Vulnerabilities

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See also [1]. (to wikify).

Hardware[edit | edit source]

Modchips[edit | edit source]

See Modchips.

CD/DVD Swap tricks[edit | edit source]

PS2 Disc Swap Trick[edit | edit source]

The PS2 Disc Swap Trick uses a vulnerability in the PS2 disc label verification system of the PS2. Some PS2 games can take a long time to load ELF files from the disc and it is possible to swap the disc with a burnt one with the same file structure but where the ELF is an homebrew. This exploit was used as a cheap and more accessible alternative to the Swap Magic exploit. TnA made PS2 Disc Swap Trick famous in June 2008 and JNABK wrote a tutorial based on his instructions. The PS2 disc reader does not stop the disc before swapping and can hence cause the discs or drive to be damaged. Some users got their original PS2 discs scratched while trying the exploit.

Swap Magic[edit | edit source]

Swap Magic is a specialized PlayStation 2 game disc used for tricking the console into reading non-retail or burned game discs, homebrew software, or games outside the console's region. The software has existed since at least mid-2003, with several different versions of the disc having been developed.

Swap Magic and its related mods, such as the Magic Switch and Swap Tool, which are used to allow the user to swap discs without the system being aware, are notable over other methods (such as a modchip) due to the fact that they do not void the PS2's warranty.

See Swap Magic.

Mechanics Controller[edit | edit source]

The MechaCon upon receiving power loads the ROM patches from its EEPROM.

Patches can be updated over the PMAP interface in test mode.

The performed security checks on it is three checksums over the DES-ECB encrypted data.

One can bruteforce this encryption key and apply their own patches.

Software[edit | edit source]

Software in ROM (Operating System)[edit | edit source]

PS1DRV[edit | edit source]

PS2 Independence[edit | edit source]

Released on 15-08-2003 by Marcus R. Brown <mrbrown@0xd6.org>.

Homebrew programs can be launched directly from a Memory Card on unmodified consoles by using a certain software that takes advantage of a long known and used exploit, dealing with the boot part of the EE/IOP process (PS2 Independence exploit). It was patched on the last batch of the PS2 SCPH-50000-series and the SCPH-55000GT special edition, which are known as "V11".

The PS2 Independence vulnerability consists in the fact that when a PS1 game is loaded, the PS1 game loader loads the savedata associated to this game from a PS2 memory card and executes the BOOT.ELF PS2 executable file contained in this savedata under the condition that the savedata also contains a valid TITLE.DB file. This vulnerability uses a PS1 game as a 'boot' disc to load a custom PS1 savedata which in turn runs arbitrary PS2 code. This method allows a PS2 to launch homebrews like uLaunchELF and then to install other PS2 exploits like FreeMCBoot.

To use this vulnerability, you need to craft a savedata specific to the PS1 game disc you have. You also need to transfer the modded savedata over the PS2 memory card. This can be done for example via an already hacked PS2, via a gameshark or similar cheat device, via a memory card adapter for PS3/PC and a PS3/PC, or via another PS2 usermode exploit. Once you place the modified PS1 game savedata onto a PS2 memory card, just insert your PS1 disc, and voila.

See PS2 Independence.

Tonyhax[edit | edit source]

Tonyhax is a software loader exploit for the Sony PlayStation 1 that also works on earlier models of the PlayStation 2. Tonyhax requires a PS1 entrypoint exploit. Although the name "tonyhax" suggests a link with the Tony Hawk's game whose savedata vulnerability can be used as an entrypoint, Tonyhax works with all sort of entrypoints like modchips or FreePSXBoot on PS1 specifically, or PS1 savedata exploits in other games like Final Fantasy IX, Sports Superbike, etc.

The SCPH-50XXX - SCPH-90XXX PS2 models are not supported by tonyhax because both SetSession() and the unlock commands do not function on these models. The laser re-calibration also seems to be ignored resulting in sub-optimal disc reading performance on the newer models. Technically it can still boot games but with no CD audio support and poor disc reading performance so it is not officially supported whatsoever.

FreePSXBoot (not working)[edit | edit source]

The existing FreePSXBoot exploit chain for PS1 does not work on the PS2 (mainly inside mcman), due to the fact that the internal structure is different.

In mcman, there is no bounds check on linked_block member access relative to arrays on stack: https://github.com/ps2dev/ps2sdk/blob/d976e57349645cb940a9e0f9ec0207c16472ca2c/iop/memorycard/mcman/src/main.c#L3041-L3072

The code looks similar in 3.1.0 (last) mcman modules.

Briefly looking at it, it is possible to control where to write (basically positive 16 bit signed value), but not what value should be written (limited to 0-15), so a straightforward port of the FreePSXBoot chain is not possible. One would need to have knowledge of the thread stack layout at mcserv and afterwards, and possibly mirrored memory.

See PS1 Dev Wiki.

OSDSYS[edit | edit source]

FreeMCBoot[edit | edit source]

Released on 23-05-2008 by jimmikaelkael (with help from Neme). Maintained since 14-09-2011 by SP193.

FreeMCBoot allows homebrew programs to be launched without a trigger disc required unlike PS2 Independence.

This also allows one the use of homebrew on unmodded systems without a functional disc drive. However, installation of the exploit to each individual memory card requires either an already exploited/modded system in order to launch the installer, or boot image that can load an app that loads ELF files (network adapter and hard drive also required). Copying from one memory card to another will not work.

It does not work on the very newest PS2s (SCPH-9000x model with BIOS 2.30 and up) but will work on all models prior to that.

See FreeMCBoot/FreeHDBoot.

