PS4_PS5-ESP-Server

A WebServer+Wifi Repeater+Fake DNS Server to Host PS4/PS5 Exploits on ESP8266/ESP32

Details and usage

This is an implementation of a barebones webServer to Host PS4/PS5 Exploits on an ESP8266/ESP32, that also acts as a Wifi Repeater to maintain internet access for the console. This tool has the following features:

• Basic Webserver to host PS4 and PS5 exploits (including limited support for HTTPS to handle the PS5)
• FakeDNS that redirects playstation.net (user guides) to the web server, and blocks other playstation addresses
• The Access Point acts as a Wifi Repeater so that the clients (PS4, PS5, PC) can still access the internet for domains that are not blocked/redirected by the DNS
• Rudimentary config/admin pages to set up your Wifi credentials, upload/delete exploits on storage, etc...
• By default this ships with GoldHEN 2.3 for PS4 5.05, and the PS5 3.xx-4.xx Exploit. Those things can be replaced with other webkit-based exploits (e.g. for other firmwares) by modifying the contents of the Data folder. (either by using the integrated file management page, or by flashing the firmware)
• Also works in "offline mode", similar to other PS4 ESP8266/ESP32 hosts out there, if wifi is disabled in config (default).

In other words, it's a self contained solution to run the PS4/PS5 exploits while still keeping Internet access

Limitations

• Generally speaking this shouldn't be considered "production ready" and you're using this at your own risk. I do not guarantee any level of support. But just in case if you have any questions you can reach out at https://twitter.com/frwololo and https://wololo.net
• In my tests, Internet deconnections and/or random issues and crashes are frequent. This remains good enough to run the exploits and do a bit of browsing though.
• on ESP8266, Because of heap memory limitation (both the HTTPS WebServer and the NAT routing use a lot of it), developers should be careful to not use too much heap when modifying this code. This is not a problem on ESP32.

How to Use

Initial Install and Setup

• Flash a precompiled binary (from release page) to your ESP8266/ESP32, for example using NodeMCU Flasher (Select Yes to Erase Flash)
• After flashing, reset the device (e.g. by unplugging then re-plugging it from USB)
• Connect to Wifi access point "PS5_WEB_AP" with your computer (password is "password"). Notice that this can be very slow to connect, because the device can't access the internet yet, and Windows isn't happy about that.

• Once connected to the Access point, go to 10.1.1.1/admin.html in your PC's web browser

• You should see the config settings, where you can (should) set ENABLE WIFI to 1, and below that enter the SSID and Password for your Home's Wifi Router

• This will set the ESP8266/ESP32 into the self contained mode with Fake DNS, Internet Access, etc...
  • Once config is saved, the ESP8266/ESP32 should restart on its own (if it doesn't, unplug then replug it)
  • You're all set. At this point you probably have to connect your PC again to the access point for good measure, since it has changed.
  • Things you should try from your PC Browser to confirm everything's working as expected (make sure you're only connected to the ESP8266/ESP32 Access Point, disconnect your LAN cable if you have one):
• http://10.1.1.1 should display the exploit page
• https://10.1.1.1 should give you a certificate warning (proceed anyway of course), then redirect you to http://10.1.1.1 and you should ses the exploit
• https://playstation.net should also send you to the exploit (after a certificate warning)
• http://playstation.com should be blocked
• Other websites (e.g. google.com) should be accessible

How to use On PS4/PS5

• Set up your console's Network Settings to connect via Wifi, using your ESP8266/ESP32 Access point ("PS5_WEB_AP" by default, and password "password")
• On PS4 or PS5, go to Settings > User's Guide > User's Guide, this should load the exploit page.

