Nintendo Switch Exploit Discovered via Old iOS WebKit Jailbreak

Nintendo Switch launched earlier this month with a number of launch titles including The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. It has been just over a week since the worldwide launch on Nintendo Switch and apparently, according to a new report from TechCrunch, the hybrid console has already been hacked.

While the unit has not been without its fair share of issues since its March 3 launch, the Nintendo Switch has celebrated a mostly successful release, with impressive sales and one of the best games of all time in Breath Of The Wild helping propel the console to the top of the charts.

The hacker, “qwertyyouiop,” already well known in the gaming space for contributing to the PS4 1.76 jailbreak, posted a screenshot of a Webkit exploit running on the Nintendo Switch, seen above.

qwertyoruiop has had experience with the iOS 9.3 WebKit browser before, so all he did was modify his older exploit, strip it of iOS-specific code, and make it work for the Switch. He doesn’t provide any proof of concept or a release, but LiveOverflow made a rather detailed video explaining how the exploit works.

It’s worth noting that the Switch browser isn’t meant to be used by consumers and was hidden away. But users quickly uncovered the browser in the wake of the console’s release.

The current hack doesn’t seem to do much, but future hacks could potentially enable features such as unofficial apps, homebrew games, deeper customisation and pirated software. But for now, Nintendo can close this up with a quick software update.

Nintendo has yet to comment on the situation.

YouTube video

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