FreeHDBoot[edit | edit source]

The newest versions of Free McBoot, version 1.90 and newer, also have the ability to install and boot from both Sony and non-Sony HDDs when using a "fat" PS2 and network adapter. This support is called FreeHDBoot or FHDB. With a few minor issues, it is possible to launch a game entirely from the HDD, without needing to use the optical disc drive nor a physical memory card.

Fortuna[edit | edit source]

Released on 12-02-2019 by krat0s.

Fortuna is an homebrew launcher for most PS2 models. Every PS2 from 1.90 ROMVER 50k model (SCPH-18000) to the very last (up to the PS2 TV) can be exploited by scrolling to an MC-Icon and "back out" of the menu. This exploit has not been ported to the 10k and 15k models, it proved to be quite challenging to do so, probably related to the fact that these models do not have compressed OSDSYS programs. Different files are needed depending on the console version. Opentuna is an open source version of Fortuna.

Requirements[edit | edit source]
  • A PS2 Memory Card
  • A way to transfer files to the Memory Card (one time setup)
  • Making sure the hacked icon is displayed first (OSDSYS icon order is based on date)
Bug description[edit | edit source]

Fortuna exploits a vulnerability on the RLE decompression routine used for memory card icon textures, allowing to copy raw executables to protected area on RAM, and achieving code execution when going back to main menu. Alex Párrado, creator of Opentuna, left a technical write-up on how it works.

TnA writes (see [2]) that Fortuna exploit is a bit similar to the following bug: "There seems to be either an issue in FMCB/FHDB's Payload, or the OSDSYS has a fault which can cause code-injection via text-strings which use opcodes or some instructions. I can get it to freeze, with some funky OSDSYS-Item-Names... I have not tested however if this also happens with some weird mc-save-name-strings (not the folder-name on MC, but the actual shown name in the OSDSYS), without FMCB... Why? The idea was a 'kick-start'-icon which has the weird name and starts an ELF from Memory Card. The only issue is that - if it works - it would be immediately triggered, once the name is parsed."

Oddities[edit | edit source]

Fortuna/Opentuna exploit fails if the console is rendering some Japanese characters, either from a save data file or by setting the console to Japanese language.

During late test stages of Opentuna, it was found that if the hack is triggered from the Browser 2.0, the console stops recognizing the memory card until the user shut it down completely.

When the OSDSYS parses the hacked icon, any save folder using built-in icons (e.g "your system configuration") will stop getting rendered, showing no icon 3D model, like the exploit icon.

DVDPL (DVD Player)[edit | edit source]

FreeDVDBoot[edit | edit source]

An exploit released in 2020 by CTurt, which exploits the DVD Video Player and allows the execution of code (wLaunchElf in the pre-built ISOs). It supports all PS2 slim consoles, including the ones that do not support FreeMCBoot.

ESR Vulnerability[edit | edit source]

Vulnerability to bypass PS2 disc reader anticopy protection system. Implemented by ffgriever in 2008.

Allows to run burnt CD/DVD of PS2 games on a PS2 without any modchip. It is needed to have FreeMCBoot/FreeHDBoot, Fortuna or SwapMagic in order to launch ESR homebrew.

ESR does not itself yield code-execution, but once you have the ability to load code, you can access content on burned (Video-)DVDs, which have DVD-Video-content. This vulnerability is used in different apps like ESR or Simple Media System and in varying 'formats' like ESR-Discs or simple Video-DVDs with extra-content.

To use ESR vulnerabilities, two operations are necessary:

  • the burnt CD/DVD inserted in the PS2 must contain ESR-patched content. To patch that content, one can use ESR Disc patcher/unpatcher program by ffgriever.
  • the PS2 must execute the ESR homebrew.

Analysis:

Implementations:

PlayStation 2 Linux RTE[edit | edit source]

Linux[edit | edit source]

To be documented.

Unclassified[edit | edit source]

Action Replay X-mas Exploit[edit | edit source]

This exploit utilizes cheats to "bend" the Action Replay to load a PS2 ELF file from USB. It requires an Action Replay disc that supports max media player.

An issue of this exploit is that the disc is very picky about which USB drives it supports, since at the time the Universal Serial Bus was only at version 1.1 and pretty new.

Games[edit | edit source]

Demo games[edit | edit source]

PS2 Yabasic Exploit[edit | edit source]

Released on 12-10-2019 by CTurt.

Writeup by CTurt

Exploit code by CTurt

Network games[edit | edit source]

It is possible to exploit some network-capable games to trigger custom PS2 code execution. Network exploits are an alternative to savedata exploits for example when you cannot move files to the Memory Card. TnA scarcely mentioned that method in January 2019 and it was finally made true in 2024 by grimdoomer who exploited the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 game's network protocol.

On the Nintendo GameCube and on the Sega Dreamcast, a famous network exploit exists in the game Phantasy Star Online: Episode "1&2" (no public exploit for 1&2plus, nor 3). On PS2, there are similar network games like Phantasy Star Universe that might be vulnerable to remote code execution.

See also:

Tony Hawk's games network exploits[edit | edit source]

Most Tony Hawk's games on PS2 are vulnerable to network exploits. As of now, only Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 has been exploited but other target games are:

  • Tony Hawk's Underground
  • Tony Hawk's Underground 2, adapted to PSP in Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix
  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, also on PS1
  • Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
  • Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
  • Tony Hawk's Project 8, also on PSP and PS3
  • Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, also on PS3

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 RCE[edit | edit source]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 was exploited on Micosoft Xbox and on PS2 by Grimdoomer on July 24th, 2024, via network.

PS2 exploit:

Microsoft Xbox exploit:

PS1 Savedata exploits[edit | edit source]

The PS2 can play official PS1 games stored on CD. PS1 games require a PS1 memory card to save your game, even though you can copy PS1 savedata to a PS2 memory card, but only for archival purposes.

