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It was revealed that the recently released firmware for the Nintendo Switch that allows hacking to contain a brick code, something that can render the device unusable and designed to prevent it from occurring. to be copied – a slightly ironic situation. Security researcher Mike Heskin used Twitter to reveal the findings of his custom Xcelutor firmware, "SX OS". a software patch for the switch operating system, published in conjunction with a hardware failure that opens the door to the execution of unauthorized code – that is, homebrew – but allows also the copy of games.
why we will introduce a code in the firmware that can disable the device? As Heskin points out, this is not something new – a 3DS hack does exactly the same thing. Hardware-based hacks can easily be cloned (in fact, open-source anti-hacking hacks based on the same exploit are already available), and the unique work of Team Xecutor stands out for having tuned the system. Switch operation to allow the execution of copied software. Heskin reveals that he "bricks" his console – deliberately – during his research, presumably to check Team Xecutor's backup measures.
The code designed to prevent users – or, more specifically, Xecutor's rivals – from attempting to reverse engineer and copy parts of the firmware piracy activation. In normal use, the same thing should stay in the background and do nothing, although Heskin calculates that there is a very small badumption that firmware users can accidentally trigger it. In this scenario, the 32-bit Switch NAND memory is locked based on a pbadword dynamically generated by the brick code, rendering the console unusable. Only an external NAND refash can allow the restoration of the console – a task not very easy.
PSA: SX OS contains brick code. How do I know? Takes a guess …: /
Whatever the case may be, the concept is the same as that used by Gateway for the 3DS: your eMMC will be locked with a specific pbadword. Unfortunately, in my case, the pbadword was generated from random waste on the stack. The launch of Team Xecutor's custom firmware was greeted with controversy as users pointed out that hacking features do not work at all.
– Mike Heskin (@hexkyz) June 24, 2018
Meanwhile, other reverse engineering work revealed that the physical and digital version of each switch has a number of single series, which means that versions copied with the same ID will be easily detected by Nintendo if you use a pirated console online
However, for now, Team Xecutor itself declares that the firmware is secure and that there was not a single report of problems caused by his code. The drama, however, continues to unfold with Mike Heskin suggesting that TX is using open source code from other Switch exploits (which do not support hacking) in its monetized product, a scenario that often motivates people to believe that they are not doing so. other hackers to debone the paid software and distribute it for free
The current exploit of the Switch based on a hardware vulnerability that Nintendo can not repair without launching a new back of the console, which means that the battle to prevent hacking out of the system and ensure the security of online games be locked in the software space. Nintendo has banned hackers from having compromised consoles, but a firmware update to repair the operating system has not yet taken place. Still .
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