PS3Cobra Payload Reverse Engineering

In case you wanted a simple guide howto run Cobra without a dongle, look here: http://www.ps3hax.net/showthread.php?t=67286

Description

Dongle is DRM to make sure you have the dongle, the firmware 'special' functionality will not work without it.
Hardwarewise, there are many simularities with ReDRM / Piracy dongles like PSJB2/TrueBlue

The Ps3Cobra implements syscall 8 and moves syscall 0 into the payload. It does some heavy patching on Lv2 code

Lv2 Patches of Cobra Payload 1.2

offset	psgroove	cobra 1.2	cobra 2.0	comment
9134	7d 80 00 26 mfcr r12	N/A	48 4f 77 ec b 0x8000000000500920
17cbc	e8 63 00 00 ld r3,0(r3)	3c 60 80 01 lis r3,-32767	3c 60 80 01 lis r3,-32767	remove syscall 6 (peek)
17cc0	60 00 00 00 nop	60 63 00 03 ori r3,r3,3	60 63 00 03 ori r3,r3,3	remove syscall 6 (peek)
17cc8	f8 83 00 00 std r4,0(r3)	3c 60 80 01 lis r3,-32767	3c 60 80 01 lis r3,-32767	remove syscall 7 (poke)
17ccc	60 00 00 00 nop	60 63 00 03 ori r3,r3,3	60 63 00 03 ori r3,r3,3	remove syscall 8 (poke)
490e0	2f 83 00 00 cmpwi cr7,r3,0	e8 82 0f 08 ld r4,3848(r2)	e8 82 0f 08 ld r4,3848(r2)
490e4	7c 64 1b 78 mr r4,r3	e8 7c 00 20 ld r3,32(r28)	e8 7c 00 20 ld r3,32(r28)
490e8	40 de 00 20 bne- cr7,0x8000000000049108	f8 64 00 00 std r3,0(r4)	f8 64 00 00 std r3,0(r4)
4ed18	38 84 ff fa addi r4,r4,-6	38 80 00 00 li r4,0	38 80 00 00 li r4,0
4ed1c	7c 08 02 a6 mflr r0	90 83 00 00 stw r4,0(r3)	90 83 00 00 stw r4,0(r3)
4ed20	f8 21 ff 91 stdu r1,-112(r1)	4e 80 00 20 blr	4e 80 00 20 blr
4f0a8	bl sub_50B44	48 4b 11 a9 bl 0x8000000000500250	48 4b 11 a9 bl 0x8000000000500250
4fc2c	beq cr7, loc_4FC4C	60 00 00 00 nop	60 00 00 00 nop
505D0	li %r3, 1	b sub_5008E0	48 4b 04 28 b 0x80000000005009f8
50B48	patched	unpatched ?
572B8	extsw %r3, %r31	li %r3, 0
5741C	bl sub_288568	nop
1C00EC	stdu %sp, var_150(%sp)	b sub_5003A8
1C26EC	stdu %sp, var_D0(%sp)	b sub_500448
1CF8A8	stdu %sp, var_B0(%sp)	b sub_5004C8
25EC18	bl sub_12934	bl sub_500960
271AF0	stdu %sp, var_B0(%sp)	b loc_500808	b loc_500818	(syscall864 / sys storage manager) Again, wrong here, loc_500808 is a bad jump. this is 1.2!
273F80	stdu %sp, var_B0(%sp)	b sub_500878	b sub_500990	(syscall867 / aim manager )you have a critical mistake, sub_500878 IS WRONG, :), if you jump here you crash your lv2 YOUR CRITICAL MISTAKE WAS ONLY PUT 1.2, NOW YOU FIX IT, THANKS didn't meant to be rude, sry :)
29245C	stdu %sp, var_100(%sp)	b sub_5005A8
292598	ld %r11, stru_3403A0	b sub_5006D8
293A18	ld %r9, stru_3403A0	b sub_500540
296550	stdu %sp, var_D0(%sp)	b sub_500640		(syscall606 sys_storage_async_read)
296928	stdu %sp, var_D0(%sp)	b sub_500770		(syscall619 sys_storage_async_send_device_command)
29BD48	b sub_11850	b sub_500358
2AAFC8	b sub_50B48	b sub_5002F0
2AB3FC	unpatched	b sub_5002A0		(PS2 EMU?)
3ba890			0x01000000	patch table entry 1

offset	cobra 1.2	cobra 2.0	comment
3ba890	0x10000000	0x10000000	patch table entry 1
490e0		ld r4, stru_33F628	patch table entry 2
490e4		ld r3, 0x20(r28)	patch table entry 3
490e8		std r3, 0(r4)	patch table entry 4
4ed18		li r4, 0	patch table entry 5
4ed1c		stw r4, 0(r3)	patch table entry 6
4ed20		blr	patch table entry 7
572b8		li r3, 0	patch table entry 8
5741c		nop	patch table entry 9
4fc2c		nop	patch table entry a
50b3c		li r3, 1	patch table entry b
50b40		blr	patch table entry c

