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Fusée Gelée FAQ by Kate Temkin

http://www.ktemkin.com/faq-fusee-gelee/

Kate has collected and answered the most common questions she's gotten regarding Fusée Gelée. Most notably she explains the three "types" of FG hacks, software, hardware (temporary) and hardware (permanent).

Enjoy!

Kate herself responded to this thread on page 26, thanks Kate!

There's a lot more here than I can easily respond to, so apologies if I miss posts or gloss over points.



This is correct-- while there likely will be software chains around for these things in the future, I don't see them as coming along as quickly as f-g. We don't have a non-coldboot exploit chain at all for 5.0.0-- and we haven't looked yet, as we've had other things to focus on and coldboot works. We do have one for 4.1.0, but it's centered around a couple of exploits that we don't want to burn-- we're hoping to use them to get an opportunity to poke around inside T214/Mariko.



I don't view you as particularly hostile, no. I don't know if challenge is generally a good thing-- sometimes you do have to accept that other people have different ethics or viewpoints from yourself and let that pass, especially if they're just doing stuff for fun-- but I don't view your post as hostile.



Jamais Vu (1.0.0 TrustZone hack) isn't my bug, but has been written up, and is just awaiting someone with the skills to have time to do a public interpretation. Déjà Vu is currently centered around the exploit I mentioned above, and we definitely want to hold onto that for as long as it's applicable. It's entirely a Switch bug, too, so I don't see it as being something that needs responsible disclosure.



For Déjà Vu, absolutely. (explained in last quote)



I don't agree that things like tweeting are ego. This is something I work on because I find it a lot of fun to hack on things, and there's definitely an aspect in which it makes me happy when seeing the results of things makes other people happy. There's also an aspect in which I hope that showing these things are possible inspires people to want to learn e.g. reverse engineering. This stuff is cool; and I want to share the excitement with others and lift them up as much as I can.

You don't have to believe me on that or like that that's my goal. I won't hold it against you if you don't. :)



I honestly support people updating when it makes sense; and I recognize that there's a conflict between holding back information and enabling others to make reasonable decisions about that. I don't like or feel good about secrecy, and I know it has implications. I've tried to be as clear as I can about the costs regarding updating without crossing the line into giving things away.



I think we've been pretty clear that 4.1.0 will eventually see a non-coldboot, software-only exploit with the same level of power. That's actually been posted on the ReSwitched Discord's FAQ for months, but I know the message gets skewed as its gets communicated over to other places. That's part of why I'm here, now-- I want to help clear things up.

The interactions between the operating system and the bootloader-- say on reboot-- are actually fairly limited; and knowing what any of them are is enough to point people at the particular section of bootrom that's vulnerable. That's why I'm not commenting on Fusée Gelée and how it relates to software-only solutions right now. I have said e.g. above that since there's no public way of getting the privileges necessary to run things, 4.1.0 isn't going to see a pure software solution that the public can use at the time that f-g is released. Software exploits will likely come in time; and it's possible we'll come up with things that are even easier than f-g.



I'm not sure if they'll take it seriously enough. I don't know how they are internally-- but I can't just assume they'll fail to do anything and skip disclosure. Honestly, I don't think a "security advisory" is really a bad thing, either-- there are definitely applications of Tegra chips that I and/or the public don't know about. If giving NVIDIA notice gives them time to explain exactly what's dangerous and allow their customers to remove and replace units from places where the vulnerability can cause harm, I consider that a win, and well worth delaying some public switch hacks by a few months.

I'll also say that my fear that vendors won't take the vulnerability seriously is a huge reason I'm so keen to get things out there-- and why I provided a date after which I'll tell the public what's going on that I've said was non-negotiable. I want to make sure this doesn't get hidden, and that people understand exactly what f-g can and can't accomplish, to minimize FUD while also letting people understand the actual risks are associated with using a vulnerable device.



It changes this from an exploit that's going to be usable before the affected people know it's a thing to something that people may have a chance to react to. Making the vulnerability public without disclosure really increases the odds someone is capable of using it to do bad.

I didn't really give NVIDIA a chance to sell-off stock; though. I've said publicly multiple times that there are bugs in Tegra processors well before NVIDIA reached out to me seeking disclosure. If anything, I think telling the public that these vulnerabilities exist while pursuing disclosure helps developers interested in using Tegra chips in the future ask the right question.



