“Hello hypervisor, I’m geohot”.
Probably the last thing we would expect to see on the PS3, after 3 years it seems legendary iPhone hacker George Hotz (Geohot) has managed to crack the PS3 security in under a month (Geohot was the first person to unlock the iPhone). He has posted on his blog that he has full hypervisor access and read/write access to the entire system memory. He also says that this is not patchable and plans to reveal the method soon. There is still more work to be done according to Geohot.
Original post:
I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3. The rest is just software. And reversing. I have a lot of reversing ahead of me, as I now have dumps of LV0 and LV1. I’ve also dumped the NAND without removing it or a modchip.
3 years, 2 months, 11 days…thats a pretty secure system
Took 5 weeks, 3 in Boston, 2 here, very simple hardware cleverly applied, and some not so simple software.
Shout out to George Kharrat from iPhoneMod Brasil for giving me this PS3 a year and a half ago to hack. Sorry it took me so long
As far as the exploit goes, I’m not revealing it yet. The theory isn’t really patchable, but they can make implementations much harder. Also, for obvious reasons I can’t post dumps. I’m hoping to find the decryption keys and post them, but they may be embedded in hardware. Hopefully keys are setup like the iPhone’s KBAG.
A lot more to come…follow @geohot on twitter
Very good news for PS3 hackers who have waited very patiently for this day, and great job Geohot, we will bring you more updates as they are available.
[VIA]
UPDATE #1 (1-23-2010):
[I know some function names...]
01-22-2010
07:50 PM
Could this well be true? :D If so, Yipeeeeee!!! no more slow crappy linux :D.. ok ok .. i mean... **** YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH, im practically salivating at the thought of the possibilities, this will bring. :D
01-22-2010
08:02 PM
**** my brains... if this is true then... Hell fckin' yeah, champagne is on me!
01-22-2010
08:31 PM
That guy is famous in the iphone/ipod section and now the PS3 section DAYUM! Nice job Geohot! PROPS TO YOU! :D
01-22-2010
08:46 PM
Before you all ji**is your pants this is only a start and will take time to figure out how to compress all his gadgets and software into one simple install untill then i recommend you all keep your hands in your pockets
01-22-2010
09:19 PM
That doesn't change the fact that beast has been slain. :D
I might just take the hard way and not wait for software. Time to take the solder iron from the 360 and apply it on this beast.
01-22-2010
10:26 PM
Not quite hacked yet, he's only dumped the hv for now...
01-23-2010
12:44 AM
This is great news, now I actually have a reason to buy a PS3.
01-23-2010
01:10 AM
Proof please? At least a 'Hello World' would show us like everybody else does on a new hacked piece of technology.
Don't get me wrong, I believe this guy more than 100%, but there still must be SOMETHING to show...
Understandable that this is extremely exciting. I about sh@ myself when I read it also. Reversing is going to be the hardest part as well as finding decryption keys and the software needed to run everything correctly through all the hardware.
01-23-2010
01:46 AM
The PS3 have their security key inside the chip itself. All the checking and decrypting of the firmware occurs on inside one of the spus on boot up. During this isolation mode, nothing can view this process.
01-23-2010
01:58 AM
Nice copying what Alin Amasan says.
Even if they are hidden in the chips, if you have the decryption codes, you can access and read while it's in that mode. You just have to sneak in there and catch them in so called terms
01-23-2010
02:52 AM
01-23-2010
03:44 AM
01-23-2010
05:42 AM
I know this will take awhile to do, but I'm still gonna be looking for it cuz thast's the ultimate proof for homebrew and a hacked system.
Also, can we not fight about this for crying out loud. We are turning into ******* with all the fighting and stuff. Let's all get along cuz we are all here for the same reason. Okay?
01-23-2010
05:50 AM
01-23-2010
06:29 AM
bet sony is preparing a new firmware update right now
01-23-2010
09:00 AM
Good to hear the news and hope to see what comes out of it all
01-23-2010
09:01 AM
Don't think they can do anything about this atm. We are not even sure if we can do anything with Geohot's findings. He also mentioned that Sony can't really patch it ,but maybe update the hardware later on when introducing new models. Anyway i think Geohot will need more people involved when it comes to analyzing the dumbs he made.