Cobra 1.2

 8000000000017cbc:     3c 60 80 01     lis     r3,-32767
 8000000000017cc0:     60 63 00 03     ori     r3,r3,3

 8000000000017cc8:     3c 60 80 01     lis     r3,-32767
 8000000000017ccc:     60 63 00 03     ori     r3,r3,3

 80000000000490e0:     e8 82 0f 08     ld      r4,3848(r2)
 80000000000490e4:     e8 7c 00 20     ld      r3,32(r28)
 80000000000490e8:     f8 64 00 00     std     r3,0(r4)

 800000000004ed18:     38 80 00 00     li      r4,0
 800000000004ed1c:     90 83 00 00     stw     r4,0(r3)
 800000000004ed20:     4e 80 00 20     blr

 800000000004f0a8:     48 4b 11 a9     bl      0x8000000000500250
 800000000004fc2c:     60 00 00 00     nop

 80000000000505d0:     48 4b 03 10     b       0x80000000005008e0
 8000000000050b3c:     38 60 00 01     li      r3,1
 8000000000050b40:     4e 80 00 20     blr

 80000000000572b8:     38 60 00 00     li      r3,0

 800000000005741c:     60 00 00 00     nop

 80000000001c00ec:     48 34 02 bc     b       0x80000000005003a8
 80000000001c26ec:     48 33 dd 5c     b       0x8000000000500448
 80000000001cf8a8:     48 33 0c 20     b       0x80000000005004c8
 800000000025ec18:     48 2a 1d 49     bl      0x8000000000500960
 8000000000271af0:     48 28 ed 18     b       0x8000000000500808
 8000000000273f80:     48 28 c8 f8     b       0x8000000000500878
 800000000029245c:     48 26 e1 4c     b       0x80000000005005a8
 8000000000292598:     48 26 e1 40     b       0x80000000005006d8
 8000000000293a18:     48 26 cb 28     b       0x8000000000500540
 8000000000296550:     48 26 a0 f0     b       0x8000000000500640
 8000000000296928:     48 26 9e 48     b       0x8000000000500770
 800000000029bd48:     48 26 46 10     b       0x8000000000500358
 80000000002aafc8:     48 25 53 28     b       0x80000000005002f0

Cobra 2.0

 8000000000009134:     48 4f 77 ec     b       0x8000000000500920

 8000000000017cbc:     3c 60 80 01     lis     r3,-32767
 8000000000017cc0:     60 63 00 03     ori     r3,r3,3

 8000000000017cc8:     3c 60 80 01     lis     r3,-32767
 8000000000017ccc:     60 63 00 03     ori     r3,r3,3

 80000000000490e0:     e8 82 0f 08     ld      r4,3848(r2)
 80000000000490e4:     e8 7c 00 20     ld      r3,32(r28)
 80000000000490e8:     f8 64 00 00     std     r3,0(r4)

 800000000004ed18:     38 80 00 00     li      r4,0
 800000000004ed1c:     90 83 00 00     stw     r4,0(r3)
 800000000004ed20:     4e 80 00 20     blr

 800000000004f0a8:     48 4b 11 a9     bl      0x8000000000500250

 800000000004fc2c:     60 00 00 00     nop

 80000000000505d0:     48 4b 04 28     b       0x80000000005009f8

 8000000000050b3c:     38 60 00 01     li      r3,1

 8000000000050b40:     4e 80 00 20     blr

 80000000000572b8:     38 60 00 00     li      r3,0

 800000000005741c:     60 00 00 00     nop

 80000000001c00ec:     48 34 02 cc     b       0x80000000005003b8
 80000000001c26ec:     48 33 dd 6c     b       0x8000000000500458
 80000000001cf8a8:     48 33 0c 30     b       0x80000000005004d8
 800000000025ec18:     48 2a 1e 61     bl      0x8000000000500a78
 8000000000271af0:     48 28 ed 28     b       0x8000000000500818
 8000000000273f80:     48 28 ca 10     b       0x8000000000500990
 800000000029245c:     48 26 e1 5c     b       0x80000000005005b8
 8000000000292598:     48 26 e1 50     b       0x80000000005006e8
 8000000000293a18:     48 26 cb 38     b       0x8000000000500550
 8000000000296550:     48 26 a1 00     b       0x8000000000500650
 8000000000296928:     48 26 9e 58     b       0x8000000000500780
 800000000029bd48:     48 26 46 20     b       0x8000000000500368
 80000000002aafc8:     48 25 53 38     b       0x8000000000500300

lv1 hvcalls

• lv1_get_repository_node_value
• lv1_allocate_device_dma_region
• lv1_free_device_dma_region
• lv1_map_device_dma_region
• lv1_unmap_device_dma_region
• lv1_storage_read
• lv1_storage_check_async_status

