Two hackers have released a new PlayStation 5 jailbreak that works on all but the most recently updated consoles, greatly expanding the stock of machines that can run homebrew software, Ars Technica reported on Tuesday.
The exploit, published this month by the security researchers known as TheFlow and Jose Coixao — Bd-J on GitHub — works on system firmware up to and including version 12.02. Sony closed the hole in a 12.20 update released in mid-September, which the researchers said did little beyond blocking their work, so anyone holding out for a jailbreak should stay on the lower version.
Until now, PS5 exploits have been scarce and narrow. The first workable jailbreak, in October 2022, reached only firmware 4.03 before stretching to 4.51. Later user-mode exploits, spread across the 3.xx and 4.xx firmware families, covered only millions of consoles, and a chain built around the PS2 game Okage: Shadow King, known as Mast1c0re, worked up to firmware 6.50. The new release pushes coverage into the tens of millions. For PlayStation 4 owners, a similar exploit that worked on firmware up to 13.xx now requires a console older than version 13.04, which Sony released on Sept. 16.
There is still a catch. The exploit requires each console’s unique master key, so every machine has to be attacked individually, and Mr. Coixao has said it relies on close timing. He added, in comments cited by Ars Technica, that something exciting should be coming from the project.
The wider firmware compatibility matters because most PS5 games refuse to run unless the console is updated to the latest firmware available at the time of the game’s release. An online database maintained by the software modder Lance McDonald tracks those game-by-game requirements. The new exploit works with many more titles, including pirated copies as well as legitimate games bought for personal backup.
Jailbroken consoles can also run homebrew apps such as emulators and unofficial 60-frames-per-second mods for legacy PS4 games. A full Linux installation exists for the PS5, but only on firmware 7.61 or earlier; developers say they are working to extend it to every exploitable firmware version.
Mr. McDonald said the scene had changed direction after years of stagnation.
This has not been true in many years and it’s a huge shift, because exploited hardware is still being sold in stores.
He added that he does not recommend updating, since Sony has been issuing PS5 firmware more frequently than before. Another developer, LightningMods, told the Spanish-language gaming site Machine en Español, in an interview translated by Ars Technica, that results are still being watched carefully: the new hack has not yet been shown to work all the way from the browser to the kernel on the latest exploitable firmware, 12.02.