I've already said that while pure-software stuff is doable on 4.1.0; it'll be a wait. As far as I'm remembering, the only part of the chain that could require multiple tries to work is PegaSwitch, which is our browser-based entry point, and I haven't even tried the browser entry point that'll eventually be public to see how reliable it is. SciresM did the work to get our non-coldboot exploit working on 4.1.0; not me. :)



Yeah, that's hard-- especially as everyone has a different view as to how inconvenient things are. I don't know of a way to communicate this better without more details.

Incidentally, the 'inconvenience' verbiage came from SciresM and I discussing our respective views on updating. I think SciresM is more towards the opinion that people should hold back more often, where I'm more of the opinion that updating can be a good and reasonable option sometimes. The way we wound up phrasing things is a compromise between views.



(I'm going to assume this meant "on the hacking side". If not I'm not sure what hacking site you're referring to.)

Updating to latest just closes the possibility of using software exploits launched from Horizon, which can make setup more difficult. I know you'd like to know how much, but I unfortunately don't have a good way of qualifying that. As I've mentioned, if you're suffering from not being able to use your 3.0.1+ Switch, you probably do want to upgrade and just risk things being more inconvenient in the future. Worst comes to worst, if you decide you can't tolerate the inconvenience, you upgrade and then wind up having to figure out a modchip.

The downgrade protection fuses literally mean nothing to a system with f-g, which can entirely skip the downgrade check. Incidentally, SciresM actually accidentally bricked one of his systems in a way such that it was always failing the downgrade checks, and he's been able to use f-g to get that system up and running again.



I don't think that's clear at all, nor do I want to confirm or deny this. Sorry.



I think you're making a bunch of assumptions here, and that's maybe not a great idea. I'm not saying you're necessarily right or wrong; just that I don't think your assumptions are founded.



I don't think this contradicts. This is talking about vulnerabilities that aren't f-g; not because f-g doesn't work on 4.1.0, but because it's possible we may come up with vulnerabilities that are even nicer on 4.1.0 in the future.



I'm being as clear as I feel I can, and adding clarifications e.g. here where I think it helps. There will be different names for the the ways you can use f-g eventually; and I'll be fully open about everything once the summer rolls around and I'm not putting the disclosure timeline in jeopardy.



I know and have said about that this "bring your own exploit" business makes development exclusive, and that's exclusionary and I really don't like it-- I just don't see a way around it. I would love to get more developers and more perspective, and that's why my release date for f-g is tied to my disclosure timeline and not in particular to Atmosphère's release.




I've tried to point out approximately what the difficulty would be for some of the options to kind of provide this, but this is a hard thing to accomplish. In this case, providing details that are more specific really points a finger at vulnerability details, so there's not much I'm comfortable sharing. I've shared what I could-- as a data point, some of the other teams have outright stated that they think I've shared too much already and made things obvious. I don't agree or necessarily care about their opinons, but c'est la vie.



Well, this isn't the case. This has been disclosed to Nintendo, too-- as NVIDIA shares their vulnerability findings with downstream customers. It's more general malicious actors that I'd be worried about.



See above-- but I don't think I'd advise specifically updating to 4.1.0 unless that gives you enough access to the games you want.



I'm also super glad that we can do a lot of our work in the open. I hope there's a lot more of it in the future-- and I'd love to stream some of it. :)



I find the requirement disheartening as well, but I think this is the right way to do things, for now. I've explained my rationale above; feel free to ask questions.



I'm not sure why people are against communication, here. There were definite benefits to talking about f-g in the first place; including that it demonstrates that Tegra chips are vulnerable-- which hopefully influences buying decisions in the future and puts pressure on NVIDIA to seek as much of a fix as they can. After that there seemed to be definitely benefits to talking about more details, even in the limited sense that I'm able to. I've tried to give people more information than the nothing they would have had so they could have more of an idea whether it's be a good idea to e.g. pre-order a modchip or update their system. I know it can be frustrating to not get full disclosure, and that more information would help people to make a better or more conclusive decision, but full disclosure isn't an option until this summer. I don't think that's a reason to hold back information.



I don't have specific answers to your questions, unfortunately-- but I think it sounds like the main purpose of this Switch is as a gaming device and maybe you should upgrade and enjoy playing games with your son.



I don't think that asking for clarification is criticism. It might be rude to push me to answer something I said I wouldn't, but I don't think there's harm in answer.



