Scene developer McCaulay has published an update to ps2-network-game-loader, a utility that lets you load PS2 ISO Games over the Network on PS4/PS5, through the Mast1c0re exploit. Version 0.1.3 adds PS2 Emulator config support, thanks to SvenGDK.

What is the Mast1c0re exploit for PS4/PS5?

Mast1c0re is an unpatched vulnerability on PS4 and PS5, running through their PS2 emulation layer. The vulnerability was disclosed, and described with great detail, by PlayStation hacker CTurt in September last year, and a public reimplementation was released by McCaulay Hudson early 2023.

Some specific PS2 games for PS4/PS5 are vulnerable to buffer overflows, which allows us to run unsigned code on the PS4 and PS5. The currently only known exploitable game through this vulnerability is Okage: Shadow King, a PS2 game available for PS4 and PS5 on Sony’s PSN. By loading specifically crafted save files into this game, it is possible to trigger an exploit chain on PS4/PS5 running the most recent firmwares, to then enable some (limited) homebrew capability.

So far the most “user friendly” use cases for this vulnerability have been emulators, and PS2 Game ISOs.

ps2-network-game-loader 0.1.3 – what’s new

• Added support for loading config files (Thanks @SvenGDK)
• Improved game download speed (Thanks @SvenGDK)
• Stop trophy thread to prevent unlocking Okage trophies (McCaulay/mast1c0re@26b3dad)

In parallel, SvenGDK has updated his OkageLibrary to 1.3, a tool that lets you send ELF/ISOs to the mast1c0re exploit. The latest update allows sending individual config files for PS2 games.

Download and use Mast1c0re ps2-network-game-loader

Load PS2 ISO games over the network using the mast1c0re vulnerability.

Requires the mast1c0re-ps2-network-elf-loader game save to load the ELF file.

As a reminder, you will need a legit copy of the Game Okage in order to run the exploit. We have a basic tutorial here.

Sending an ISO

You can send an ISO file by using one of the following methods:

• (GUI exe) Download “mast1c0re-file-loader.exe” in releases
• (Python GUI) python3 mast1c0re-file-loader.py
• (Command Line) python3 mast1c0re-send-file.py –ip –file
• (GUI) OkageLibrary

Source: McCaulay

Update: in a former version of this article we incorrectly typed that this was version 1.0.3. This is actually 0.1.3. The article has been modified to address that.