News emerging from Shanghai’s GeekPwn conference suggests attendees have hacked PlayStation 4 — and there’s even a rather bizarre video to prove it.
Embedded below, the footage shows the console running an unsanctioned Linux build, with hackers claiming to have found a web browser exploit buried in the 4.01 firmware update. Hosted by members of the Pavilion Safety Research Lab, you’ll see that the video jump-cuts to a command line interface, indicating that Linux has successfully been installed on the hardware. There’s even a shot of the hackers playing Super Mario Bros. via DualShock 4.
A patch has already been rolled out by Sony, though Eurogamer notes that the first wave of PS4 Pro’s will ship with the same system software on display in the video below, suggesting that hackers may be able to root the mid-gen upgrade at launch.
“Linux on the PS4 actually makes a lot of sense, more than it ever did on any previous game console,” fail0verflow stated back in January after their demo. “It’s close enough to a PC that getting 3D acceleration working, while rather painful (as we’ve learned), seems entirely possible without undue amounts of effort (in a timeframe of months, not years), to the level needed for real indie games and even AAA titles, not just homebrew. And many thousands of indie and AAA games already run on Linux. Yes, SteamOS on the PS4 should ‘just work’ once the driver issues are sorted out.”
You can see the video in full below, just keep in mind there are no English subtitles available.
[Source: Eurogamer]