01-23-2010
10:17 AM
was funny telling Greg the news lolz.. poor guy.. but this is great news, and i hope to see more information in the next coming days, not about the exploit itself. but more one the lines of where are we now, what has to be done, and the future of the ps3. im hoping for homebew, and great apps, full linux support. so many great things to come..
01-23-2010
10:23 AM
01-23-2010
10:52 AM
geohotz is 100% trustworthy, he is very known in the iphone scene.
01-23-2010
11:12 AM
your always the one that has to say, things are not true etc greg.. do you really think geohot would acutely bs with anyone, with the reputation he has. The things this guys has done.
i dont think so.. i think u need to start be leaving things and learn when to say something and when to step back.. you always have a negative attitude bout many subjects.. :P. try to act positive, u mind find it feels good.
And if u want proof i would wait.
01-23-2010
11:19 AM
01-23-2010
11:48 AM
Before you say it Spiker, im not attacking you.
Anyhow, if Gehotz has hacked the PS3, well done to him, i will have egg on my face as i did with the open remote play thing, everything else i have said is fake, has been fake, if i get 2 things wrong out of hundreds of fakes, so what
01-23-2010
12:46 PM
Well done George Hotz
01-23-2010
12:46 PM
Now we're just waiting for some kind of proof and more news. But I have a feeling this is a real deal.
P.S. this news is from yesterday, speed up the news on this topic a bit in the future pls. :D
01-23-2010
01:06 PM
[Threads Merged]
01-23-2010
01:50 PM
Just about everything has been fake for the PS3 so denouncing everything as a fake is a pretty safe bet you'll have a high percentage of "I told you so"s...well done you.
01-23-2010
01:51 PM
01-23-2010
03:13 PM
As an old english teacher said, "123 Friends".
I don't think Gregory is saying he is fake, but he feels the same as I do. How are we 100% SURE that this is true, and we believe him, but with all the good reputable people that have come out with something, nothing has been true. The only real proof that we can get is proof itself that we can't debunk. I mean, look at my video's. You can even SEE the d4mn tape. If this guys comes out with a video about hacking the PS3 and it is legit where nobody can debunk it, we have a real hacker.
I'm not saying Geohot is a fake, but there still needs to be proof, ya know?
01-23-2010
03:14 PM
I Have Proof that it's not fake right here Link has been removed
and can we stop the bickering please, it gets redundant after so many times over the years... Wait for the good word to be released and to able to play with and code some homebrew yourself.
Mods please merge my posts
01-23-2010
05:22 PM
did u guys see what this guy did before he took on the ps3
i have a good feeling about this
01-23-2010
05:47 PM
Am I right in thinking that Matheiulh (sry if its spelt wrong), had a hand at this accomplishment by pointing Geo in the right direction?
Also, I've been wanting to say this for ages..
NOT fake! xD!!!!!
01-23-2010
06:20 PM
Well done sir, keep up the great work :D
and
Thanks
01-23-2010
07:14 PM
btw I think it is proof enough that it is real considering it is from GeoHot. The dude does not bull****. Is the blog site really his? if yes then yes it is real.
01-23-2010
07:18 PM
Im kind of with greg here, scepticism is necessary even though he has a extremely well known reputation.
You don't propose a theory without evidence.
Anyway, props to GeoHotz for being awesome.
01-23-2010
07:36 PM
01-23-2010
09:36 PM
stop *****ing. it's geohot. it's hacked. first with the iphone @ 17 and now the PS3 @ 20.
Kid's a Genius.
01-24-2010
12:44 AM
Update: Saturday, January 23, 2010
I know some function names...
And now if calls have restrictions I don't like, I zap them.
Function names were previously known/recorded here, so is nothing really new.
[VIA]
01-24-2010
01:03 AM
Geohot is seriously the coolest guy.
He is going to be one of thoose legondary consol hackers
up there with
Dark Alex
C4ever
and now finally
Geohot.
Geohot is also seen on tv and everyone knows what he looks like, he is young and not afraid...young and intellegent.
