A functional kernel exploit was released yesterday for the PS5, the first since the console was released 2 years ago. Between the excitement of the possibilities this brings and the confusion with the hack’s significant limitations, some people are wondering if they should skip the gun and hunt for a (potentially expensive) 4.03 or 4.50 PS5. We will try to answer that.

PS5 Kernel Exploit – Its Current Status and Its Limitations

Yesterday a Kernel exploit was released for the PS5. Traditionally on older generation consoles this would be enough to claim victory for most people, with the ability to play homemade games and, yes, pirated games probably. This is not the case here. The PS5 has extra security measures that prevent the current exploit from doing much.

Specifically, the Hypervisor (HV) on the PS5 means that all applications run in some virtual machine, which might be fair enough for a homemade environment, but won’t allow hackers to access and patch kernel functions, the holy grail for a real jailbreak. At the same time, eXecute Only Memory (XOM) prevents reading (and thus dumping, let alone reverse engineering) the kernel from the context of the exploit. It also means that we won’t be able to run arbitrary code outside the competition of the ROP chain for now.

In other words, this is not a full jailbreak, and for the end user, in its current state, this exploit will most likely yield nothing useful. On the other hand, it’s never been this far in exploiting the PS5, and it’s pretty much guaranteed at this point that firmware 4.03 and 4.5 will be at the forefront of investigations by multiple hackers looking for more exploits or functionality in the console . (The exploit was released for firmware 4.03, but there is hope 4.50 is compatible)

Should you buy a 4.03/4.50 PS5?

So what to do if you’re considering buying a PS5 in this context? Here’s my educated guess.

Please note that the following is just my personal opinion, you ultimately decide what to do with your own money.

On the one hand, it is possible that nothing important comes out, or not on this firmware. For a while PS4 1.76 was super expensive because it was “the” hackable firmware. These days, no one cares anymore and everyone is looking for a PS4 9.00.

On the other hand, if significant progress is made with this firmware, the prices of these PS5s could rise even more. So PS5s are expensive, but the ones that run on 4.03 could get even more expensive if we end up running more than ROP code on them. And given the difficulty hackers have had in researching the PS5 thus far, I’m willing to bet that firmware 4.03/4.50 will be very valuable for quite some time.

Ultimately, the decision is yours, as long as you understand that the hack in its current state does virtually nothing for the end user, but that if and when it does, it will be practically impossible to buy a 4.03/4.50. to console.

Where to get your hands on a 4.03 or 4.05 PS5 console

Horizon Forbidden West Bundle has been confirmed to come with Firmware 4.50. If you are lucky you can still find it on eBay or Amazon

So, where would you look if you want to buy such a console?

Disclaimer: eBay/Amazon links below are affiliate links. If you buy through our links, you don’t pay anything extra, but we get a small commission on the sale.

First of all, forget the mainstream stores like Amazon or Walmart: PS5s are selling like hotcakes, so the models they have are probably newer firmwares now. The exception is the Horizon Forbidden West bundle if you can get one (see below)

In the PS3/PS4 era, we would look for specific bundles that were known to run a specific firmware. There haven’t been that many bundles for the PS5, but there’s one that comes to mind:

The Horizon Forbidden West bundle has been confirmed to come with firmware 4.50. While 4.50 hasn’t been hacked yet, there’s a good chance the hack is coming as the Webkit exploit, BD-JB, and the Kernel exploit are all compatible with that firmware. 4.50 has not been hacked at the time of writing, but looks like a promising candidate. If you can’t get your hands on that bundle, or if you want a warranty you get 4.03 or lessyour next options are to try to find a launch edition console or discuss it with the seller.

In all cases, make sure what you get is a brand new product that is sealed, OR discuss with the seller to confirm the firmware.

  • Horizon Forbidden West bundle comes with firmware 4.50 (check if product is sealed or confirm firmware with seller). Same bundle on Amazon (request invite)
    • One risk: Sony may be able to reprint the Horizon Forbidden West bundle and ship it with higher firmwares. This is a risk you should be willing to take at this point.
  • Look for a launch edition PS5 (always double-check it’s sealed and it’s really a launch edition before buying)
  • Find “cheap” PS5s on eBay or any other marketplace and confirm with the seller that the firmware is what you want (4.03 ideal, or 4.50 possibly ok)

Once again, in the case of “open” or “pre-owned” products, if the seller cannot or will not give you the firmware, do not purchase. Most professional shops update the consoles before selling them as part of their “cleanup” process, and they also happen to be the ones who refuse to give you more details about the firmware due to “policy”. You’ll be better served by someone who’s willing to argue.

Set your expectations one last time: what you get is a slightly expensive PS5 (although I was honestly expecting much higher prices), which may or may not have firmware 4.5, 4.03 . hasor lower (depending on how diligent you have been and a bit of luck). Having that firmware doesn’t give you much today. So what you’re really getting is an expensive PS5, which was a little harder to buy than your average consumer product. If you’re willing to be at the forefront of future hacking discoveries, this might be worth your while, and the time to act is now, rather than after (because some people are definitely jumping on the remaining 4.03/4.5 right now). consoles, and if/when more powerful exploits are released they will be impossible to find).

Basically, you could “just” end up with an expensive PS5 and a story to tell. The choice is yours.

Last but not least, if you don’t want any of these shenanigans, but still want to be involved in the future of PS5 hacking, you can do what many of us have done: buy 2 PS5s. One for gaming and one that will stay in a closet on the current firmware until a hack for that firmware is released. This could take months or even years, but patience is probably the cheapest way to proceed.