Exploit on PS4 and PS5: Hackers say Sony can’t solve PS2 emulator problem

Sony seems to be facing an unsolvable problem, as the console hacker and security researcher “Cturt” claims to have found out. It is about a vulnerability dubbed “Mast1c0re” that affects the PS2 emulator of the Playstation 4 and 5. According to Sony, Cturt even informed it about this exploit a year ago. So far, the Japanese company has not seen any need for action and will not do so in the future either, which, according to the security researcher, is related to the fact that this exploit cannot “basically” be fixed with the PS2 emulation.

How Mast1c0re works

Like Cturt in one detailed blog post on Github The vulnerability exploits flaws in the just-in-time (JIT) compilation used by the emulator that runs certain PS2 games on PS4 and PS5. This compilation gives the emulator special permissions to continually write PS4-ready code (based on the original PS2 code) just before the application layer itself executes that code.

By gaining control of both sides of this process, a hacker can write privileged code that the system treats as legitimate and secure. In order to gain control of the emulator, a hacker should theoretically be able to use any number of well-known exploits that exist in decades-old PS2 games. While some of these are designed to be activated simply by pressing a button, most require the use of a known exploitable game to access a specially formatted save file on the memory card, causing a buffer overflow and granting access to otherwise protected storage.

All it needs is either a PS2-on-PS4 game or a physical Playstation 2 game that has a PS4 console compatible disc. Therefore, according to Cturt, it is also impossible for Sony to plug the vulnerability as a version of the PS2 emulator to be abused is associated with each PS2-on-PS4 game instead of being stored separately as a main part of the console operating system.

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Sony would therefore have to take the first step of removing any affected Playstation 2 games from the Playstation Network, as Nintendo once did with 3DS games from its e-shop. Ultimately, after Cturt’s explanations, it must be recognized that the exploit will continue to exist indefinitely and could still bring a lot of joy to the Playstation hacker community.

Source: culture via Ars Technica