Hackers get Linux running on Nintendo Switch

Last month you could already read that various hackers are working on the Nintendo Switch, which eventually makes it possible to install homebrew apps on the system. This week, team fail0verflow showed that it has made progress since then as a photo shows Linux running on the Nintendo Switch.

Linux on Nintendo Switch

It is of course childishly easy to manipulate such a photo, but fail0verflow has released various hacks in the past, from the Wii to the PlayStation 4. We are therefore not concerned about the authenticity of the photo and the team has already released it. that it has discovered a vulnerability in the Nintendo Switch’s code that cannot be patched (on the Switch consoles released to date).

???? #switch pic.twitter.com/4iTjTk9D59

– fail0verflow (@ fail0verflow) February 6, 2018

It may still take some time before the hack is made available. In 2016 fail0verflow demonstrated a PS4 vulnerability used to run Linux, but the code was not released until a year later. At that time, Sony had already fixed the vulnerabilities by means of a firmware update. In addition, in the photo we see that the Nintendo Switch is equipped with some wires and cables, which suggests that it is not yet possible to run Linux on inappropriate hardware.

However, Fail0verflow stated in January that the hack does not require a modchip and uses the bootrom in a way that cannot be patched. That would also mean that the exploit works on all Switches, even the models running the latest firmware. The hack would not be suitable for piracy as games for the Switch are protected by an extra layer of security.

In addition, other hackers are also making progress in recent times. Hackers succeeded in documenting the codes for the internal ‘NCM services’, enabling file path and content management on the system. Another hacker, named Plutoo, announced on Twitter that he would be showing the world a homebrew launcher for the Nintendo Switch on February 1. This disclosure was postponed for two weeks because something would have intervened.