By inserting in a PS2 a vulnerable PS1 game, and in most cases also a PS1 memory card that contains an exploit savedata for that game, the PS2 can execute arbitrary PS1 code. It can then run PS1 games backups thanks to the tonyhax exploit.

PS2 controllers may be used to play PS1 games, but may need to disable analog sticks depending on the game. Some PS1 games are not compatible with the PS2. While the vast majority of PS1 games will work perfectly fine, 7500x and later Slims remove the PS1 CPU and RAM, replaced with full emulation, and the list of games that will not function properly or at all is a bit longer than 7000x Slim and Fat. For example, the PS1 multitap does not work on one model of PS2 Slim. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_games_incompatible_with_PlayStation_2 for a list of compatibility issues.

The list of vulnerable PS1 games can be found on the PS1 Dev Wiki.

PS2 Savedata exploits[edit | edit source]

Title ID Game/Application Vulnerability Description Patched Date of discovery Discovered/exploited by
SLUS-21759, SLES-55133 LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures To be documented. To be documented.

This vulnerability is also present in the Nintendo Wii version of the game, and maybe also in the PSP and PS3 versions too.

No July 15th, 2020 (?September 2009? for Nintendo Wii) Fighter19 for PS2, fail0verflow for Nintendo Wii
? Carol Vorderman's Sudoku Stack Buffer Overflow via unchecked string length The save data file stores plaintext profile and high-score names. One can use a large string to overwrite the stack and jump to unsigned code.

This vulnerability is also present in the PSP version of the game. See the PSP exploit.

No December 2021 (2011-01-06 for PSP) ChampionLeake for PS2, Jeerum for PSP
? OKAGE: Shadow King Stack Buffer Overflow via unchecked "Player/Town" name length Successfully exploited and chained with mast1c0re sandbox escape for the PS4/PS5.

CTurt's Writeup: Here McCaulay's Writeup: Here

No September 14th, 2022 CTurt, McCaulay for implementation
? Star Wars Racer Revenge Stack-Smash via unchecked "Record Name" length The game allows players to record their names when breaking lap records on a course. However when displaying the Hall of Fame, the size of the names are not checked. Using a very large name can overwrite addresses on the stack and gain control of $ra, which can be used to jump to unsigned code. No August 2023 ChampionLeake
? GTA III and GTA Vice City Stories Stack Buffer Overflow via unchecked savedata size The game does a copy from the memory card into a fixed-size buffer with size supplied by the save data file.

Bug in GTA III Bug in GTA VCS CTurt's writeup

Maybe in PSP version of GTA VCS and in GTA LCS PSP September 14th, 2022 CTurt thanks to re3 decompilation project
? Jak X: Combat Racing (PAL and NTSC, PAL has more symbols) Two exploits: String Buffer Overflow via unchecked profile name length (implemented) and Custom code injection via patch.bin file (not implemented) When saving data, the profile name can be copied out-of-bounds, allowing to redirect code execution. By injecting a signed file named patch.bin in the savedata folder, custom code can be executed by the game. Maybe in Greatest Hits/Platinum release (to be documented) September 26th, 2024 CelesteBlue

Confirmed vulnerable games[edit | edit source]

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures[edit | edit source]

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures has been exploited initially on the Nintendo Wii by fail0verflow, and ten year later on the PlayStation 2 by Fighter19.

Nintendo Wii exploit:

PS2 exploit:

1. Boot up your copy of LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. 2. Load the exploit save. 3. Walk to the Art Room (through the Courtyard), approach the left character on the podium. When it zooms on him, choose the switch to option (two silhouettes, staggered, with an arrow pointing between them). 4. Fighter19's implementation of the exploit should pop up PS2 Fortuna Launcher.

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures use a custom checksum:

  • Offset: FileSize - 4
  • Calc. Start: 0
  • Calc. Length: FileSize - 4
private int CalculateChecksum(byte[] data) {
    using (var xIO = new MasterIO(data, Endian.Big)) {
        int count = (data.Length / 4) - 1;
        int sum = 0x5C0999;
        for (int i = 0; i < count; ++i)
            sum += xIO.Reader.ReadInt32();
        return sum;
    }
}

Carol Vorderman's Sudoku[edit | edit source]

TODO

OKAGE: Shadow King[edit | edit source]

Credits[edit | edit source]
  • CTurt for discovering these vulnerabilities in September 2021.
  • CTurt for public disclosure on twitter (2022-09-14)
  • flatz, balika011, theflow0, chicken(s), PlayStation for helping CTurt
  • McCaulay for sharing publicly his implementation in February 2023.
Analysis[edit | edit source]
Bug Description[edit | edit source]

Okage Shadow King has a typical stack buffer overflow if you extend the player or town name in a savedata.

  • The save data has a CRC digest.
Exploit Implementation[edit | edit source]

Star Wars Racer Revenge[edit | edit source]

Save data format[edit | edit source]
  • The save data has no digest nor any kind of security.
  • The records pages data are stored as follows: each track has its own page. Each page contains three categories of records: best total time, best lap time and best KO's count. For each category of record, the three best records are stored as three signed int (4 bytes) for the time/most KO's count, followed by three 21-byte string for the player's name, which must be null-terminated as they are each copied using an unsafe strcpy function.
typedef struct track_record_struct { // size is 0xEA bytes
  int best_total_time[3];
  char best_total_time_player[3][22];
  int best_lap_time[3];
  char best_lap_time_player[3][22];
  int best_kos_count[3];
  char best_kos_count_player[3][22];
} track_record_struct;

typedef struct player_data_struct { // size is 0xD64 bytes
  track_record_struct track_record[13]; // 0xBE2 bytes, default value is fake records by NPC
  uint8_t unk_0xBE2[0x96]; // probably unused
  char player_name[0x2C]; // player name displayed with a 10 chars-limited keyboard when making a new track record, default value is "PLAYER 1"
  uint8_t flags[0xC0]; // probably cheat codes enable status
} player_data_struct;

typedef struct BESLES_50366 { // size is 0xF508 bytes
  uint32_t magic; // must be 7
  uint32_t unk_4; // ex: 0x1712
  uint8_t game_data[0xE79C]; // contains strings (maybe filenames) about "songs", at BESLES_50366+0x4A is a bitflag
  player_data_struct player_data; // contains Hall of Fame records, player name and probably cheats status, loaded to 0x61b760 in pcsx2 but may depend on PS2 BIOS
} BESLES_50366;

