Sony’s PlayStation 5 seems to have been jailbroken – so of course, people are installing P.T.
PlayStation modder SpecterDev unveiled the new jailbreak earlier today – an experimental IPV6 kernel exploit for the PS5. This jailbreak relies on a WebKit vulnerability as an entry point, so it will only work on PS5’s running firmware 4.03 or lower… and even then, apparently only works around 30% of the time.
In simple terms, jailbreaking refers to reverse-engineering closed hardware, and is often used to unlock debug menus and allow the use of unauthorized software. Fellow modder Lance MacDonald showcased this new jailbreak in action by installing famous lost game P.T on his P55.
It's... beautiful.
— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) October 3, 2022
The PlayStation 5 has been jailbroken. pic.twitter.com/54fvBGoQGw
As you can see in the video above, the jailbreak gives users access to the debug menu as well as the ability to install a PS4 PKG file – essentially a backup of a game. It seems McDonald couldn’t help installing the now-defunct Silent Hill demo, P.T. which has been in high demand ever since it was removed from the PS Store back in May 2015.
While Sony will likely keep an eye on this PS5 jailbreak, it’s unlikely to make it into widespread use in its current form due to its limitations. Primarily, that's because this new exploit gives you read/write access but no way to execute anything you install – so in McDonald's case, he can install P.T., but can't actually launch it.
That’s not the only way this new PS5 jailbreak is limited, either. It currently only works on PS5s running firmware 4.03 – a version that was released back in October 2021. The exploit may work on other previous firmware versions, but creator SpectorDev says that it may need to be tweaked. Additionally, you can’t install homebrew-related code, either.
However, this will be viewed as a first step for fellow modders and hackers, who will likely attempt to build on the entry point. While jailbreaking isn't necessarily illegal in and of itself, doing so can get your PlayStation Network account banned, voids any warranty and could result in you rendering your entire console unusuable.
Want to read more about the PS5? Check out the best PS5 games of 2022 so far as well as the recent internal redesign of the PS5.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.