If I ever do get extra cash, i will surely donate to this guy if he reall did hack the ps3.
Also i dont know how he did it in under a month
when ppl have been working on the ps3 for years... those guys must be pissed lmao.
01-24-2010
02:19 AM
Well, I've been checking haxnetwork almost every 2 days since... quite a while now, and no other news made me smile like this one. When everyone's hope whas about to fade away, Geohot made it burn like hell xD I just hope this make us able to put some homebrew in our consoles, and make us glad that we didn't bought that GayBox 360 ...
Could he be the one that make so many thousands of people happy, plus all the ones that he already made with Iphone unlocking?
Hell, he made me see some light at the end of the tunnel!
01-24-2010
02:30 AM
il def donate to this guy when i get some spare cashhiee
01-24-2010
03:42 AM
lol yeh greg has been right a few times lmao n most have turned out to be scams
01-24-2010
05:55 AM
Wait hold on one second...
Now that thats over with. George come here for a big gay sloppy kiss
01-24-2010
06:05 AM
I'm curious whether this hack will also work for the Slim Version.
01-24-2010
06:11 AM
for me it's to beautiful to be true
01-24-2010
06:52 AM
This does look promising indeed. But as there is still a long way and yet a lot to do, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much. just because Geohot has HV access, doesn't mean that stuff still can't go wrong.
fingers crossed...
I'm just going to chill, lean back, and let the pro's do their work. Hopefully within a few months, we will all be able to run homebrew
Props out to Geohot you hot sexy man
01-24-2010
07:36 AM
hmm I'am interested in what software version he do it I have the newes like probably 90% people on this forum and I'm afraid that will be some problems likne in PSP
01-24-2010
10:06 AM
As it was mentioned ,there's nothing released yet. Therefor regardless of what HW you have you can't run this. I don't wanna go into wild speculations but i think he has a 40 GB older phat PS3 with linux installed. So its easier for him to communicate with the system. A guy on Geohot's blog mentioned that Geohot has a FPGA connected to the SIP and that's all we know about this hack.
Don't think i wanna try it out. Looks pretty risky...
btw i think pstrinews are trying to make big money out of this finding by blocking users who have AD-Block. Don't think i ever wanna visit their site again...
01-24-2010
11:08 AM
I cant wait to be able to delete all the crap(facebook,picture library,home)that sony puts on the beautiful machine :D Seriously though, this machine in a few months- perhaps a year will be a fully unlocked god umoung consoles :D Bring on the homebrew :D i'll actually help to develop for this too ^-^
01-24-2010
11:29 AM
01-24-2010
11:38 AM
Im not too techinal with the ps3's innards(nor of the HV eaither), but im a fast learner. Im quite well versed in linux though, which seems to be a good thing heh. Now, that we have unrestricted access to the HV thanks to geohot, it's just a matter of time untill we have our own programs running. im aware it will be a mamoth task, this is just the tip of the iceburg, but im sure all the devs will pitch in on this. Is there only 2 LV's of the HV or are there more ?: \
01-24-2010
12:47 PM
A reply by GeoHot on his blog:
01-24-2010
01:01 PM
:D Fantastic :D Woohoooooo!!!!
01-24-2010
02:22 PM
I don't think so...
Why he posted some hypervisor's functions? It's been released already: http://wiki.ps2dev.org/ps3:hypervisor
Or it's just some piece of my paranoia...
PS
Sry for trying to speak on yours language, please don't hurt me badly if you see some kind of mistakes.
01-24-2010
03:20 PM
I'm sure this is legit, as 90% of the people in this world do too. Guess we have to wait to see what he says next
01-24-2010
03:45 PM
Hey guys, I've been around as long as some of the administrators but i very rarely make a post because I'm the type to watch **** happen. I do not get hyped up, I do not get disappointed. The only thing I have to say is I'm tired of hearing the bickering about wether or not hacks are true or fake. Noone knows except the one who has made it.
Let me give you folks one example. Tiger Woods. It doesnt matter how reputable you are, just remember, the bigger you are, the harder you fall
But I do trust Geohot, because my iphone is oh so wonderful now.
