Hacking How do I get access to a game consoles OS or Firmware to reverse engineer it on my PC?

[Im_Sarcastic_JackAzz]

[No message]

 

[ThoD]

Your question is FAR too generalized. It depends on the system, but it generally involved dumping the data from whatever it's stored in on the system, then moving it to a computer and "deconstructing" it. What it's stored on can vary and most older systems don't even have OSs, just BIOSs and so on, so again, depends on the system.

 

[Im_Sarcastic_JackAzz]

How do i send data from my console to my pc do I need physical access to the systems hardware? I'm trying to figure out how hackers extract and reverse engineer the system software more specifically OS and firmware. Sorry about my grammar and how Broad this question is im new to this stuff.

 

[Simon34545]

on the 3ds you can get godmode9 and go to sysnand virtual then copy everything from there

 

[FAST6191]

As ThoD said the question is way too general. There are thousands of ways for people to make a system and differing philosophies on how well protected or how open it should be, not to mention many systems wherein there is nothing that can be usefully described as a firmware or OS that you would gain much of anything from pulling apart (and even if you did then there might be easier methods -- the GBA BIOS contains some stuff to handle compression (it is about all it does that 95% of people will care about) but there are PC tools that I would look at first if I did care to look at it.

In some cases the companies will send out the firmware for people to install as updates. In which case you might never even need to have seen the device in question.
In other cases the companies making the device will lock it down and protect it hard, in which case you will need to pry open all the security and get access to it that way. Such a thing may need very high end gear, skills and a fair bit of time.

Many times people have asked how to become hackers and this is kind of that. In which case https://gbatemp.net/threads/some-hacking-concepts-and-links.287721/ might get you started, specifically the parts in hacker conferences where they detail how they got into a given system.

 

[Im_Sarcastic_JackAzz]

I understand its too confusing thanks for the help though. But 2 more questions what skills would i need to learn to crack game consoles and how does one extract the software from the console to a pc?

 

[The Catboy]

It all depends on what system(s) you plan on working on, what you plan on accomplishing, and so much more. More imporantly, you need to know the basics of what you are working on. Your questions are too generalized for us to even be remportely capable of asnwering them.

 

[ghjfdtg]

The hard truth is not by asking in a gaming forum. The cool guys with the knowledge are in other places like IRC or restricted/closed Discord groups. All of them study and are working towards masters degrees in computer science and similar fields. You really need to know how computers work under the hood. If you are serious about this it's highly recommended to do the same.

Be warned. You will have a very hard time if you want to reverse engineer and break security on future consoles because security is getting way better in the recent years. It's already in a state where traditional attack vectors are nearly impossible to exploit due to various security measures like ASLR, stack cookies, pointer authentication and so on.

For older consoles it's pretty much all documented and tools ready to use exist.

 

[smf]

"But 2 more questions what skills would i need to learn to crack game consoles and how does one extract the software from the console to a pc?"

You need an understanding of the hardware architecture and mistakes that programmers make that can lead to exploits.

 

[Im_Sarcastic_JackAzz]

Is even possible to reverse engineer software on a gaming console like the switch for example?

 

[FAST6191]

Is it not already done? I have seen plenty of firmware patches, ROM hacks and ROM asset rips already.

"All of them study and are working towards masters degrees in computer science and similar fields."
Not really. It is a fairly big feeder of such things but I have seen plenty come from a wide variety of fields, and indeed in many cases education like that can be something of a hindrance compared to people that do live and breath that stuff for years on end.

 

[ghjfdtg]

I don't think it's a hindrance. All people i have seen study in such fields. Yes it takes a lot of time away from you and possibly money too depending on your country but we have all seen the big guys in action. For example look how fast they have taken apart the Switch. It's rare that someone self-taught archives the same. As for other fields: Math is probably a good start aswell.

 

[smf]

"I don't think it's a hindrance. All people i have seen study in such fields. Yes it takes a lot of time away from you and possibly money too depending on your country but we have all seen the big guys in action. For example look how fast they have taken apart the Switch. It's rare that someone self-taught archives the same. As for other fields: Math is probably a good start aswell."

I think you're mistaking correlation and causation. People with the kind of minds that are good at hacking will often want to go to university. It doesn't mean that the university course will help them. There are plenty of people who could hack, but don't because they are too busy earning money to feed their kids and family.

Being self taught can be helpful, because the whole point is you're trying to see things differently to others.

 

[Im_Sarcastic_JackAzz]

Do you need physical access to modern game consoles hardware to even start looking for system vulnerabilities? Or is it not that easy, Do I need to rely on a system Crash to crack the system?

 

[Esjay131]

You can get a crash dump, memory dump, or dump the nand for the device, but then the issue there would be figuring out where to start. For instance with the x360, a good place to start would be xboxkrnl.exe or xam.xex. xboxkrnl.exe is obvious what it does, but xam.xex is like a mega library of functions for the xbox 360. If you're using a disassembler like IDA, you can find out imports, and work your way backward to the system files from a games executable.

 

[Im_Sarcastic_JackAzz]

Where is the OS stored on the ps4 and how can I reverse engineer it to find vulnerabilities? I know you cant crack consoles security with software from a pc so it has to be hardware hacking right?

 

[Im_Sarcastic_JackAzz]

Where do hackers typically look for software vulnerabilities on consoles like the ps4 or nintendo switch? I know you have to dump memory to get some information about the system's software. But how do you extact that information to then display on your personal PC screen?

I know a lot about computers i know how to hack computers but consoles seem more different they don't have a open filing system or the tools for you to go debugging and disassembling software. As for hardware it's pretty similar to a PC but is missing a few components, memory is the same as far as having Ram and a HDD (less storage) but almost the same.

I suspect the OS and firmware are on the modern consoles Flash memory which would make it more secure vs the HDD. As for security for the flash memory I think modern consoles use Xor Encryption or RSA Encryption i'm not really sure. As for the decryption key it makes sense if it was stored in Ram and then used by the CPU to read the encrypted data.

As far as finding vulnerabilities in the OS and firmware which are system programs that may lead to taking full control over the system leading to custom firmware and custom code. Some how you need to display the console's system software by extracting it from memory on to the computer screen because you don't have the tools to do it on console. Sorry for my bad grammar i'm not good at english writing and im lazy

 

[tech3475]

I'd suggest you start by looking at the presentations hackers have done over the years about various games consoles.

No they're not tell all guides but they give an idea of what they've done.

Consoles have been hacked over the years using various methods e.g. web browsers, sniffing busses, leaked recovery tools, etc.

Here's where at least some of them are located:
https://www.youtube.com/user/mediacccde

 

[Im_Sarcastic_JackAzz]

Ok thanks for the tip