/*
"BESLES-50366.psu" content:
- 62728  BESLES-50366    -> see BESLES_50366 structure
- 964    icon.sys        -> standard PS2 savedata information
- 119000 NORMAL.ICO      -> standard PS2 savedata icon
*/
Bug description[edit | edit source]

Star Wars Racer Revenge has a typical stack buffer overflow if you extend a player name in a savedata.

  • To trigger the exploit, in the main menu, go to Options then Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame will trigger the exploit when you go to the page where the player name was extended in save data to more than 256 characters as the code copies from save data the best players' names without checking length.
  • Player name max length allowed when breaking a record: 10 characters as the keyboard gets disabled
    • Player name is registered in save data the first time that you make a new record but it seems not used at all.
  • Player name max length displayed in the record page: 21 characters as it is done a sort of "memcpy(src, dst, 21)" in a 22-byte null buffer.
    • 9 player names are displayed on each Hall of Fame page, stored temporarily in memory respectively at addresses: 0xF98B20, 0xFADB60, 0xFB29D0, 0xFB4E00, 0xFB7210, 0xFB9640, 0xFBBA50, 0xFBDE80, 0xCCE320
  • buffer size: expected to be 256 bytes from tests (nothing happens when length is 256 characters followed by a zero byte)
  • latest valid $ra where pcsx2 debugger can go to quickly, then need to go by small step: 0x140D2C
  • latest valid $ra: 0x1E4048
  • latest valid $pc: 0x1E4050 (jl ra) -> crash when executed so put breakpoint at 0x1E4050
  • $s0 to restore: ?0000000000FF1280? (to dump with valid savedata and bkpt at 1E4048)
  • $r0 to restore: ? (to dump with valid savedata and bkpt at 1E4048)
  • current savedata payload in PSU file: at offset 0xefb0 256 characters then 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 4A 4B 4C 4D 4E 4F 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 5A 00 00 00 00 00 00
  • $sp: 01F7F790
  • $ra read from $sp+0x10 -> 5857565554535251 (bottom), 0000000000005A59 (top)
  • $s0 read from $sp -> 4847005A59585756 (bottom), 504F4E4D4C4B4A49 (top)
  • It is guessed that at least 0xB7B bytes of the savedata can be overwritten with a MIPS shellcode without breaking the main menu.
  • savedata string address: 0x61b76c in pcsx2 but may depend on PS2 BIOS:
PTR_DAT_00383100 = 0x4339a0;
MAIN_CTX_OFF = 0x2dc;
CTX_PLAYER_DATA_ADDR_OFF = 0x102f0;
main_ctx = *(PTR_DAT_00383100 + MAIN_CTX_OFF) = *(0x4339a0 + 0x2dc) = *0x433c7c; // =(pcsx2)= 0x60b470;
player_data_address = main_ctx + CTX_PLAYER_DATA_ADDR_OFF; // =(pcsx2)= 0x60b470 + 0x102f0 = 0x61B760;
player_data_address = *0x00433C7C + 0x102f0; // in summary
Official cheat codes[edit | edit source]
  • It might be useful to unlock more tracks in order to have more possibilities to trigger the buffer overflow in the records menu.
  • To enable cheat codes, it is often forgotten in guides that you have to make a new record, then type "NO TIME" as player name. This has to be done only once as it is stored in save data. Then at the main menu, hold R1, R2, L1 and L2 while you press successively the following cheat combos. The cheats remain in save data but some can be disabled at wish. The following cheat codes were found by looking at the debug strings of the binary files:
    • No Player Damage Cheat ON/OFF: uuddlrlrscsc ON/OFF -> up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, square, circle, square, circle
    • (NOT CONFIRMED) No Player Overheat Cheat ON/OFF: balrefsc -> ?ba?, left, right, ?ef?, square, circle.
    • Hard Mode Cheat ON/OFF: simply triangle, not too late.
    • One Hit Kills Cheat ON/OFF: ssssxctsxxxxctsxcccctsxcttttsxct
    • All Tracks Unlocked!: rlrlcscs -> right, left, right, left, circle, square, circle, square.
    • All Podracers Unlocked!: uldtsxurdtcxuldtcxurdtsx -> up, left, down, triangle, square, x, up, right, ...
    • All Podracers' Stats Maxed Out!: uuxxddttllccrrss -> up, up, x, x, down, down, triangle, triangle, left, left, circle, circle, right, right, square, square.
    • All Art Galleries Unlocked!: main combo then rslcdxut -> right, square, left, circle, down, x, up, triangle.
  • When using a save data that was badly hand-modified to unlock every characters and circuits, a bug can occur in the record page: only one of the pages can be accessed. Pressing left or right to change track page makes sound but remains on this page.

GTA III and GTA Vice City Stories[edit | edit source]

The game does a copy from the memory card into a fixed-size buffer with size supplied by the savedata.

Jak X: Combat Racing[edit | edit source]

See also Jak and Daxter games bugs on jakanddaxter.fandom.com.

