Hello, As you know, only some months are separating us from Nintendo discontinuing support for the Wii U and shutting down the network, so I guess we should start sniffing packets (Reverse engineer) from the game servers from now as it will be much easier than doing so when there is only a client-side connection (Servers shut down), that is to keep the Wii U alive for a few more years, I mean the Wii U scene has really started only before a few months from Nintendo announcing that it stopped creating Wii U consoles, so its a little bit late. What do you think? I mean in order to create a project similar to this one: https://github.com/polaris-/dwc_network_server_emulator/wiki EDIT:
I dont think they`ll stop online so soon. But it would be nice to ensure its survival in some shape or form for prosperity.
@Maschell has already started some research about the network library. Support him https://github.com/Maschell/nn_nex_logging_and_research
@Kinnay Also created a repo with a client that can connect to the Servers and download rankings: https://github.com/Kinnay/NintendoClients/ edit: I have a thread for my stuff, but nobody cared so far http://gbatemp.net/threads/research-mario-kart-8-decrypted-traffic.470620/
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was shut down two years after the Wii U released, I doubt it's that close tbh.
The """Nintendo""" Wi-Fi Connection isn't a good comparison, because it was actually designed and operated by Gamespy who decided to stop operating all of their servers, not only the ones used for Nintendo's multiplayer... As for the main topic, it would be rather useful if someone were to develop and publish a patch to disable certificate verification, like it was done for the 3DS at the start of this month... ...but hey, it's just a Wii U after all
Maschell's repo that was linked above does actually have a method of getting access to unencrypted game data - since most games compile in a piece of middleware called nn::nex, just MiTMing it isn't enough (not to mention damn near impossible). Annoyingly it does happen on a game-by-game basis, though I hear he's got some heuristics to make that easier? As for the SSL side of it (which you don't need to worry about with nn::nex patching) there's been an effort made to get hold of the certificates needed for MiTMing. Apparently it didn't go that well? I think Maschell's cracked the way forward here.
Even with SSL disable, there would be still parts you can't easily sniff and RE. NN::NEX is using kerberos for example, which is designed for networks that are unsafe and my be eavesdropped. So the game/nn::nex is encrypting some data independently from any ssl (MK8 is also using encrypted data from nn::lib that is encrypted in nn::nex). + The repo I posted also hooks into the SSL functions of the WiiU
AFAIK there are both client and root certs in one of the Wii U's system titles. Idk if we can (safely) modify them without bricking (or at least losing online access) but in the future, this is something we can look at.
