forums.ps2dev.org

LMUCMSIMike · Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Los Angeles

If anyone has the bogus firmware update for the psp, can they PLEASE email me or post a link or something.

email: lmucmsimike@gmail.com
aim: lmucmsimike

My team and I (well, 2 of us total) took on the semester project of getting Linux up and running on the PSP. We are in search of the bogus firmware update because it's the only KNOWN program that you can put into your games directory and get it to execute. We'd like to dissect this and see what makes it tick.

So if you or if someone you know knows about it, please help!
Thanks

PS. We do NOT plan on installing this. Just seeing how it works. Please help!
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Pikoro · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 56

Check the downloads section on www.psphacks.net. It's there.

Cheers
Pikoro

ooPo · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:55 am Post subject:

You, sir, are going to fail.

I certainly wouldn't put my marks on the line to do something like this with no knowedge of what's involved beforehand.

That said, I wish you luck and I'll send you the bogus file. :)

(edit: looks like someone beat me to it while I was posting... oh well)

SinisterWhisper · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 4

only place i have seen anyone post a way was on the linux psp project site heh. You would have to pm the guy who posted it but if you check out the site im sure you will run across the thread.

LMUCMSIMike · Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Los Angeles

thanks all for the replies. i found it on psphacks.net
just like 3 seconds before i got the email notification of the replies.
analyzing the files now...
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LMUCMSIMike · Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Los Angeles

ooPo · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:18 pm Post subject:

I'm more of an msn kinda guy myself.

Although I'm much easier to reach on irc. Come to #ps2dev on efnet and ask my secretary, Drakonite, if I'm in.

LMUCMSIMike · Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Los Angeles

bpoint · Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 24 Location: Okinawa, Japan

LMUCMSIMike · Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Los Angeles

It is a mips processor, with the mips32 instruction set, and mips processors are the 'same' all across the board.
i've got a cross compiler up and running, and if you do a
./mips-gcc -S try.c
(where a try.c is nothing more than just

int main(){return 0;}

you get a nice bit of assembly to play around with. my guess is that you can find some sort of assembly reference online.
i downloaded a pdf document called "everything you ever wanted to know about the mips r4000" (or something like that) but like an idiot i didnt open it and now my laptop is all packed up until tomorrow. i'll post back if something is in there

and what people are missing about the files (esp the firmware update) is that, through statistical analysis, we determined that, yes it COULD be encrypted. but at the same time, it COULD be just compressed weirdly. there was an unGodly amount of 00 as compaired to other numbers from 01-255 (about 10000 more than the highest one)
basically, for every byte between 01-255 (01h-FFh) appeared between 42k-46k
00 appeared ~56k times
[i analyzed the ~10 meg file that came with the firmware, UNKNOWN.PSAF or something like that]
i dont know much about encryption algos, but i did study compression algos and its a typical behavior that [at least] ONE byte as to increase and the rest decrease.
but keep in mind, im not saying its NOT encrypted. it could be a combo of the 2.

also, keep in mind that, it would make sense that there is just ONE shared key among all PSPs

now we wont be able to get anything disassembled until we can decrypt it (as im sure all of you know)
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LMUCMSIMike · Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Los Angeles

i forgot to mention

the data.bin files in saved game dirs dont SEEM to be encrypted or compressed...

as of right now, the only chance i see me and my parter having at getting into the PSP is somehow through the saved games
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florinsasu · Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Posts: 47

As ooPo said, you are going to fail.
For that project you'll need the sdk, no doubt! You or some ppl here will search in vain that firmware update for any info you might use.
So just go quick and ask to change the project, this time go for something that you can do.
[Remember: this does nothing to do with you, i don't even know u.]

Ihsan · Joined: 23 Jan 2005 Posts: 28

For what I've read I think linux developers involved in PSP have been very very very optimistic in terms of what they will be able to do with PSP. It's just my point of view, but I think that sony has done things well (in terms of security) and if they don't decide to share some information or perhaps some special features in firmware it will be impossible or nearly impossible to run a linux or even homebrew software on it. Everything involving code execution seems encrypted so It might be quite difficult to do anything useful.
I repeat, It's just my opinion and I really would like to encourage people doing some dev (as I do), but I think we must know what we are facing and SCE has not been very kind with homebrew or Linux comunities in the past... So I would guess that a Linux running on a PSP would spend at least a pair of years of developement...

LMUCMSIMike · Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Los Angeles

KiWi · Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 13

Guest · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:54 am Post subject:

Y'all are really jumping too far ahead on this one with respect to Tux. I think mrbrown voiced this already but this should be obvious.

First of all, unless we hope for sloppiness on Sony's part, and under the assumption that AES is the crypto, focusing on the encryption is not the best place for energies. Understanding where the encryption is used, and where it isn't, and all related file formats - yes; attacking the crypto itself - no.

Second of all, lets pretend a way is discovered to run code. I think mrbrown already addressed this, as well as others, but I will repeat it again with implications - once code can be run, Tux is *still* very far away.

Why?

Because, without a knowledge of the hardware devices, registers, memory maps, etc... there is no possibility for I/O.

Once code can run, one needs a way to get *output*. Whether its causing a beep, a flashing light, or incredibly lucky some screen output, one needs some way to know a code injection was successfully run, and return useful information.

Once that is accomplished to get any basic output, it is still a slow road to probing inside, finding all other hardware devices and how to communicate with them. Oh yes, people will still do it, just don't underestimate the effort.

In fact, homebrew without Tux will likely happen first, as the libraries and toolchains for straight homebrew, which also happen to be needed as a foundation for tux, are built.