There are a bunch of tutorials on how to run these out there, once the host is set up it is no different from others, except for the fact that it allows the console to access internet

Notes

• If you want/need to get everything back offline like "other" ESP8266/ESP32 Hosts, go back to 10.1.1.1/admin.html, set "ENABLE WIFI" to 0, then save the config again.
• To use different exploits (new version of GoldHEN, exploits for different firmwares, etc...), you can either upload files through the integrated File manager (accessible via 10.1.1.1/admin.html), or flash new content directly to the ESP8266 SPIFF

How to Build (ESP8266)

• Load the .ino file in Arduino IDE
• Dependencies:
  • https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino (esp8266 Library, accessible through Arduino IDE directly)
  • https://github.com/esp8266/arduino-esp8266fs-plugin (Sketch Data upload)
• When building for your ESP8266 device, make sure that the following settings are correct:
  • Debug port/Debug Level: Disabled and None respectively (or equivalent). Debug functions take some space in RAM and we need everything we can get
  • lwip variant: "v2 lower memory works" for me. Other might be fine, but don't select one that says "no features" (we use the lwip NAT features in this project)
  • Flash Size: 4MB (with 3MB for FileSystem <-- need quite some space to store the exploits)

How to Build (ESP32)

• Load the .ino file in Arduino IDE
• Dependencies:
  • https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino (esp32 Library, accessible through Arduino IDE directly) PLEASE SEE NOTES SECTION BELOW!!!
  • https://github.com/esp8266/arduino-esp8266fs-plugin (Sketch Data upload)
  • https://github.com/stooged/esp32_https_server (ESP32 HTTPS Server) PLEASE SEE NOTES SECTION BELOW!!!

• When building for your ESP32 device, make sure that the following settings are correct:

  • Partition Scheme: pick one that has SPIFFs support (personally I used NO OTA 1MB APP / 3MB SPIFFS)

  

Important Notes on ESP32 Build:

• This tool uses NAPT to act as a Wifi Repeater. NAPT is not enabled by default on several ESP32 SDKs that I've found, and if your SDK doesn't have NAPT support, the build will fail, most likely with a "IP_NAPT must be defined" error. This most likely means you need another SDK. I used this one, as mentioned in this ESP32 SDK issue.
• ESP32 HTTPS Server might have compile time issues as well, related to a "TAG" variable in ESP_LOGI. Solution that worked for me was described here.

FAQ and Troubleshooting

How good is the FakeDNS?

It's a very rough design that just looks for some specific domain names (currently hardcoded inside the main source file) and either redirect those to the local ESP WebServer (namely playstation.net, where the user guides are hosted), or blocks them (other kwnonw PlayStation telemetry domains). Just because the DNS suggests that these domains should be redirect or blocked, doesn't mean the client device can't do whatever they like. In the case of the PS4 and PS5, this seems to be enough, but I can't guarantee that the console isn't bypassing DNS replies, and (for example) asks another DNS on the Network. I can imagine this would be technically doable now that the ESP8266/ESP32 opens Internet access.

Furthermore, there's no support for regexps at the moment so it's really a simple string check in its current state.

Issues accessing ESP8266 HTTPS Server

(Issue specific to ESP8266) If you get some "Error Connection close" when testing https://10.1.1.1 (local HTTPS Server), or local https page not loading, it is possible the device is running out of Heap memory. For a "regular" user, just try to reset the device. For developers, try to reduce the value of NAPT in the main .ino file. This issue and the solution are specific to ESP8266. ESP32 has enough RAM that this shouldn't be a problem.

Issues accessing regular Internet sites

Reset the ESP8266/ESP32.

Issues connecting to the Access Point / Computer disconnects from ESP32 Wifi

I have run into countless connection issues when testing this code. Generally speaking, I think the code is ok, but there are may factors that can impact connection to a computer (and, I assume, to PS4/PS5)

• Connection is easier/faster once you have enabled Wifi (and therefore, Wifi Repeater/NAT) in the ESP's settings (10.1.1.1/admin.html). This is because Windows and other clients probe specific urls when connecting to an Access point. Once i can access those urls, in my experience, Windows will disconnect from Wifi less frequently
• In my experience, Windows stays connected to the ESP's Wifi more reliably if there isn't another net interface to rely on. Specifically, if I unplug my LAN cable, I feel like Windows stays connected to the Wifi more reliably

• The ESP device in itself may have Wifi signal strength issues. I have found that lots of ESP32 "clones" have a poor wifi signal. Please don't quote me on the following, but here are things that I have found: 1) "originals" or brand names tend to have their name printed on the back, while generic or clones have nothing.

  2) Some boards have the Wifi antenna sticking outside of the board, which allegedly helps with Wifi signal.

  3) Some people claim that the boards using the CH340 usb-to-serial have wifi signal issues compared to those using cp2102.

