Modders have jailbroken PlayStation 5 on year-old firmware

While the PlayStation 5 is getting a lot easier to buy, the nearly two-year-old console has plenty of time to part ways with modders to slowly (very slowly). Now, hackers have demonstrated how a recent IPv6 kernel exploit using a WebKit vulnerability could allow users to access the Debug Settings menu in the PS5's dashboard. This menu allows the user to poke and prod around settings typically reserved for developers, including a package installer that can install pkg files for PS4 and PS5 games.

While this may seem like a bustling home scene and fertile ground for pirates, the use cases are still very limited at the moment. In addition to the usual risks of getting your PSN account banned, voiding your PS5's warranty, and risking a bricked console, jailbreak will only work on systems that are one year old with firmware version 4.03 or earlier. And while a game backup can be set up, it's not really playable in its current state. But even so, the modding community is likely to continue its march toward bigger, more robust hacks that open up further opportunities — potentially frighteningly close to attracting the attention of controversial Sony.

Even though this modern approach may have been developed since childhood, it is always fascinating to see smart people break the rules and run things they shouldn't. For example, modder Lance McDonald released the PS4 horror game demo P.T. On their PS5, which is a rare digital asset to be pulled from PlayStation Network in 2015. Although there's no way to play the file, it's a step mostly reserved for earning internet points. Hopefully this means we're one step closer to seeing more cool stuff like this in the PS5 mod world — you know, for the sake of science — before any inevitable cease-and-desist orders turn their ugly heads. retreat.