A public jailbreak for the PlayStation 5 has surfaced. Called Relapse, it works on firmware versions 7.00 through 13.60, and the process appears unusually simple: change a DNS setting, open the User Guide, enter the exploit page address, and wait a few seconds.
The timing is uncomfortable for Sony. Just weeks ago, the company said in court that players do not actually own the digital games they buy.
The method was posted on X by Nathan Fargo and shared by console scene figure ApolloHB. According to the instructions, users must set the PS5’s primary DNS to 45.56.67.85, open the User Guide, type the exploit page address into the URL field, and wait for the process to run.
ApolloHB wrote on X: “How to jailbreak PS5 firmware 7-13.60Connect your primary DNS on your PS5 to 45.56.67.85, then navigate to user guide and open it; then put ‘https://t.co/cNZwgvGw5L‘ (without the quotations) in the URL box and wait. Congratulations!”
GitHub release uses an MIT license
The project’s code is hosted on GitHub under an MIT license, which means it is free to use, modify, and improve.
Relapse chains two attacks together. Once triggered, it lets users load payloads through an ELF loader. In practice, that means the console can run homebrew applications, or third-party software not approved by Sony, along with game backups and other payloads.
Piracy is the most immediate concern. Decrypt said users in the r/PS5_Jailbreak subreddit are already discussing which games work on Relapse. It may also create a path for players to run copies of games they did not purchase.
The repository includes a disclaimer saying the project is for “educational and security research purposes only” and does not endorse piracy.
Rough edges and clear risks
Relapse is not described as a polished jailbreak. It is tethered, meaning everything stops working after a reboot until the exploit is run again.
The repository also warns that WebKit “may need several attempts,” and that the kernel stage can hang or send the console into panic.
The project description says using the jailbreak may lead to system failures, data loss, or account bans, and users are advised to understand those risks before trying it.
A hardware control debate arrives next to a software ownership fight
The release lands while Sony is dealing with a class action filed in June in the Northern District of California. Four PlayStation customers claim the “Buy Now” button in Sony’s store misleads people into believing they are purchasing ownership of a game. Sony answered that it is “not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining ‘ownership.’”
Sony points to licensing terms stating that the software is “licensed to you, not sold.” Its main request is to send the dispute to private arbitration. As of the article’s publication, the judge had not ruled on that motion.
Relapse touches a different side of the same ownership question. The lawsuit is about what a user gets in the store. The jailbreak is about what a user can do with a machine that has already been paid for.
Consumer rights and repair arguments remain central
The issue has been debated for years, especially through the lens of consumer rights and the right to repair. Decrypt noted that one of the best-known jailbreak court fights involved Apple and iOS jailbreaker Justin Freeman, who ultimately won his case, even as Apple continued to make iOS harder to jailbreak with later updates.
Primavera De Filippi, director of research at CERSA, said that when someone buys a digital asset from a platform, “the platform ultimately retains control of the asset.” Relapse gives some of that control back to users, at least for as long as their console remains on older firmware and stays powered on.
PS5 consoles updated to Sony’s 14.00 firmware, released on September 16, are not compatible with Relapse.