Preliminary Examination of Cobra USB Manager v1.0

The following was acquired from a Debug/DEX unit on 3.55forDEX using the *Check debug option:

System Version : 03.0000

---
Log
---
[Info]	Checking HDD Game.(HG,"/dev_hdd0/game/CBUM01234")
[Debug]	Checking System File /dev_hdd0/game/CBUM01234/PARAM.SFO.
[Info]	TITLE_ID = CBUM01234.
[Info]	PARENTAL_LEVEL = 0/--/--/--/--/--/--.
[Info]	ATTRIBUTE = 0x0.
[Info]	RESOLUTION = 0x3F, 1080/720/576/576(16:9)/480/480(16:9).
[Info]	SOUND_FORMAT = 0x117, 7.1LPCM/5.1LPCM/2LPCM/5.1Dolby.
[Info]	VERSION = 01.00.
[Info]	PS3_SYSTEM_VER = 03.0000.
[Info]	APP_VER = 01.00.
[Debug]	TITLE_ID = CBUM01234.
[Warn]	PARAM.SFO: Param PARENTAL_LEVEL: Currently being rated.
[Debug]	PARENTAL_LEVEL = 0/--/--/--/--/--/--.
[Debug]	ATTRIBUTE = 0x0.
[Error]	PARAM.SFO: Param LICENSE: Unexpected val_size.
[Error]	PARAM.SFO: Param LICENSE: Unexpected value.
[Debug]	RESOLUTION = 0x3F, 1080/720/576/576(16:9)/480/480(16:9).
[Debug]	SOUND_FORMAT = 0x117, 7.1LPCM/5.1LPCM/2LPCM/5.1Dolby.
[Debug]	VERSION = 01.00.
[Debug]	PS3_SYSTEM_VER = 03.0000.
[Debug]	APP_VER = 01.00.
[Debug]	PS3LOGO.DAT: Logo.
[Debug]	ICON0.PNG: 320x176/24bit.
[Info]	EBOOT.BIN: PPU SELF file, SDK version = 03.0000.
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : crt0
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : crt1
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 192.001 (PPU) : libftp
[Error]	EBOOT.BIN: Debug library linked (libftp).
[Error]	EBOOT.BIN: Version conflict error (libftp, 192.001).
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libnet_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libnetctl_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libpngdec_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libdbgfont_gcm
[Error]	EBOOT.BIN: Debug library linked (libdbgfont_gcm).
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libgcm_cmd
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libgcm_sys_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libio_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libsysmodule_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libsysutil_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libfs_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libl10n_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libfontGcm
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libfontFT_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libfont_stub
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libstdc++
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : libc
[Debug]	EBOOT.BIN: 300.001 (PPU) : liblv2_stub

Mountpoints

Intern (PS3): /dev_hdd0/GAMES /dev_hdd0/BDRIPS /dev_hdd0/GAMEZ /dev_hdd0/PS3ISO <- Only for Backups in ISO Format.	Extern (PS3): /dev_usb/GAMES /dev_usb/GAMEZ /dev_usb/PS3ISO <- <- Only for Backups in ISO Format.
Intern (PS2): /dev_hdd0/PS2ISO	Extern (PS2): /dev_usb/PS2ISO <- <- Only for Backups, not for loading.
Intern (PS1): /dev_hdd0/PSXISO	Extern (PS1): /dev_usb/PSXISO
Intern (PSP): /dev_hdd0/PSPISO	Extern (PSP): /dev_usb/PSPISO
Intern (BluRay): /dev_hdd0/BDISO	Extern (BluRay): /dev_usb/BDISO
Intern (DVD): /dev_hdd0/DVDISO	Extern (DVD): /dev_usb/DVDISO

