eFuse successfully "blown," Xbox 360 kernel downgrades possible

A team of modders have found a way to downgrade the Xbox 360's kernel, giving the console potential for a greater homebrew effort than at present. Key to a homebrew scene is the ability to modify a console's core software: even if reverting to an older version means no more Xbox Live for you, the presumably looser security in the older software equals easier hacking. We won't even go into how it was done, beyond saying that it involved eFuse "timing attacks" and ignoring the harder "CPU-key hack." *Sob*, we'll never be 1337.

[Via Xbox360Fanboy]

[Curtis Joslin @ Aug 25th 2007 3:31PM]

this rocks, now they can make all the software and when they finally ARE able to crack the full system and get on live at the same time then all this software will be available.

[ChrisG @ Aug 26th 2007 2:24AM]

I don't they'll ever be able to hack it in able to get on xbox live. I'd rather do that if I had two 360, so that I don't end up with a lifetime ban from Xbox Live like this story I read about where some guy bought a refurbished 360 and couldn't get on Live because MS put a lifetime ban on it because of the past owner.

[ATT @ Aug 25th 2007 3:32PM]

wow 2 days late with this news hehehehe

[kyle @ Aug 25th 2007 3:47PM]

Hurray! Make it like the last XBox and soon. I wanna emulate everything...

[Mike @ Aug 25th 2007 3:57PM]

did someone says XB(360)MC?

[Dave @ Aug 25th 2007 3:56PM]

I would consider buying a separate system just to make one of them a dedicated media streaming and emulation device. I could do without Live on one machine if this works out.

[ChrisG @ Aug 26th 2007 4:32AM]

dude you so copied my idea lol just kidding but it does seem like it. However that's the best idea though I'd probably just hack a core system instead of a premium, that way you save a bit more but you only just need the memory card.

[yas da pass @ Aug 25th 2007 4:14PM]

Ignoring the harder "CPU-key hack.". What the, never mind its engadget.
for those of u who want to know...
The timing attack will enable the xbox to boot the original kernel (v 1888). This then allows you to upgrade to a vulnerable kernel and THEN you can then extract the cpu key.
Full control Mohahaha!!
partly lifted from www.xbox-scene.com
;)

[ethana2 @ Aug 25th 2007 7:13PM]

I was considering getting a ps3 with ubuntu studio for my next desktop. I hope you people _own_ this hardware solidly. They're still not getting my money, though- because they made it such a pain in the first place. Well, that and they're uh, Microsoft. I kinda took a vow to myself that I wouldn't put a penny of mine between them and good old chapter 11.

Keep it up, anyway. Once we get this down, we can have games that run on pc-mac-ps3-360-xbox via ioq3 and crystalspace on Linux. /that/ is the meaning of multiplatform.

I'm going to go check on the wiili people now, and see how far they've got.

[fischju @ Aug 25th 2007 4:19PM]

Hopefully the 360 will, in a couple of years, become what the xbox is now. A cheap system that you buy for a media center and mass emulator. But this one will have HD!

[haritorihanzo @ Aug 25th 2007 5:22PM]

i dont understand or pretend to, but if it means i somehow enhance my 360 then ill be keeping an eye on this,

question

does it make it possible now to allow soft modding or modding with a chip but via usb and external harddisk support and so on?

[akijikan @ Aug 25th 2007 7:32PM]

hacked xbox 360 = XBMC + HD = wint

[joe @ Aug 26th 2007 2:19AM]

An Xbox 360 without Xbox Live would be pointless.

[jason @ Aug 26th 2007 4:01AM]

XBL is nice, but because it requires a monthly fee I will never use it. As for the 360 being useless without it, you couldn't be more wrong. Look what happened with the original Xbox. Tell me, can you build a HTPC for the price of a 360?

[teej @ Aug 27th 2007 10:59AM]

@jason

$50/yr... 50/12= $4.17/mo. get a job.

[slyecho @ Aug 26th 2007 1:49PM]

The way they hacked this is particularily interesting. They figured out which hash was the correct one by the fact that it talkes a longer time (we're talking nanoseconds here) if the beginning matches with the correct one. I won't get into it any further, but you might want to check out how it all works.