PlayStation 4 Has Been Hacked to Run Gentoo Linux

[Exterminator]

Content source

http://news.softpedia.com/news/playstation-4-has-been-hacked-to-run-gentoo-linux-video-498287.shtml#sgal_0

It is also possible to connect a Game Boy Advance
Believe it or not, it would appear that a hacking group that goes by the name of Fail0verflow managed to hack Sony's PlayStation 4 (PS4) gaming console to run a Linux kernel-based operating system.

In the five-minute-long video attached at the end of the article, you can see the guys over at Fail0verflow demonstrating Linux on PlayStation 4 at the 32nd Chaos Communication Congress (32c3) event that took place on December 30, 2015.

If you look closely at the video, you'll notice that they managed to find some vulnerability in the PlayStation 4 gaming console, as the Linux kernel-based operating system is launched through Settings -> User's Guide.

PlayStation 4 runs Gentoo, Linux kernel 4.4 LTS
We can't help but notice that the version of the GNU/Linux operating system used for hacking PlayStation 4 is the famous Gentoo, running the next-gen OpenRC init system.

However, it looks like the latest systemd 228 init system is also used, and they're using the lightweight Xfce desktop environment, along with Linux kernel 4.4 LTS RC6.

Then, they're starting a presentation to show us all how they managed to hack the PlayStation 4 gaming console, which appears to have a broken NOP command on the integrated AMD Radeon GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).

Among the things that are working, at least at the moment of writing this article, we can mention timers, IRQs, PCI, serial port, framebuffer, kernel modesetting, HDMI encoder, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and S/PDIF audio.

Soon, the Fail0verflow team will make the 3D acceleration, USB, and HDMI audio to work as well. The SATA AHCI Blu-Ray device was not tested at the moment, but kernel patches are coming soon.

Additionally, they managed to connect a Game Boy Advance (GBA). Rest assured that we'll update the article when we have more details on the matter. In the meantime, enjoy the video below!

 

[Vasudev]

I think those guys were trying to unlock PS4 extra cpu and gpu cores by installing Gentoo.

 

[Soulbound]

Props to install Gentoo, tho I can imagine the time it took to build everything. Surprised they went XFCE way instead of OB.

 

[Vasudev]

I prefer XCFE among different env.

 

[Exterminator]

Takes me back to the good old days running COD modded lobbies on a fat PS3. Good thing they were cheap on amazon because I still have 2 or 3 bricked fat PS3's

 

[Exterminator]

PlayStation 4 Linux Hack Now Supports 3D Acceleration, USB Support Coming Soon
Source: PlayStation 4 Linux Hack Now Supports 3D Acceleration, USB Support Coming Soon

Still no word on the SATA AHCI Blu-Ray support
Jan 7, 2016 02:17 GMT · By Marius Nestor

We reported on the last days of 2015 that a group of talented hackers that go by the name of fail0verflow managed to hack Sony's PlayStation 4 gaming console to run the Gentoo Linux operating system.

The hack was made possible due to a broken NOP command on the integrated AMD Radeon GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), something that Sony might not be able to fix anytime soon.

If you read our initial report, you should know by now that, among the hardware components supported by the Linux hack, there are Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, HDMI encoder, S/PDIF audio, IRQs, PCI, serial port, framebuffer, and kernel modesetting.

At that point in time, the fail0verflow team promised to continue working on the hack and make other hardware components function under Linux as well, such as 3D acceleration, HDMI audio, SATA AHCI Blu-Ray, and USB.

Well, it didn't take them long to announce that 3D acceleration, which was the most important of them all, now works properly. "Who said 3D drivers for the PS4 wouldn't happen any time soon?" writes the fail0verflow team on their Twitter account.

For those who didn't watch the presentation with the Linux hack for PlayStation 4, which was demoed at the 32nd Chaos Communication Congress (32c3) event on December 30, 2015, we've attached the video below. More details about the 3D acceleration can be found on GitHub.

Who said 3D drivers for the PS4 wouldn't happen any time soon? pic.twitter.com/HFtq0du9z8 — fail0verflow (@fail0verflow) January 4, 2016