After 12 years, the Xbox One has been hacked

Security researcher Markus Gaasedelen delivered a presentation at the RE//verse 2026 conference, where he unveiled a boot ROM-level exploit for the original Xbox One. This discovery is particularly significant because the Xbox One has long been regarded as the “unbreakable” console, having survived over a decade without a public hardware breach.

According to Tom's Hardware, during his talk at RE//verse 2026, Gaasedelen demonstrated that by targeting the platform security processor's boot ROM, he could patch, decrypt, and boot code from the very bottom of the firmware chain. This level of access sits effectively below the OS and standard security layers, granting supervisor-level control over the hardware.

Note that this is not a simple software modification or an easy end-user “softmod”. The exploit requires physical intervention via a two-stage voltage-glitching process named Bliss. The first glitch bypasses the Memory Protection Unit (MPU) setup, while the second hijacks execution during a header read. Furthermore, the researcher explicitly stated that this breakthrough applies only to the original “fat” Xbox One model from 2013. The more modern Xbox One S, Xbox One X, and current-gen Xbox Series consoles remain unaffected by these findings.

Gaasedelen's motivations appear to be rooted in the technical challenge and the long-term viability of the hardware rather than the traditional piracy associated with console hacking. Having published work on Xbox security for several years, his focus remains on hardware preservation and repairability. He mentioned during the talk that he views the project as a way to prevent these machines from becoming e-waste. Unlocking the hardware at this level could eventually allow for the installation of third-party operating systems, turning these platforms into functional Linux workstations or media centres.

KitGuru says: It was only a matter of time before someone with enough patience cracked the Xbox One. Still, it took a lot longer than anyone expected. 

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