Hardware Dongle

Dongle 1.0

PS3Cobra - TOP

PS3Cobra - BACK

• 

  Cobra USB - SWITCH

• 

  Cobra USB - OPEN 1

• 

  Cobra USB - OPEN 2

• 

  Cobra USB - TOP 1

• 

  Cobra USB - TOP 2

• 

  Cobra USB - BACK

Components

Actel ProASIC3 A3P060 - FPGA

U2

  A3P060 = 60,000 System Gates
  blank = Speed Grade: Standard
  VQ = Package Type: Very Thin Quad Flat Pack (0.5mm pitch)
  G = Lead-Free Packaging: RoHS-Compliant (Green)
  100 = Package Lead Count : 100 pins
  blank = Security Feature : no IP license
  blank = Temperature Range: Commercial (0°C to +70°C Ambient Temperature)

128-bit AES
1,024 bits of user flash memory
Datasheets and usermanuals: http://www.actel.com/products/pa3/docs.aspx#ds
Familyroot: http://www.actel.com/products/pa3/
Usage Guide: http://www.embedtools.com/pro_kaifa/SOPC_%20EDA/ProASIC3/PA3_E_IO_AN.pdf

Pinout A3P060 VQ100

Actel ProASIC3 A3P060 - FPGA (Cobra) VQ100 package

Pin	Function	Notes
1	GND	Ground
2	GAA2/IO118UDB3
3	IO118VDB3
4	GAB2/IO117UDB3
5	IO117VDB3
6	GAC2/IO116UDB3
7	IO116VDB3
8	IO112PSB3
9	GND	Ground
10	GFB1/IO109PDB3
11	GFB0/IO109NDB3
12	VCOMPLF
13	GFA0/IO108NPB3
14	VCCPLF
15	GFA1/IO108PPB3
16	GFA2/IO107PSB3
17	VCC
18	VCCIB3
19	GFC2/IO105PSB3
20	GEC1/IO100PDB3
21	GEC0/IO100NDB3
22	GEA1/IO98PDB3
23	GEA0/IO98NDB3
24	VMV3
25	GNDQ	Ground
26	GEA2/IO97RSB2
27	GEB2/IO96RSB2
28	GEC2/IO95RSB2
29	IO93RSB2
30	IO92RSB2
31	IO91RSB2
32	IO90RSB2
33	IO88RSB2
34	IO86RSB2
35	IO85RSB2
36	IO84RSB2
37	VCC
38	GND	Ground
39	VCCIB2
40	IO77RSB2
41	IO74RSB2
42	IO71RSB2
43	GDC2/IO63RSB2
44	GDB2/IO62RSB2
45	GDA2/IO61RSB2
46	GNDQ	Ground
47	TCK
48	TDI
49	TMS
50	VMV2
51	GND	Ground
52	VPUMP
53	NC
54	TDO
55	TRST
56	VJTAG
57	GDA1/IO60USB1
58	GDC0/IO58VDB1
59	GDC1/IO58UDB1
60	IO52NDB1
61	GCB2/IO52PDB1
62	GCA1/IO50PDB1
63	GCA0/IO50NDB1
64	GCC0/IO48NDB1
65	GCC1/IO48PDB1
66	VCCIB1
67	GND	Ground
68	VCC
69	IO43NDB1
70	GBC2/IO43PDB1
71	GBB2/IO42PSB1
72	IO41NDB1
73	GBA2/IO41PDB1
74	VMV1
75	GNDQ	Ground
76	GBA1/IO40RSB0
77	GBA0/IO39RSB0
78	GBB1/IO38RSB0
79	GBB0/IO37RSB0
80	GBC1/IO36RSB0
81	GBC0/IO35RSB0
82	IO29RSB0
83	IO27RSB0
84	IO25RSB0
85	IO23RSB0
86	IO21RSB0
87	VCCIB0
88	GND	Ground
89	VCC
90	IO15RSB0
91	IO13RSB0
92	IO11RSB0
93	GAC1/IO05RSB0
94	GAC0/IO04RSB0
95	GAB1/IO03RSB0
96	GAB0/IO02RSB0
97	GAA1/IO01RSB0
98	GAA0/IO00RSB0
99	GNDQ	Ground
100	VMV0

24.000 MHz Crystal

Y1
CLK for Actel

12.000 MHz Crystal

Y2
SCK/CLK for Atmel/Winbond

AMS1117 3.3 1032 - Low Dropout Linear Regulator

U3
Datasheet:

• https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://ps3devwiki.com/files/reDRM/TrueBlue/Datasheets/AMS1117-.pdf
• https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://ps3devwiki.com/files/reDRM/TrueBlue/Datasheets/AMS1117.pdf
  

• 

A 47 (F51C 5pin Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor : U4)

Capacitance value untested, likely one of these (from Mouser)

Atmel ATmega 16A (16MHz AVR - 16KB flash - USB stack + DFU)