I don't think I've said anything about opening the console or not. See above for my views on updating?



I'm not sure where you got this impression, or why you're confident about things enough to claim you know about the internal values or working of ReSwitched. This is also easily disprovable just from public information--Hedgeberg has tested out f-g on stream. I don't see it as great opsec to enumerate how many people have access to the vulnerability, but we've long had a policy of only giving exploit details to those who actually want to know them and are in a position where they can use them to help. This is a basic security precaution and not about trust.

I'm actually not sure how this is relevant to the broader discussion. Based on your post history, I can tell that you strongly support TX and the option they're providing, and you're welcome to that, but I think throwing around generic unfounded criticism of RS doesn't do much good and distracts from me answering community questions. :)



I don't think they're obviously more convenient, as they exist right now. They're both inherently however-tethered-you-consider-PegaSwitch, take a bunch of time to run, and rely on a pegaswitch entry point.



That's not correct-- everyone on a current hardware revision will be able to install and use CFW the day it's released, if they're willing to put in the effort and potentially take on some minor risk.



I'm actually not sure what you mean by this entire post? Sorry about that-- I'd love to address your ideas, but unfortunately I can't figure out your meaning. :(



That was about me having fun by trying to see if a DIY, cheap modchip option is reasonable. It turns out it is. As you've noted, it's not necessary on any firmware. I just really like the idea that the open exchange of knowledge -- especially when profit's not a motive -- can result in creation of neat options for the community. ^-^



Yep; that's exactly what it means. :)



I don't think this has been at all implied-- and you'd be hard pressed to find a way to make a solder-less Arduino option that even remotely fits in the Switch case. :)

I should also clarify that the DIY option isn't solderless. :)


If you have or are going to get the game anyway, you can. Those versions are pretty much interchangeable in the long-term. :)



Yep-- and it's possible at some point that we'll allow you to install Fake News without Puyo using f-g/Atmosphère. The original plan was to release Atmosphère for 1.0.0 first while we tried to figure out how to deal with Fusée Gelée, but we actually wound up with a disclosure schedule that was faster than we'd thought. :)
 
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Mrdx

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short summary for pre-Mariko units:
1.0.0: has a nice non-coldboot solution, and is the most likely to get a Holy Grail CFW-launching exploit in the future
<3.0.1: has enough power to avoid a hardmod immediately, even if you'll probably want to just do the hardmod 'cuz the hardmod's so easy and
<=4.1.0: will eventually see a hardmod-less solution, but will need that 'minor hardmod' at launch
>4.1.0: that 'minor hardmod' is required; though we may find a solution to avoid this in the future
Thanks for the clarification, updating my 4.1.0 console right now to finally download and play Celeste!
 
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ktemkin

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is the Hardmod detectable by Nintendo ?
assume yes... always.

The trivial one? Likely not. A modchip... well, also likely not. I'd be more worried about them detecting the CFW than the mod itself.

Am I understanding things correctly that the only coldboot option at the time of release (for any system version, pre-Mariko) will require the "easy hardmod"?

No-- versions <= 3.0.0 can use the coldboot option. I just think you'll want to go for the easy hardmod.
 

Ronhero

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short summary for pre-Mariko units:
1.0.0: has a nice non-coldboot solution, and is the most likely to get a Holy Grail CFW-launching exploit in the future

Whohoo for the ones on 1.0.

I'm confused what you mean by non cold boot solution but can't wait to find out.
 

ktemkin

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When you say that, do you mean the softmod version is more difficult/takes more time, or is that from a tinkering perspective where "it's always more fun to go hands-on"? :ha:

Both-- mostly I think that the 'trivial hardmod' is at a really nice intersection of convenience, ease, and lack-of-risk. I'd think if you're okay with e.g. unplugging and replugging a ribbon cable you're up to it :)-- but obvious that's up to the end user. :)
 

normal19

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short summary for pre-Mariko units:
1.0.0: has a nice non-coldboot solution, and is the most likely to get a Holy Grail CFW-launching exploit in the future
<3.0.1: has enough power to avoid a hardmod immediately, even if you'll probably want to just do the hardmod 'cuz the hardmod's so easy and
<=4.1.0: will eventually see a hardmod-less solution, but will need that 'minor hardmod' at launch
>4.1.0: that 'minor hardmod' is required; though we may find a solution to avoid this in the future
I had a second 1.0.0 and I updated it as soon as pegaswitch was released because I thought that was "the" exploit. Now I feel foolish for not waiting a little longer, I'm willing to hardmod but "holy grail" just rubs it in when i could have had it lol
 

ktemkin

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I had a second 1.0.0 and I updated it as soon as pegaswitch was released because I thought that was "the" exploit. Now I feel foolish for not waiting a little longer, I'm willing to hardmod but "holy grail" just rubs it in when i could have had it lol

