A researcher identified as Jordy received a $50,000 bounty from Sony for reporting a vulnerability that enabled Linux installation on PlayStation 5 consoles. The exploit affected PS5 Phat, Slim, and Pro models running firmware versions 3.00 through 13.60.
Sony addressed the security flaw by releasing firmware version 14.20 on October 21, 2026. This update effectively prevents users from running Linux on the console if they wish to play newer games that require the latest system software.
The report sparked significant backlash within the jailbreaking community. Researcher Andy Nguyen, who had previously identified the same hypervisor bug, stated he was stepping away from PS5 development due to the incident and the rise of automated AI-driven bug reporting.
Jordy acknowledged using generative AI to identify the vulnerability. The decision to report the bug to Sony was driven by concerns that other researchers using similar AI tools would claim the bounty before them, despite prior agreements to delay the disclosure.