U5
ISP via pin 1 (MOSI), 2 (MISO), 3 (SCK), 4 (Reset)
datasheet: Atmel-ATMega16A.pdf (6.93 MB)

Atmel ATMega16A
QFN44 pinout

Pin	Function	Notes
1	(MOSI) PB5	Tied to DI (Pin 5) on the Winbond Flash
2	(MISO) PB6	Tied to DO (Pin 2) on the Winbond Flash
3	(SCK) PB7	Provides CLK to The Winbond Flash
4	RESET
5	VCC
6	GND
7	XTAL2	Y2
8	XTAL1	Y2
9	(RXD) PD0	Actel IO92RSB2 (pin 30)
10	(TXD) PD1	Actel IO92RSB2 (pin 29)
11	(INT0) PD2
12	(INT1) PD3
13	(OC1B) PD4
14	(OC1A) PD5
15	(ICP1) PD6
16	(OC2) PD7
17	VCC
18	GND
19	(SCL) PC0
20	(SDA) PC1
21	(TCK) PC2
22	(TMS) PC3
23	(TDO) PC4
24	(TDI) PC5	Tied to 3v3 Voltage regulator VCC
25	(TOSC1) PC6
26	(TOSC2) PC7
27	AVCC	Tied to 3v3 Voltage regulator VCC
28	GND
29	AREF
30	(ADC7) PA7
31	(ADC6) PA6
32	(ADC5) PA5
33	(ADC4) PA4
34	(ADC3) PA3
35	(ADC2) PA2
36	(ADC1) PA1
37	(ADC0) PA0
38	VCC	Tied to 3v3 Voltage regulator VCC
39	GND
40	(XCK/T0) PB0
41	(T1) PB1
42	(AIN0/INT2) PB2
43	(AIN1/OC0) PB3
44	(SS) PB4

Winbond 25X16AVSIG (SPI Flash 16Mbit)

The IC designation on the board of the cobra dongle is U1.

8-pin TSSOP
Winbond 25X16A
SOIC-8 pinout

W - Winbond
25X - SPI Flash with 4KB sectors/64Kbyte blocks, dual output
16A - 16Mbit / 2M-byte
V - Supply Voltage 2.7 to 3.6V
S - Package Type : 8pin SOIC 150-mil
I - Temperature Range: Industrial (-40'C ~ 85'C)
G - Environment: Green Package (Lead-free, RoHS Compliant, Halogen-free (TBBA), Antimony-Oxie-free)

datasheet: W25X16A.pdf (1.3 MB) / https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://ps3devwiki.com/files/reDRM/TrueBlue/Datasheets/W25X16A.pdf
Note: can use Bus Ninja or Bus Pirate and FlashROM - ISP is possible, so long as no other devices on the SPI bus are trying to access the device (in that case, you might want to cut Vcc to the FPGA or the regulator for it).

Pin	Usage	I/O	Remarks
1	/CS	I	Chip Select (high=deselect, low=select)
2	DO	O	Data output
3	/WP	I	Write Protect (active low)
4	GND		Ground
5	DIO	I/O	Serial data input/output
6	CLK	I	Serial Clock
7	/HOLD	I	Hold (high=normal/resume, low=hold/pause)
8	VCC		Vcc (min 2.7-max 3.6V @ Fr0 75MHz / min 3.0-max 3.6V @ Fastread Fr1 100MHz)

On the Cobra Dongle, pin 3 of the EEPROM is tied to VCC. Lifting this Pin from the board and tieing it to ground should prevent the flash from being erased.

Roles

Drives data to and from the Winbond flash chip.

Cobra Test Points

Cobra - Testpoints to Winbond SPI flash

There are test points that map out the Winbond flash shown in the diagram to the right.

DG/PS3/PC Selection switch

There is a switch that switched between Downgrade, PC and PS3 modes of the dongle.

When facing the switch, with the USB Plug to the left the pins are labeled 1 to 4 in the table below:

When in PC Mode, Pins 1 and 2 are shorted. When in PS3 Mode, Pins 2 and 3 are shorted. When in DG Mode 3 and 4 are shorted.

Pin	Usage	Connects to	Remarks
1	PC Position	GND	A resistor is placed, by hand, between this pin and GND after the board is manufactured.
2	PC/PS3 Position	AVCC (atmega 27) + Winbond /WP (PIN 3)	Ties to Pin 27 of atmega16 (AVCC) and /WP of Winbond Flash
3	PS3/DG Position	TOSC2 of the Atmega (Pin 26)	???
4	DG Position	GND	A resistor is placed, by hand, between this pin and GND after the board is manufactured.