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The Hidden Boot Code of the Xbox

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stuff-to-read dept.

Device666 writes "In order to lock out both copied games as well as homebrew software, including the GNU/Linux operating system, Microsoft built a chain of trust on the Xbox reaching from the hardware to the execution of game code, in order to avoid the infiltration of code that has not been authorized by Microsoft. The link between hardware and software in this chain of trust is the hidden "MCPX" boot ROM. The principles, the implementations and the security vulnerabilities of this 512 bytes ROM will be discussed in this wikipedia article entitled How to fit three bugs in 512 bytes of security code."

3 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. Entitled? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    "...discussed in this wikipedia article entitled How to fit three..."

    Articles aren't entitled to anything.

  2. 3 bugs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Wow, someone forgot to turn off the auto-MSbash function. Have you heard any complaints about bugs on the xbox? no. How many millions play games on xbox live again?

    And considering the lengths you have to go just to install linux on an xbox, mod chips and the like, I'd say those 512 bytes seem to be working just fine.

    Oh, sorry, if MS makes it it must be buggy. And I guess they trounced nintendo in the marketplace because they were a monopoly and used anticompetitive practices too.

  3. Re:Outside this chain of trust... by databyss · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Oh come on mods!

    It's not redundant... it's duplicate!

    --
    Hmmm witty sig or funny sig? Maybe elitest techy sig!