Profile name string overflow during saving - Jak a dit a dit haX[edit | edit source]

Discovered and exploited by CelesteBlue on September 26th, 2024.

A profile name is asked to the player when starting a new game, and the length is limited to 12 characters by keyboard. However, by crafting a custom savedata, it is possible to use a longer profile name where the 20, 21, 22 and 23th bytes overwrite the $v1 register when the game saves. This leads to $pc redirection and so to code execution by planting a shellcode in the savedata body.

Before loading a savedata, the game asks the user to choose between available ones. The game displays the profile names of the savedata, loaded from the header of each savedata file. The header profile name is only used for display and does not create any bug when overflown except visual ones during savedata loading. The body profile name must not be too long else the game freezes during loading savedata. If it is short enough, the savedata loads fine, but being long enough it can overflow and be used for exploitation when saving data. When the body filename length is intermediate, the savedata can be loaded, the overflow occurs, but when saving data, instead of saving properly or crashing, the game enters an infinite loop like with the other classical savedata bug.

The profile name length is an important parameter of the behaviour of the game:

  • Profile name should be between 1 and 12 characters if no hack was used.
  • Extending profile name to between 13 and 19 characters does not create any bug.
  • With a profile name of 20 characters or more, the game will be affected. During the load of an evil savedata, there is not necessarily any strange behaviour except the graphical glitches of too long profile name, however when saving with this extended profile name, the game crashes.
  • Between 20 and 23 characters, the savedata can be loaded and when saving data, the game crashes with user-controlled $pc. The best choice is 23 characters since it allows to control the four bytes of the $v1 register, whilst using 20 characters only control one byte of $v1.
  • Between 24 and ? characters, the savedata can be loaded but when saving data, the game enters an infinite loop.
  • With ? or more characters, the savedata cannot be loaded because the game freezes.
  • It is not possible to load a profile name longer than (0x6400-0x50=0x63B0) characters because the body size and profile name offset are hardcoded.

Using a profile name longer than 19 characters overwrites $v1 with the DWORD at offset 19 of the profile name in the savedata body. The game remains stable when using 23 characters and there is no advantage in using more characters.

The constants for exploitation of Jak X NTSC (SCUS-97429) are: 

shellcode_ptr_addr = 0x248838 - 0x34 = 0x248804
shellcode_addr = 0x71C728
shellcode size = 0x6400 - 0x50 - 0x13 - 4 = 0x6399 (about 25 kB)
shelldata_size = 0x400 - 0x40 - 4 - 4 = 0x3B8 (about 1 kB)

It is required to craft valid header and footer in the savedata files else the game loops infinitely on the savedata loading screen. A Jak X savedata contains a few files of name format "saveX-Y-ZZZZZZZZ.bin" where X, Y, and Z are some decimal numbers. The default savedata files that are created by the player are:

  • save0-3-00000001.bin
  • save1-1-00000000.bin
  • save2-2-00000000.bin
  • save3-3-00000000.bin
  • save4-0-00000000.bin

The Jak X savedata files follow mostly the same structure as Jak 1, 2 and 3 but with a different magic (0xc0dfaced) and a different checksum algorithm (CRC32). The file is made of a 0x400-byte header followed by 0x6400 bytes of body and a footer that is just a 1:1 copy of the header. To craft a valid Jak X savedata, the steps are:

  • generate a valid body, eventually with extended profile name
  • generate a default header with valid magic, profile name, etc.
  • compute CRC32 of the body and write it to the header
  • in a file of name type "saveX-Y-ZZZZZZZZ.bin" write the header, then the body, then again the header
Custom code injection via patch.bin file[edit | edit source]

The game savedata contains a file named patch.bin whose aim is to be loaded at address 0x00C00000 then executed. There is no protection except a CRC32 checksum (with 0xEDB88320 polynomial) and a sort of obfuscated (yet to be understood) format for the patch data. It seems that the patch.bin file contains a DER certificate with inside a magic and a rc5 key. At another position in the patch.bin is located a rc5 encrypted buffer, which is also believed to contain a DER certificate. There may be even more layers of security verified after the rc5 decryption, like:

  • some simple but undocumented obfuscation (xor, byte swap, etc.)
  • some compression (LZO/miniLZO as in DGO/CGO files, ...)
  • some encryption (des/des_ede/desx/rc2/rc5/rc5_64/rc6/gencrypt algorithm with cbc/ecb/cbc_interleaved/cfb/cfb_pipelined/ofb/ofb_pipelined mode and nopad/pad/stream choice of padding)
  • some DNAS check by connecting to SCE remote servers

The patch.bin file must contain a little-endian header of 16 bytes followed by patch data of arbitrary size. 

typedef struct jakx_patch_bin_hdr { // size is 0x10 bytes
  uint32_t magic;
  uint32_t digest; // crc32 of data
  uint32_t unk; // maybe unused
  uint32_t size; // equals patch.bin size minus header size
} jakx_patch_bin_hdr;

typedef struct jakx_patch_bin { // size is (0x10 + size) bytes
  jakx_patch_bin_hdr header;
  char data[size];
} jakx_patch_bin;
Corruption after game autosaving[edit | edit source]

There is a bug with the autosave feature in Jak X that corrupts save data on memory card. It was fixed in the Platinum / Greatest Hits versions of the game.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/927166-jak-x-combat-racing/41999721

Infinite loop after game saving[edit | edit source]

There is a bug, at least in PCSX2, where when starting the game for the first time and creating a new profile, the game freezes on the memory card saving screen after saving data. The save data is however well written and on next tries the game can be played as the save is correctly loaded.

