Cryptographic keys tied to the PlayStation 5’s boot process have reportedly leaked as raw hex strings online. This is a potentially major breach because these keys are allegedly burned directly into the console’s silicon.
The leaked material consists of what’s known as BootROM keys. These are cryptographic secrets embedded in the PS5’s APU that handle the very first stage of the console’s boot process. When you turn on a PS5, the BootROM runs before anything else and uses these keys to verify that the next stage of code is legitimate and hasn’t been tampered with.
Firmware updates can patch software bugs all day long. But they can’t change keys that are physically fused into hardware during manufacturing. If these leaked keys are authentic, every PS5 already sold could be affected. Sony would need to revise the actual chip design for future console runs to rotate in new keys.
Access to these early-boot keys could help jailbreak developers decrypt and analyze parts of the PS5’s boot chain that are normally locked away. This makes reverse engineering easier and could speed up the development of tools to run unsigned code on the console.
That said, keys alone don’t equal an instant jailbreak. Developers still need to find exploitable vulnerabilities and build stable tooling. However, if the leak proves useful, the homebrew community is eyeing possibilities like porting popular emulators to PS5 hardware, such as RPCS3 for PS3 games, PCSX2 for PS2, and DuckStation for PS1 titles.
Sony’s limited options
Sony can’t patch this through a system software update if the keys are genuinely fused into the APU. The company could add additional verification checks in later boot stages to make exploitation harder. They could monitor for modified firmware and ban consoles from online services. But the foundational hardware weakness would remain on existing units.
The only real fix is a hardware revision. New chip designs with different keys for future manufacturing runs. Existing consoles in homes and warehouses would still carry the original vulnerable keys.
Security researchers will likely spend the coming weeks verifying whether the leaked keys are authentic and usable. If they check out, expect to see new tools and exploits emerge over time.
