At a Glance
- Star Wars Racer Revenge disc is key to a new PS5 jailbreak after ROM keys leaked over New Year’s Eve.
- The game is listed on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
- Sony cannot patch the leaked ROM keys, raising security concerns.
- Why it matters: Sony’s PS5 security could be compromised, and the game’s price has spiked.
Gamers looking to add the obscure PlayStation 4 title Star Wars Racer Revenge to their collection are surprised by its sudden price surge and the reason behind it. The disc is now believed to be the first entry point for a PS5 jailbreak, thanks to leaked ROM keys that Sony cannot patch. The discovery has sent the game’s value soaring on eBay.
The Hack and Its Origin
The hack stems from ROM keys that leaked online over New Year’s Eve. A deep dive by The Cybersec Guru explains that these keys are part of the PS5’s core security, which cannot be updated. The Cybersec Guru noted that the keys alone don’t allow a jailbreak:
> “[Having] the keys allow developers to find exploits easier, but you still need an entry point … to use them.”
Current Status and Community Reaction
So far the exploit is only a proof of concept, demonstrated by developer Gezine printing a short message on the console. Sony has kept the PS5 free from low-level jailbreaks since its November 2020 launch, but a ROM-key based jailbreak would be different. Some homebrew developers warn that the keys alone are insufficient.
Jose Coixao (aka zecoixao) wrote on Twitter that the keys:
> “are NOT enough to pwn a PS5.”
He argued that jailbreakers would also require access to two other vital security components, and that they would need to find bugs in the ROM that can be exploited. The full quote is:
> “or alternatively, [they would] need to find bugs in the ROM that you can use to exploit the PS5. Neither of these are easy and [both] require immense work.”
- Access to two other vital security components
- Discovery of bugs in the ROM that can be exploited
- Significant development effort
Key Takeaways
- Star Wars Racer Revenge disc is now a key to a potential PS5 jailbreak.
- Sony cannot patch the leaked ROM keys, making a jailbreak possible.
- The exploit remains a proof of concept; full firmware jailbreak is still far away.
While the hack is still early, the fact that Sony cannot patch the ROM keys means the industry will watch closely as the work moves from proof of concept to potential full-firmware jailbreak.