The same bug can be triggered by going to the Profile settings and selecting "Save game". After saving, the game freezes as it enters an infinite loop in the R3000 IOP processor, at $pc address 0xBE9C on NTSC version. The R5900 Emotion Engine processor indefinitely waits for an answer from IOP, looping around $pc address 0x81FC0 on PAL, NTSC and NTSC Greatest Hits. CelesteBlue's first hypothesis is that there is a bug in the IOP code for memory card write, or in the IOP-EE communication code. CelesteBlue's second hypothesis is that during the game initialization, the game open files from the memory card (for example patch.bin at address 0x00100884 on PAL), but closes the fd only if some condition are met, which by default are not as the patch.bin file is invalid.

https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/issues/6935

The NTSC Greatest Hits version of Jak X does not fix this problem.

Dark Cloud 1 and 2[edit | edit source]

Moving the cursor and pressing X on the same frame in the items menu allows us to pick up an item from out-of-bounds memory, which results in an exploitable behaviour. This integer overflow leads to infinite money, statistics, duplicate items, enable debug menu (in Dark Cloud 2), or to game freeze according to the context. However, even in case of game freeze, from an exploitation point of view, this integer overflow may not be controllable enough to specify a specific address to jump to.

The overflow bug can be removed by simply changing one byte in the game's binary file.

The debug menu in Dark Cloud 2 might be vulnerable to $ra overwrite. The debug menu features are detailed here.

Dark Cloud 2 uses a scripting engine described here.

Possible vulnerable games[edit | edit source]

Robotech: Battlecry[edit | edit source]

Robotech: Battlecry was exploited on Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube by InvoxiPlayGames on July 30th, 2023.

It is a stack overflow in the profile name.

Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft Xbox exploit:

1. Launch Robotech: Battlecry. 2. At the main menu, select the "Load Game" option. 3. After a few seconds, the shellcode should get executed.

True Crime: Streets of LA[edit | edit source]

True Crime: Streets of LA was exploited on Nintendo GameCube by Zephiles on July 16th, 2024.

Nintendo Gamecube exploit:

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System[edit | edit source]

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System was exploited on Microsoft Xbox by dj0wns on Jan 14th, 2022. It uses some format string vulnerabilities to achieve code execution.

Microsoft Xbox exploit:

1. Launch the "Metal Arms: Glitch in the System" game 2. Select Multiplayer 3. Select the profile ending in "%hn" 4. Start any multiplayer level 5. Quit out of the game 6. Back out to profile selection 7. Select the profile ending in "2nd" 8. At gametype selection press X (More) and then Y (New) to create a new gametype 9. Replace the name "Unnamed19" with "%255x%n%x%hn" 10. Hit Done and then A to accept 11. Go back to gametype selection (do not go back to profile selection or you will have to repeat from step 8) 12. Select any gametype and multiplayer level 13. Quit out of the game

Frogger Beyond[edit | edit source]

Frogger Beyond was exploited on Microsoft Xbox by agarmash on October 2nd, 2022 and on Nintendo Gamecube by Zephiles on December 16th, 2022.

Microsoft Xbox exploit:

1. Launch the "Frogger Beyond" game. 2. Select "Continue". 3. Select "Xbox hard disk". 4. Select "Freedom". 5. The shellcode should get executed.

Nintendo Gamecube exploit:

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell[edit | edit source]

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell was exploited on Microsoft Xbox by Andrew “bunnie” Huang and Michael Steil of the Xbox-Linux project and released at the 20th Chaos Communication Conference (20C3) in December 2003, and on Nintendo Gamecube by FIX-94 on April 2nd, 2016.

Microsoft Xbox exploit:

Nintendo Gamecube exploit:

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow[edit | edit source]

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow was exploited on Nintendo Gamecube by FIX-94 on August 27th, 2018.

Nintendo Gamecube exploit:

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2[edit | edit source]

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 was exploited on Nintendo Gamecube by FIX-94 on August 29th, 2018.

Nintendo Gamecube exploit:

BMX XXX[edit | edit source]

BMX XXX was exploited on Nintendo Gamecube by FIX-94 on June 11th, 2016.

Nintendo Gamecube exploit:

James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire[edit | edit source]

In 2003, a hacker named Habibi-Xbox discovered a method to make the Xbox run Linux software, using a buffer overflow in the load/save feature in the disc game Agent Under Fire. Habibi found that by using one of several USB storage devices recognized by the Xbox, the "load game" screen can also be used to load other software, including compact versions of the Linux operating system. The buffer overflow vulnerability is also present in the GameCube version of the game, exploited by FIX-94 on March 11th, 2016, and probably in the PS2 version too. The buffer overflow seems to be overflowing the profile name of the save game. From Xbox exploit savedata analysis: "This starts at offset 0x28. You can notice this from the long string of FF's. Inside the pattern of bytes following the FF's, you can see that the E7 FF 2B is present in four different places. It is not just a coincidence. That turns out to be the address the buffer overflow is writing, which then execution jumps to. Only the last one is important, I can only assume the others are there to make a nice little pattern."

Microsoft Xbox exploit:

Nintendo Gamecube exploit:

Tony Hawk's games[edit | edit source]

Tony Hawk's games on PS2:

  • Tony Hawk's Underground
  • Tony Hawk's Underground 2, adapted to PSP in Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix
  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, exploited via savedata on PS1
  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, exploited via savedata on PS1 and via network on PS2 and Xbox
  • Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, exploited via savedata on Xbox and Xbox360
  • Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
  • Tony Hawk's Project 8, also on PSP and PS3
  • Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, also on PS3

As a lot of PS1, Microsoft Xbox, GameCube/DreamCast, and some PC Tony Hawk games (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, 3 and 4) have been exploited successfully (see PS1 Dev Wiki), since the source code of the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube versions of Tony Hawk's Underground game was leaked at

and since the Tony Hawk's games usually save strings in savedata, there is a good chance of finding a vulnerability inside a PS2 Tony Hawk game.

