Hacking Wii U Homebrew Situation and FAQ

NWPlayer123

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
2,642
Trophies
0
Location
The Everfree Forest
XP
6,693
Country
United States
NOTE: MAY BE OUT OF DATE. PLEASE CHECK HERE TOO
Currently, we have a userspace exploit that can be compiled and run via the Internet Browser. It currently works on versions 4.0.0 to 5.1.0. This isn't very useful at all for anyone who isn't a developer, however. All it allows is basic code execution, including access to certain parts of memory (assuming it isn't protected) and basic library functions. We cannot access anything the browser cannot access, such as an SD card. You have to run the exploit every time you want to do something. You can find the exploit here.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I install the Homebrew Channel?
A: Wrong place to be looking, you're thinking of the sandboxed vWii (virtual Wii). For more info go here and here.

Q: What is this?
A: As mentioned before, it's an exploit that uses a bug in the (very old) version of WebKit that Nintendo is using for the Internet Browser to execute our code.

Q: What is "Userspace" and what can I do with it?
A: Userspace allows for basic access to running code, and accessing memory. You cannot access anything the original program cannot access. For example, you cannot access the SD card since the browser doesn't have access to that.

Q: Why doesn't it work on anything after 5.1.0?
A: We only ever found and developed one bug, and (I assume) Nintendo caught wind of the bug and patched it in 5.1.1. We would have to find another exploitable bug and develop it to run code on the latest version, which is being looked into.

Q: What's the latest version the exploit works on?
A: See above answer, it works on 4.0.0 through 5.1.0, and there are 3 separate versions for 4.0.X, 4.1.0 and 5.X. It was first made for 4.1.0 and then later back-ported to 4.0.X, since some addresses had changed. Later, the update that added the Quick Boot Menu (5.0.0) changed the code structure enough that we had to blindly find our addresses again and rebuild the ROP chain to get code execution again.

Q: I don't want to miss out on potential homebrew, how should I update to a safe version?
A: If you don't care about running code right now, feel free to update to the latest version. We are currently looking into more Webkit bugs to exploit that work on the latest version.
If you do care about running code, try to find Mario Kart 8 version A (look at the serial on the back) which should have 4.1.0, or if that doesn't work out look for NES Remix Pack which has 4.0.2.

Q: I want to update to the latest version but I don't want to miss out, am I safe in doing so?
A: Feel free to update if you don't care about running code right now, a new Webkit bug is being looked into. Do not update online if you want to keep the webkit bug. 5.4.0 updated the browser and fixed the bugs present in lower versions. if you want to update to 5.3.2, you can use Mario Party 10 or Splatoon.

Q: Should I be looking for a specific version Wii U?
A: No, we're working on a new Webkit exploit that should work on all versions. Even if you update, you're still fine.

Q: If I want to block Nintendo's updates, what should I block?
A:
  • nus.c.shop.nintendowifi.net
  • nus.cdn.c.shop.nintendowifi.net
  • nus.cdn.shop.wii.com
  • nus.cdn.wup.shop.nintendo.net
  • nus.wup.shop.nintendo.net
Q: I haven't heard anything in a while, when can we expect to see progress?
A: I'm occasionally posting progress in this thread, so look there for any news.
 
Last edited by Cyan, , Reason: Added warning about 5.4.0

NWPlayer123

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
2,642
Trophies
0
Location
The Everfree Forest
XP
6,693
Country
United States
I thought that was just for the eShop, I believe you need to block a range of actual IP addresses...?

Nah, like I've said before, nus is nintendo's update service, it has nothing to do with the eShop, AFAIK that IP block is all of the IPs that that URL can use.
 

GorTesK

Mad Hatter
Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
1,099
Trophies
0
Age
35
Location
Down The Rabbit Hole
XP
611
Country
Gambia, The
but if I remember correctly, someone actually found an url or ip recently, that prevents the wiiu from finding any updates..... the beforementioned url only prevents the download, but what he found actually prevented the update check... was just recently either in 5.0 update tread or 4.1 exploit leak or the hacking discussion thread... lol cant remember where, but it was a couple of days ago
 

hundshamer

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
May 22, 2009
Messages
1,810
Trophies
0
XP
924
Country
United States
but if I remember correctly, someone actually found an url or ip recently, that prevents the wiiu from finding any updates..... the beforementioned url only prevents the download, but what he found actually prevented the update check... was just recently either in 5.0 update tread or 4.1 exploit leak or the hacking discussion thread... lol cant remember where, but it was a couple of days ago

If you find it, that would be great to add to the OP!
 

Goku Junior

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
951
Trophies
0
Age
23
Location
Buenos Aires, Argentina
XP
482
Country
Argentina
Hi!, A little question, It would be possible to make a offline exploit in the future? Some user tell me I need to update my router with a firmware to block all the Nintendo adresses to make the Wii U don't update, but I've bricked it, so I don't have online for the web browser exploit, are some dev planning to do a non-internet exploit?

Yeah, I know they don't have the kernel or all system access, but I'm only asking, something similar like BannerBomb with Wii, but they need to hack the Wii U Filesystem format for that...
 

Marionumber1

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2010
Messages
1,234
Trophies
3
XP
4,045
Country
United States
Hi!, A little question, It would be possible to make a offline exploit in the future? Some user tell me I need to update my router with a firmware to block all the Nintendo adresses to make the Wii U don't update, but I've bricked it, so I don't have online for the web browser exploit, are some dev planning to do a non-internet exploit?

Yeah, I know they don't have the kernel or all system access, but I'm only asking, something similar like BannerBomb with Wii, but they need to hack the Wii U Filesystem format for that...

There aren't really any other entry points besides the browser. The browser is the only component of the system which is based on open-source code, giving us a great advantage in finding bugs. It's also one of the only places where we can feed untrusted input, since external storage is now encrypted. There is no way to "hack" it, since storage is encrypted with a per-console key. A game-based exploit is a possibility, if there are some games that access external storage without encryption, but it's highly unlikely that such a thing will surface.
 

the-green

Well-Known Member
Newcomer
Joined
Jan 14, 2014
Messages
71
Trophies
0
Age
35
XP
75
Country
Antigua and Barbuda
thanks for the explanation & good luck in the futur
just one question, are those leaked wii U SDK usefull for you or it doesn't since you don't have a kernel exploit yet ?
thanks in advance for the answer
 

uyjulian

Homebrewer
Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2012
Messages
2,567
Trophies
2
Location
United States
Website
sites.google.com
XP
3,841
Country
United States
thanks for the explanation & good luck in the futur
just one question, are those leaked wii U SDK usefull for you or it doesn't since you don't have a kernel exploit yet ?
thanks in advance for the answer

i don't think the legit people want to use the leak.

oh, and sdk is few help for kernel exploit.
 

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

Recent Content

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2: Sorry for accidentally bending over