I just want forums to be filled with less drama. nuff said
01-24-2010
03:55 PM
this guy is something entirely else. he ain't no hacker, he's a genius and absolutely the stuff legends are made of. it may take some time but in about 2-3 months i expect the scene to explode with homebrew.
01-24-2010
03:56 PM
For anyone that wants to understand the different levels lvl1 lvl2 etc. Mathiuelh explained a little about what each level does some time back. It can be read here: http://www.haxnetwork.net/showpost.p...2&postcount=18
01-24-2010
04:27 PM
Here's what Mathieulh said:
I keep my fingers crossed
01-24-2010
10:03 PM
So, we are all waiting on him to crack the 8th SPE? ...then we have can have our unlocked ps3's? :D .. i know that sounds simple in text, but man the amount of pressure this guy has on him to pull this off must be unimaginable...
01-24-2010
10:23 PM
i got a feeling he's down for the challenge and won't give up so easily. he's already at the backdoor finding the front door key. this man is no joke and it shows.
he needs a movie made about him.
01-24-2010
11:16 PM
In what LV are all the security checks? Is it LV1?
Also, if somebody could tell everybody what LV1, LV0, LV2, HV, RAM, and LPAR is. I'm not 100% sure on what they all are.
For instance, what runs first, second, third, fourth and so on.
01-25-2010
05:33 AM
maybe now i can FINALLLLLLLLLY use my extra 1.10fw launch 60gb ps3 ive been hording ever since i got the dam thing at launch $650.00 investment that finally pays off...
i think there is ALOT of behind the scenes action going on right now, we have the underground ps3 legit hackers in contact with geohot, we have sony probably tripping ballz thinking OMG we ****ed up again, and everyone waiting to see this all pans out. there will be rioting in the streets mark my word
01-25-2010
08:20 AM
playstation havent f**kd up considering the consoles security did last 3 years, it wasnt inpenetrable seeing as how geohot cracked it in 5 weeks BUT looks like sony played their cards right till now and i believe in 3-5 months time this whole forum will be filled with homebrew developers releasing great additions to our ps3s to makez them a 100 times better i mean yeah sure sony did a good job but having homebrew oh my god how that feels great
01-25-2010
08:42 AM
I hope that this means we can finally get full hardware access in Linux. If that's invisible to the firmware, then we can have a great homebrew device without getting cut off from PSN.
01-25-2010
08:56 AM
If we can get full linux, there really won't need to be a need for computer's in the household other than user friendly Windows. With the power of the PS3 with Linux, can you imagine the processing power that will come out of that? Cracking passwords and hash code in days maybe hours.
Technically WINE will run EXTREMELY fast which mean's Windows will even be on the PS3. If all this hacking info is real and legit, we are in over our heads a little bit. xD
01-25-2010
09:02 AM
Sorry to burst your bubble, but Wine won't run on the PS3's architecture.
Like you said though, I'm sure a lot of those scientists using beowulf clusters of ps3s as a cheap supercomputer will be happy to have more power available to them.
01-25-2010
09:24 AM
01-25-2010
09:59 AM
sony is investigating the hack (via http://www.incgamers.com/News/20648/...ck-allegations)
01-25-2010
10:38 AM
I am sure Geohot is busy at it right now but I am concerned that due to the heat this issue is bringing onto him it might just end up where they get to him before anymore information is leaked out. This why at times it's best to either hold off and release the complete details when 100% is decyphered then to release small bytes of info and create a stur once all of the info and how is released is kinda of hard to shut it down. We shall see how it plays out and I wish Geohot all the best and luck but on sony's end I bet they are already tracing down the source.
01-25-2010
10:39 AM
Seriously ,what can they do to him ? They can't really send him to jail just because hes messing with his own device or maybe I'm just completely wrong ?
01-25-2010
10:50 AM
being able to reproduce digitial copy of a copyrighted material. In this case
ISO Backups is one count
and the security keys that enable secure access to copyrighted material.
but hey I am no expert at this so I can be wrong about it just my opinion and thoughts.