See also:

Tony Hawk's Underground and Underground 2[edit | edit source]

Tony Hawk's Underground was exploited on Nintendo GameCube by Grimdoomer on September 9th, 2024. Tony Hawk's Underground and Underground 2 are not exploitable via savedata on Microsoft Xbox because these games implement stack cookies so stack buffer overflow is not possible without a smarter exploit strategy. On PS2, the games seem exploitable.

Nintendo Gamecube exploit:

1. Launch Tony Hawk Tony Hawk's Underground. 2. Choose free skate option from the main menu. 3. When you get to the level select screen choose "custom park" 4. Load the "Hack Gamecube" game save. 5. After the save is loaded, choose "start game". 6. The exploit will trigger during the loading screen and your homebrew file should run.

See also:

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3[edit | edit source]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was exploited on Microsoft Xbox by Grimdoomer on July 21th, 2024 via savedata.

Microsoft Xbox exploit:

1. Launch Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 game. 2. Choose the free skate option from the main menu. 3. When you get to the level select screen choose "custom park" 4. Load the "Hack Xbox" game save. 5. After the save is loaded choose "start game". 6. You have to wait until the player spawns in. 7. Press pause. 8. Quit back to the main menu. 9. The exploit should get triggered.

The following PS2 Tony Hawk's games contain debug symbols:

  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (Europe) SLES-50400 2001-09-19
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (France) SLES-50401 2001-10-09
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (Germany) SLES-50402 2001-10-07
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (USA) SLUS-20199 2001-09-10
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (USA) (Rev 1) SLUS-20199 2001-09-10

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4[edit | edit source]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 was exploited on Microsoft Xbox by Grimdoomer in April 2017 and on Nintendo GameCube on July 28th, 2024, through a hacked Park savedata file. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 on PS2 is exploitable but maybe more in a way like on the GameCube than the one on PS1.

PS1 exploit:

  • See PS1 Dev Wiki.
  • The steps to trigger the exploit on PlayStation are:

1. Launch Tony Hawk Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. 2. At the main menu, wait until the save game exploit file is automatically loaded (it should say "Loading TONYHAX US/EU/DE/FR", depending on the game’s region). 3. Select "CREATE SKATER". 4. Confirm the selection. 5. The exploit will trigger during the loading screen and your shellcode should run.

Nintendo GameCube exploit:

1. Launch Tony Hawk Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. 2. Choose free skate option from the main menu. 3. When you get to the level select screen choose "custom park" 4. Load the "Hack Gamecube" game save. 5. After the save is loaded, choose "start game". 6. The exploit will trigger during the loading screen and your homebrew file should run.

Microsoft Xbox exploit:

Original PAL games may be PAL or Region Free. The French version of TH4 requires the PAL save.

  • The steps to trigger the exploit on Microsoft Xbox are:

1) Launch Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. 2) Select "Free Skate" 3) Select "Any Character" 4) Select "Play Level" 5) Select "Created Park" 6) Select "Load Park" 7) Pick "Yes" 8) Select "Hack Xbox Park" (this is the name of the exploit savedata on Xbox) 9) Select "Play Park" 10) The game should execute the shellcode, or crash if the exploit savedata is bad

The following PS2 Tony Hawk's games contain debug symbols:

  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (USA) (v1.02) SLPS-99999 2002-09-21
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (USA) (v2.01) SLPS-99999 2002-09-20

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland[edit | edit source]

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland was exploited on Microsoft Xbox and Xbox360 by Grimdoomer on July 21th, 2024 via Park savedata.

Microsoft Xbox exploit:

Microsoft Xbox360 exploit:

1. Launch Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. 2. Sign into the Player1 gamer profile. 3. Choose "Free skate" and once you get to the level select screen choose "custom park" and load the "Hack Xbox" park file. 4. Press "start game" and the exploit should trigger during the loading screen.

Soul Calibur III[edit | edit source]

overflow on real PS2

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/915821-playstation-2/79857492?page=3 https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/927089-soulcalibur-iii/faqs/40424 https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/927089-soulcalibur-iii/24774951 https://www.reddit.com/r/SoulCalibur/comments/uqiff7/is_the_soulcalibur_iii_save_corruption_glitch/

Viewtiful Joe 2 demo on the NTSC U/C region 2004 Holiday Demo Disc[edit | edit source]

overflow on real PS2

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/915821-playstation-2/79857492?page=3

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence[edit | edit source]

There is bug with the PCSX2 emulator and MGS3: Subsistence that causes save files to become corrupt. While the exact cause of this issue is unknown, anyone using the PCSX2 emulator with the saves below should wait a few seconds after accessing the memory to save the game and use the US BIOS. This seems to greatly reduce the likelihood of the bug corrupting the file. Also, do not save MGS3 on a memory card file that has a lot of other saves, because the bug corrupts the entire memory card.

https://retromaggedon.com/index.php/metal-gear-solid-3-subsistence-save-files-ps2/

World War Zero Iron Storm[edit | edit source]

It can crash and delete the save or something.

4x4 Evolution[edit | edit source]

Additional: Game will also create a 30kb corruption on your memory card, seemingly at random, though it is deletable.

Mafia - NTSC version[edit | edit source]

1. I had to redo one mission. A car chase hit-job ended with the mark dying in a car accident (fail). 2. I had to restart the game. The game-save between chapters seemed to stop responding, so I turned it off. This corrupted the save file.

Electronic Arts games notably FIFA games[edit | edit source]

A lot of Electronics Arts games have been exploited on PSP and on Nintendo DS so the PS2 may also have some exploitable games.

