Barely two weeks old from its official date of release last March 3, hackers have already found vulnerability in the Nintendo Switch that might allow a "jailbreak" of the closed device.
Having a closed device, as the Nintendo Switch is like an invitation to hackers to test how closed its system really is. A high-profile device like the Nintendo Switch might pose a challenge to expert hacking hands, but apparently, in just a little over a week since release; the Nintendo Switch might have been liberated.
Infamous iOS jailbreaker qwertyoruiop (Luca Todesco) has informed the jailbreaking community that he has successfully found a way inside the Nintendo Switch. Accordingly, Apple has to be thanked for it, according to Slash Gear.
So how did he do it? Technically not having a web browser for users, the Nintendo Switch does have a web browser view. The feature is necessary for captive portal logins. As such, the Switch included Apple's WebKit engine, also used in powering Safari on the Mac and iOS.
It so happens that the Apple WebKit version being used in the Nintendo Switch is the same version used with iOS 9.3. The older version has already been exploited and was patched by Apple in iOS 9.3.5. However, Nintendo it seems decided to proceed using the older version, leaving it open to be exploited once discovered, and discover it they did.
Having extensive experience with iOS 9.3 WebKit browser, it did not take long for Todesco to modify his older exploit, stripped it of its iOS-specific code and modified it for the Nintendo Switch. According to Apple Insider, the proof of concept relied on hosting files on a local web server.
Tools were used to crack the Switch's browser to gain access to the files. Todesco however, wanted to make it clear that he did not jailbreak the Nintendo Switch. In a Tweet, he said he simply demonstrated a proof of concept exploit. Nonetheless, it only proves that it can indeed be done.
As of the moment, it would be hard to tell what a jailbroken Nintendo Switch can be good for or what more it can do, it is still too early to tell. However, the fact that the device can be jailbroken means, that possibilities of what extent it might be able to do, by modding and tweaking the Switch's software are open to anyone's liking until Nintendo patches it of course.