I am not 100% sure how the 3 "flaws" above influence the quality of an ESP32 board, but I can say that I had countless issues running the PS5 Exploit server on ESP32 on a board that turned out to simply have a bery bad Signal Strength. Buying an "original" one from Espressif solved the issue for me.

Technical thoughts and stuff

Why

Multiple versions of the ESP8266/ESP32 Hosts exist to host PS4/PS5 exploits, for the most part based on work by Stooged (https://github.com/stooged/). To my knowledge however, none of them allow the clients (PS4, PS5, or the PC that you inevitably want to connect to them) to access the Internet. The Access Point is generally stuck as a "Local Network" provider. This is enough to provide basic exploit access to the console (and it ensures you won't get an automatic firmware update for the console), but there might be cases where we want to maintain Internet access anyway.

Most people achieve that by using a "Fake DNS" and either hosting the exploit locally on their PC ( https://wololo.net/2022/10/04/tutorial-running-the-ps5-4-03-exploit-on-windows-with-additional-dns-security-telemetry-blocking-etc/ ) or accessing one of the many "exploit hosts" online. These solutions do not rely on ESP8266/32 whatsoever, or only as one element of a bigger solution (e.g; ESP8266/ESP32 + Raspberry Pi).

Given that the ESP8266/ESP32 is able to simultaneously act as an an Access Point AND connect to a Wifi Router, I assumed there had to be ways it could act as a self contained Web Server + Fake DNS + Wifi Repeater, to mimic the other solutions. Turns out it is possible, with some limitations.

Technical considerations

There are samples showing us how to run an HTTPS WebServer on ESP8266/ESP32, how to block specific domain names with some ad-blocking DNS, how to enable NAT to use the device as a Wifi Repeater. There wasn't any example of how these things are all put together, so I guess this is now it. Technically speaking, putting all these components together isn't particularly hard: The HTTP and HTTPS WebServer, including their content (exploits-related redirections, webAdmin) were taken from projects by Stooged, which are widely used in the PS4/PS5 scene on multiple variations of the ESP8266/32 Hosts. The Default DNS Server however, is designed in a way that it will redirect all traffic to the AP Host (or that's how I understood it at least), so I replaced it with a modified version by Rubfi which did more or less what I wanted. Last but not least, "Wifi Repeater" samples were available (technically, NAT routing) e.g. at https://github.com/AliBigdeli/Arduino-ESP8266-Repeater.

Differences ESP8266/ESP32

I figured the devices weren't different enough to justify two different codebases. I might regret this decision.

• Default HTTP Server and Wifi connection code is reasonably similar (different headers need to be included though), although the ESP8266 and ESP32 have minor differences in some APIs, such as a function accepting either Arduino Strings or char, when another will only take char or std::String
• SPIFFs API on ESP32 is also different in multiple minor ways (see WebAdmin.cppin particular handleFileMan function)
• A lot of ESP8266 sample code includes ESP8266WiFi.h when what they really want is access to generic TCP/UDP related definitions (e.g. IPAddress object). Arduino.h does the job, Ethernet.h as well, it seems, and is compatible with both ESP8266 and ESP32
• HTTPS Server APIs that I found are very different between the two devices. Thankfully we barely use the HTTPS server, but this could become a problem down the road
• NAPT/IP Forwarding on ESP32 seems to not be widely supported yet, depending on SDKs. This made porting the Wifi-repeater code a bit less straightforward than initially imagined. See How to Build (ESP32) section.

Credits

Code was scavenged from the following sources to build this thing:

• https://github.com/stooged/PS4-Server (general PS4 Exploit hosting, WebAdmin code, webServer and Wifi AP Code)
• https://github.com/stooged/PS5-Server (https Server code and PS5 exploit hosting)
• https://github.com/stooged/PS5-Server32 (https Server code and PS5 exploit hosting for ESP32)
• https://github.com/stooged/bin2html (Tool to convert .bin payloads into javascript to be directly inserted as a self contained PS4 5.05 exploit)
• https://github.com/rubfi/esphole/tree/master (ad blocker DNS Server for ESP8266)
• https://github.com/AliBigdeli/Arduino-ESP8266-Repeater (NAT for ESP8266 sample)