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The PS4 Syscon is a custom Renesas RL78/G13.
Syscon is, together with [[Southbridge]], one of the main chips responsible for taking care of the functioning of APU, peripherals, etc.


See also [https://wiki.henkaku.xyz/vita/Ernie#Versions PS Vita Syscon Hardware Revisions].
PS4 Syscon is codenamed '''Colwick'''. It is a custom Renesas RL78/G13.


= Hardware revisions =
= Hardware revisions =
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= Glitching, Dumping and Flashing =
= Glitching, Dumping & Flashing =


By soldering 1 wire directly to the Syscon (can be removed after exploit) and 3 more to an external board, you can:
Based on the attack outlined by Fail0verflow ''fail0verflow.com/blog/2018/ps4-syscon/'' VV1LD had designed the following: ''github.com/VV1LD/SYSGLITCH''
* Downgrade Firmware (CoreOS Swap) if you are also able to write to [[Serial Flash (Hardware)]]
* Repair LoadBios -8 Error
* Repair SU-39176-6 Error
* Repair BlStorageHeader Error
* Repair checkUpdVersion Error
* Repair idpsCert Error
* Manipulate Entire Syscon (Debug Mode)
* Repair Obscure UART Errors
* Store and Revert Syscon EEPROM Images
* Recover from a brick if you keep associated Syscon EEPROM and Serial Flash dumps


== Glitching Syscon ==
Using VV1LD's shellcode you can copy the original Syscon and dump it to a new Renesas chip with relative ease. '''Guide available on BwE's GitHub.'''


By glitching Syscon, it is possible to dump its EEPROM, including NVS.
You can also flash to the original SCE syscon using a different shellcode but this is a commercial product sold by BwE.
 
=== Method 1 ===
 
We are able to make a 1:1 copy of a PS4 Syscon and put it on another chip. This allows to install a dump of a PS4 Syscon to a brand new chip then swap it. This is often used in firmware revert (leading to limited [[System Software Downgrade]]) method to avoid having to flash the same chip each time one wants to revert firmware but instead only have to swap the chips.
 
Based on the attack outlined by Fail0verflow [https://fail0verflow.com/blog/2018/ps4-syscon] '''Wildcard''' designed the following glitch using a Teensy: [https://github.com/VV1LD/SYSGLITCH].
 
Using '''Wildcard''''s shellcode but using a different methodology on his GitHub, you can copy the original Syscon and dump it to a new Renesas chip with comparatively greater ease.
 
See [https://github.com/BetterWayElectronics/sce-syscon-writer-guide] and [https://betterwayelectronics.com.au/sce_syscon.html].
 
[https://github.com/BetterWayElectronics/ps4-syscon-reader-writer].
 
=== Method 2 ===
 
You can also flash to the original Syscon using a different shellcode. See Abkarino's and BwE's publications.
 
== Ressources ==
 
* https://github.com/andy-man/ps4-wee-tools
* https://github.com/AbkarinoMHM/PS4SysconTools
* https://betterwayelectronics.com.au/#hardware
* https://betterwayelectronics.com.au/#uartsyscon
* https://betterwayelectronics.com.au/sce_syscon.html
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdyxlncxNbk
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