Switch Custom firmware bricks consoles trying to pirate premium features

Team Xecuter is rather infamous in console hacking circles. Whilst many people feel it should be an open-source and profit-free endeavour, Team Xecuter have always tried to make money with their exploits. Their Nintendo Switch offering is no different costing $25 and containing “brick code” that will brick consoles when trying to be cracked.

SX OS has paid for features, this means that a lot of people are trying to crack SX OS. It turns out though, that the custom firmware contains code that will encrypt your NAND if it catches on that you are trying to crack it. A security researcher found this out the hard way on Twitter, though he did manage to unbrick the console after some help from the community.

SX OS is a custom firmware released by Team Xecuter for the Nintendo Switch. It takes advantage of the well-known Tegra X1 vulnerability. By shorting two pins on the right Nintendo Switch Joy-Con rail, you can force the Switch to boot into recovery mode, giving full access to the system.

Once you've done that, you can install custom firmware, paving the way for piracy- which Nintendo has been trying to clamp down on itself lately. With SX OS, there is a free version, but the group behind the exploit implemented paid for features, including the ability to load backups.

KitGuru Says: I don’t think I have to point out the irony of this whole situation, at least the Switch hacking scene is as entertaining as ever. What do you make of pirates bricking other pirates for pirating?  

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