, though (one for the PS4, one for the PS5, and in general they are unlikely to be the same). Although rumors have started surfacing that one might be in the works for PS4, nothing concrete has been announced yet.

Should I update my PS4/PS5 to get the exploitable game Okage?

As it is, the Mast1c0re framework is awesome work, but not “useable” by most people. As I mentioned above it could ultimately lead to a PS4 Jailbreak if combined with a Kernel exploit, but nothing of that sort has been confirmed yet. I would personally advise against updating just for this right now, but it is also important to understand that Sony might remove the exploitable game from the PSN if at any point they feel it could lead to something more damaging than just usermode execution.

In other words, the choice is up to you when it comes to PS4.

On PS5, I don’t think even the current state of Kernel exploits justifies any huge excitement for the end user, so people who have managed to stay on a low firmware on PS5 should probably stay there for the time being, in my opinion. By the time the PS5 becomes useable from a Jailbreak perspective, I’m convinced other usermode exploits will have surfaced.

Just my two cents, obviously. You do you.

Mast1c0re Framework – download

• You can download the exploit framework here (follow the github instructions for compilation)
• We have instructions on how to run the Okage exploit on your PS4/PS5 here. This should be enough to get you started (and if that isn’t, the framework is probably not for you tbh)

source: @_McCaulay