I don't think he can be sued for hacking his own equipment in this case his own ps3
but it can go down several ways
they sue him anyway
they pay him a large considerable amount to shut him up
or sony just dismisses the claims and pretends that it has not been hacked when in fact it has been so it's just a cover up until he fully releases the details of his findings.
01-25-2010
11:16 AM
I read somewhere on Digg, i think that some dood, did infact get arrested for mucking around with his PS2 : \ I sure hope nothing happens to him though, but now the news is wide spread, perhaps he should of kept it a secret for a while longer, ie running unsigned code, because now the news has spread like wildfire over the internet. Best of luck to mr Geo ^_^. just as provo said, I also think sony will eaither be quiet for now, or even maybe hire him? .. would that be possible?
01-25-2010
11:33 AM
Nothing has changed yet so continue about your bizz and go get grand turismo at launch :-) pick up the logitech g27 steering wheel while your at it. <<<Looking forward to it.
01-25-2010
11:44 AM
What if Sony offers him a job for encrypting and securing systems. Geohot would prolly take the job than make 0 money and give away his hack.
I mean I know its bad for us but look at it in his point of view.
Wouldnt you take the money or job ? or be charged or put in jail.
Dam if only Geohot didnt reveal himself lol.
I dont know what he will do but maybe he can work for sony and open some holes for us. Tell an outside person about it and then we can get it hacked + he will get money.
anyways only time can tell .
01-25-2010
12:10 PM
Here is what GeoHot said earlier today:
01-25-2010
12:18 PM
01-25-2010
12:20 PM
I would be more than happy to support the game developers, and buy the games, rip them and play the ISO's rather than wait hours downloading what may be a hoax and some of my download gone. I was happy about it, but ive also been reading that Geo is at the castle gates of the ps3, the Hypervisor is just the moat, now that he's bypassed that, he still has a long way to go. We've waited 3 years 11 days and whatever on what may never of come true, so waiting a bit longer wont hurt, we here at HAXNETWORK are a patient bunch of hackers. ^-^
01-25-2010
12:55 PM
01-25-2010
01:11 PM
We aren't hackers we are just script kiddies who follow other leader's work and instructions we are merely deciples of the true ones.
A true hacker is the one who actually creates the hack for us to follow
01-25-2010
01:58 PM
...you both got me there.. ^-^ but im sure we can go on to do great things too :D
01-25-2010
02:32 PM
Its made the BBC News
They have claimed that George Hotz spoke to them.
01-25-2010
02:43 PM
I think it's now fair to say that the chance of his findings coming to light are now at a stagering %5 chance. :musicus: The publicity is what is going to lead him into trouble
<<FBI Field office wants to talk to you. What is this about hacking the ps3
<<Refresh my memory again 
Dont play games with me we need you to voluntary come down to speak with us
01-25-2010
03:06 PM
yes hacker and finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ps3 is hacked ... these news is great very very great .
01-25-2010
03:14 PM
This is entertaining. Now that the existence of what may be the first true PS3 hack has become recognised by many reliable media and news websites all over the world, a mass amount of people are definitely going to be overhyped by the whole thing.
What will be the outcome of this? Will Sony manage to stop the most-known hacker from releasing his findings onto the Internet? Will Geohost actually release his findings before Sony does something about him? What if his findings turned out to be not expected? We will have to see, shall we?
/popcorns
01-25-2010
03:50 PM
01-25-2010
04:34 PM
Dude's a genius, In Yo Face Sony.
01-25-2010
05:19 PM
George Hоtz said...
ah come on your just too tired mate ,call it a day and go to sleep
Looks like the guy was fake ,look at his ID ,hes not George "GeoHot" Hotz. Huh i couldnt breath for a minute.
01-25-2010
05:35 PM
01-25-2010
05:38 PM
Seems he is getting annoyed by people posting.
01-25-2010
06:25 PM
I still don't think this is 100% legit because there is no proof of anything really, but that's just my opinion.
01-25-2010
06:26 PM
I can understand him being annoyed, but call them noobs? Sounds to me like he's the noob, I understand he's a genius and all but you don't have to be one to know what was going to happen. Put the honeypot out and the bees will come George, should have kept a lid on it! /durrrrr
01-25-2010
06:30 PM
01-25-2010
06:32 PM
Posted Here.