The following FIFA games were exploited on

  • FIFA 06 (E) -> Nintendo DS
  • FIFA 07 (E and U) -> Nintendo DS
  • FIFA 08 (E) -> Nintendo DS
  • FIFA 09 (E) -> Nintendo DS
  • FIFA 10 (E) -> Nintendo DS
  • FIFA 11 -> Nintendo DS, PSP
  • FIFA 12 -> PSP
  • FIFA Street 2 (E and U) -> Nintendo DS
  • FIFA Street 3 (E) -> Nintendo DS
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 (E) -> Nintendo DS

See also:

Psychonauts[edit | edit source]

Psychonauts is maybe vulnerable to string overflow although it seems very secure as for now by using fixed-length copy functions:

  • Profile name is not vulnerable. It is limited to 8 characters by keyboard and to 10 characters in display.
  • Level name is not vulnerable: the game displays a maximum of 127 characters as the level name is memcpied to a 128-byte null-terminated buffer.
  • Profile* file must be exactly 64-byte long.
  • SavedGame* file must be exactly 245760-byte long.
  • The only important information stored in the Profile* file is the profile name as the remaining data can be overwritten.
  • SavedGame* file format is "\n"-separated with also bars (|) separators. On each line is a setting. Each setting is made of between 1 and three parts separated by bars. Table|<name>|<value>. The name part is mandatory.
  • There is a digest check on psu-embedded files as the game says that the "profile is damaged" when the savedata is edited without precaution. Using pypsu by McCaulay, one can extract files contained in the psu, but there are even more digests as any SavedGame* file is detected as "Damaged Save Game" after editing it too much. The SavedGame* files start with a 16-byte MD5 hash of the following data.

Tales of Symphonia[edit | edit source]

Tales of Symphonia is maybe exploitable on PS2 since Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World was exploited on Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo Wii exploit:

RPG Maker games[edit | edit source]

RPG Maker 2 (RPG Tsukūru 5) and RPG Maker 3 (RPG Tsukūru) are potentially exploitable on PS2 since RPG Maker Fes (RPG Tsukūru Fes) was exploited on Nintendo 3DS.

  • RPG Maker (RPG Tsukūru 3) -> PS1
  • PlayStation the Best: RPG Tsukūru 3 -> PS1
  • RPG Tsukūru 4 -> PS1
  • RPG Maker 2 (RPG Tsukūru 5) -> PS2, Nintendo DS
  • RPG Maker 3 (RPG Tsukūru) -> PS2
  • RPG Maker Fes (RPG Tsukūru Fes) -> exploited on Nintendo 3DS

See also:

Nintendo 3DS exploit:

Yu-Gi-Oh! games[edit | edit source]

Some Yu-Gi-Oh! games on PS1, PS2 and PSP may be vulnerable to savedata exploits because Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Wheelie Breakers was exploited on Nintendo Wii by ichfly on August 9th, 2010. It uses a buffer overflow in savedata.

Yu-Gi-Oh! games on PS1, PS2 and PSP:

  • Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster Capsule: Breed and Battle -> PS1
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories -> PS1
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses -> PS2
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum -> PS2
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: The Beginning of Destiny -> PS2
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Tag Force -> PSP
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Tag Force 2 -> PSP
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Tag Force 3 -> PSP
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Tag Force 4 -> PSP
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Tag Force 5 -> PSP
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Tag Force 6 -> PSP
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Tag Force Special -> PSP

Nintendo Wii exploit:

See also:

Lego games[edit | edit source]

LEGO Indiana Jones was exploited on PS2 and Nintendo Wii, Lego Batman: The Videogame was exploited on Nintendo Wii, so other LEGO games on PS2 are probably also vulnerable.

  • LEGO Batman: The Videogame -> exploited on Nintendo Wii
  • LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures -> exploited on Nintendo Wii and PS2
  • LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game -> exploited on Nintendo Wii through Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
  • LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy -> exploited on Nintendo Wii through Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
  • Soccer Mania

See also:

LEGO Batman: The Videogame[edit | edit source]

LEGO Batman: The Videogame was exploited on Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo Wii exploit:

LEGO Batman: The Videogame may use the same checksum as LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, or the newer checksum used on PS3:

  • Offset: 12
  • Calc. Start: 16
  • Calc. Length: Filesize - 16
private int CalculateChecksum(byte[] data, int offset, int size) {
    int sum = -1;
    for (int i = 0; i < size; ++i) {
        sum *= 0x1000193;
        sum ^= data[offset++];
    }
    return ~sum;
}

LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game[edit | edit source]

LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game was exploited on Nintendo Wii through Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

Nintendo Wii exploit:

LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game may use the same checksum as LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures or no checksum at all.

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy[edit | edit source]

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy was exploited on Nintendo Wii through Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

Nintendo Wii exploit:

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures use a custom checksum:

  • Offset: FileSize - 4
  • Calc. Start: 0
  • Calc. Length: FileSize - 4
private int CalculateChecksum(byte[] data) {
    using (var xIO = new MasterIO(data, Endian.Big)) {
        int count = (data.Length / 4) - 1;
        int sum = 0x5C0999;
        for (int i = 0; i < count; ++i)
            sum += xIO.Reader.ReadInt32();
        return sum;
    }
}

Soccer Mania[edit | edit source]

Soccer Mania is a LEGO themed soccer videogame on PS2, made by the same developers behind LEGO Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge on PS1.

Bionicle[edit | edit source]

Bionicle Heroes[edit | edit source]

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus[edit | edit source]

Star Wars: Starfighter[edit | edit source]

Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter[edit | edit source]

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith[edit | edit source]

List of other games[edit | edit source]

See a list of almost all PS2 games. Some may be vulnerable.

Retrieved from "https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps2/index.php?title=Vulnerabilities&oldid=4552"