Well, we don't have a "holy grail" exploit yet-- I just think that a 1.0.0 is most likely to get one. :)
 

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Well, we don't have a "holy grail" exploit yet-- I just think that a 1.0.0 is most likely to get one. :)

@ktemkin Can you just clarify what a "hold grail" exploit is?.

The reason I ask is because from what I understand wrt 1.0.0, I thought that FW version was thoroughly PWNED by ReSwitched team already.

So, unsure what more could be missing that would constitute a greater level of system control than what's currently possible, public or otherwise.
 
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guily6669

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I will still not update on my 3.02... Harmode-less in the future is better than hardmode for a damn long time...

Though I'm actually in favour of hardmode either way I'm opening my switch right away no matter if it can be hacked with software or hardware... I'm just waiting for a release to open it remove the crap thermal compound and add MX-4 and I wish I had a CNC machine to make a full copper thick backplate cooler, my brother-in-law works with advanced 3D rendering and has a 3D printer which would help a lot seeing if the plastic version would fit well first before going to a CNC, however I don't know anyone here with a CNC :(
@ktemkin Can you just clarify what a "hold grail" exploit is?.
I guess its everything you can imagine like playing PS4, Xbox one, PC games all in the Switch natively, its the holy grail of hacking.................. JOKING. :D

I bet its full hardware access with the ability to have a fully custom OS like XBMC\android\whatever that could access all the Switch power, no idea.
 
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Ghassen-ga

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short summary for pre-Mariko units:
1.0.0: has a nice non-coldboot solution, and is the most likely to get a Holy Grail CFW-launching exploit in the future
<3.0.1: has enough power to avoid a hardmod immediately, even if you'll probably want to just do the hardmod 'cuz the hardmod's so easy and
<=4.1.0: will eventually see a hardmod-less solution, but will need that 'minor hardmod' at launch
>4.1.0: that 'minor hardmod' is required; though we may find a solution to avoid this in the future
Thanks for the quick reply, I wonder what kind of a hardmod do we require, if you could explain further that would be fine, and if you couldn't that's fine too.
 

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@ktemkin After reading all the answers I was left with more questions than answers. The first thing I do not understand is why wait for the summer if the work is already done, perhaps to give time to nintendo or nvidia? Were you thanked for the information on the bug? As soon as there is mariko, we will see something liberated that is not a video circulating in a closed circle. I do not mean to offend but I value the word of the people and this community very much. On the other hand I would like to say some information about the type of mochip that can be used and what I would like more is a connection scheme to solder or bridge in different harmod options. I understand that this information could be given as we do not have access to the soft that will go into the modchip and therefore is not revealing anything transcendental anyway that reason prevents you from releasing things? Thank you for your answers and I hope you have not felt offended with any questions
 

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Both-- mostly I think that the 'trivial hardmod' is at a really nice intersection of convenience, ease, and lack-of-risk. I'd think if you're okay with e.g. unplugging and replugging a ribbon cable you're up to it :)-- but obvious that's up to the end user. :)
thanks for claryfing that stuff, i appreciate your and reswitched work
 

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@ktemkin After reading all the answers I was left with more questions than answers. The first thing I do not understand is why wait for the summer if the work is already done, perhaps to give time to nintendo or nvidia? Were you thanked for the information on the bug? As soon as there is mariko, we will see something liberated that is not a video circulating in a closed circle. I do not mean to offend but I value the word of the people and this community very much. On the other hand I would like to say some information about the type of mochip that can be used and what I would like more is a connection scheme to solder or bridge in different harmod options. I understand that this information could be given as we do not have access to the soft that will go into the modchip and therefore is not revealing anything transcendental anyway that reason prevents you from releasing things? Thank you for your answers and I hope you have not felt offended with any questions
Disclosure window was mentioned the n half of her posts...
 
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