Also Gregory, the only thing Sony can do at this point is watch and wait just like everybody else. Of course they have a few 100 people reading everything and anything about PS3 at this time, they can't do anything since he is not circumventing DRM. It would be illegal for them to do that and I doubt Sony wants to start doing illegal things.
Remember everybody. Don't trust anybody but yourself.
01-25-2010
06:55 PM
I can understand the annoyance. Everybody needs to leave this alone for now, and see what we learn from this. As many of us have already said this will take months before anything good comes.
Geohot should also understand that we were waiting for a big breakthrough for over three years, and that most of us are just excited.
01-25-2010
07:15 PM
01-25-2010
07:17 PM
01-25-2010
07:36 PM
I don't see that posted anywhere...
01-25-2010
11:29 PM
i would be getting annoyed too from all the bluray iso burn asks. but good luck to him, i got plenty of patience and think it'll still take a few months before anything gets made from a release by him.
01-25-2010
11:29 PM
01-25-2010
11:29 PM
good updates guys lets hope were running homebrew before april or may
01-25-2010
11:32 PM
My computer has a auto refresh on all my web tabs so if something new comes up, I notice right away. I will be posting everything I find. I am going to try and get a hold of Math also but I can't promise anything.
01-25-2010
11:33 PM
cool thanks spiker sounds good keep as ull informed this is pretty exciting for the whole ps3 community as it has been 3 years and absolutely no progress, now seeing such a big step into hacking the console makes everyone edgy so let us know how u go
01-25-2010
11:35 PM
Ha, trust me, I haven't slept in two day's. There has to be a better word than edgy for that.
01-25-2010
11:37 PM
haha yeah i have been checking these forums every couple of hours to find more news so it has kept me on the edge of my seat
01-26-2010
12:13 AM
01-26-2010
12:45 AM
weee were getting closer and closerr
01-26-2010
12:47 AM
I don't really understand that last post, so if somebody could explain, I would LOVE it!
Bed, work in the morning. Will post more in the AM.
01-26-2010
12:56 AM
i dont understand it either all i know is it means his getting closer.
01-26-2010
02:55 AM
So this doesnt work with the ps3 slim?
01-26-2010
05:18 AM
Ok ,here's what I understood. He got really fed up with people demanding stuff from him. That blog he uses is for research purposes. There will be nothing released on his blog. You can only find information there. Also hes fed up with people asking if his hack will work on the Slim (obviously it will ,just my 2 cents). Also people asking for GAMEZ are not welcome.
Too bad i can't comment that. I'm not an expert 
The rest sounds very interesting
I'm having a good feeling that he's trying to get the codes we need...
I can only hope he will succeed.
01-26-2010
05:48 AM
The kids smart if he has gotten this far he can go further i mean he hasn't said his had problems yet, we will see though. I have a lot of faith in this guy
01-26-2010
06:44 AM
Go GeoHot !
01-26-2010
07:21 AM
I guess it means the following:
- He won't release tools, appz or anything which can be used to hack the system
- The PS3 Slim isn't supported (yet?)
- Lamers asking for illegal content and/or warez are not welcome on that blog
- The blog is for collaboration, discussions and research on PS3 hacking only!
- Geohot wants to get the 'master key' which he wants to release to other developers (on his blog).
- However the 'master key' isn't necessairy with his current method, which he will not share.
01-26-2010
09:21 AM
People do not expect a release from Geo he is merely trying to extract the encryption keys and post them on his blog so others can then do research and perhaps down the road someone else would make it possible for us to play backups but trust me Geo is not the one who will be providing the steps and appz for it.
It will be months if not an entire year before you and might even get a chance to play any backups let the guy be he is not oblicated nor contracted to anyone to provide anything so back off the guy and let him take his time conquiring the dragon.
01-26-2010
09:28 AM
- right the ps3 isn't supported yet, and doesn't seem to be supported by this exploit lets see what he can do with it.
- and fu** backups i just want homebrew
03-25-2010
06:24 PM
It's about F'n time !!!
Been waiting way to long for this to finally come out.