flash0 blocker plugin

[Merick]

This is something that I don't have the programming skill to make myself (and could be years before I do) But the arguments about modding lua player to give it access to flash0 has got me wondering. Would if be possible for someone to make a plugin that would completely block all write access to flash0 from any program? If so, then those worried about a lua script bricking their psp could use it to block access when running homebrew. It would have to be something that can be turned on or off to allow for upgrading the firmware version.

[SG57]

Yeesh... Just replace the lua player eboot with one without device assigning capabilities if your that worried...

But I guess i can see where your coming from... A completel brick is as easy as:

DO NOT RUN THIS SCRIPT
THIS IS JUST WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR

Systen.Unassign("flash:")
System.Assign("flash0:"," flash0:0,0","flashfat0:")
System.removeDirectory("f lash0:/kd")

Pretty much anything messing with the kd folder you shouldnt use... YOu just need to make sure that recovery.prx is present at all times

[Moca]

Originally Posted by SG57

Yeesh... Just replace the lua player eboot with one without device assigning capabilities if your that worried...

But I guess i can see where your coming from... A completel brick is as easy as:

DO NOT RUN THIS SCRIPT
THIS IS JUST WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR

Systen.Unassign("flash:")
System.Assign("flash0:"," flash0:0,0","flashfat0:")
System.removeDirectory("f lash0:/kd")

Pretty much anything messing with the kd folder you shouldnt use... You just need to make sure that recovery.prx is present at all times

Thats nonsense. There are so many files that you need to worry about, its not even efficient. There are MANY ways to brick a PSP... You dont even need to remove the file. All you would need to do it open the file, edit a byte or two to 0xff then thats all. You would have issues with all kinds of crap like that. I had thought of doing such a thing already. Theres more to it than you think.

To mess up a PSP, you can
sceIoRemove, Copy a file to replace existing, sceIoRemoveDir, sceIoRenameDir, rename(dir), etc... And you would have to patch mem. Then the issue of Using normal C functions to delete files, open files, hex edit, rename, etc comes along. It wouldnt be too easy. My guess is that you could make sure that the app doesnt try to assign flash0.

To be honest, after I think of all that, I do fear how easy it would be for a person to make a bricker and that i would fall for it. Thats why i prefer not to use apps i am not familiar with due to the fact that i dont know what is going on off screen. I guess you could just search through the eboot for the string flash0:/kd or flash0:/vsh/module and the prx would warn the user of a potentially dangerous app. That could be bypassed >_>

<edit>

Well, you could assign flash0 as ms0 and keep checking if it is assigned as ms0 or not.

Im not too sure how well that would work

[BlackShark]

Originally Posted by Moca

Thats nonsense. There are so many files that you need to worry about, its not even efficient. There are MANY ways to brick a PSP... You dont even need to remove the file. All you would need to do it open the file, edit a byte or two to 0xff then thats all. You would have issues with all kinds of crap like that. I had thought of doing such a thing already. Theres more to it than you think.

To mess up a PSP, you can
sceIoRemove, Copy a file to replace existing, sceIoRemoveDir, sceIoRenameDir, rename(dir), etc... And you would have to patch mem. Then the issue of Using normal C functions to delete files, open files, hex edit, rename, etc comes along. It wouldnt be too easy. My guess is that you could make sure that the app doesnt try to assign flash0.

To be honest, after I think of all that, I do fear how easy it would be for a person to make a bricker and that i would fall for it. Thats why i prefer not to use apps i am not familiar with due to the fact that i dont know what is going on off screen. I guess you could just search through the eboot for the string flash0:/kd or flash0:/vsh/module and the prx would warn the user of a potentially dangerous app. That could be bypassed >_>

mmm...
"Fear, My anti-Brick"

[coolguy5678]

I've also though about a PRX which blocks flash0 writing (it's in eLoader's TODO list, so it must be possible). Only thing is, to run it in homebrew games in OE isn't so simple.

[hallo007]

the luaplay is open source
you can just make a settings or something to enable or disable it

[Slasher]

Originally Posted by SG57

YOu just need to make sure that recovery.prx is present at all times

That is completely and utterly false.

[MaTiAz]

Blocking only flash0 access is useless, there are still many ways to brick a PSP, like messing around with idstorage, writing IPL, destryoing partition table with direct nand writing apis etc.

But it is doable. One way would be to hook the functions like sceIoAssign() etc. That'd be bypassable though, by simply using sceKernelStopModule and sceKernelUnloadModule APIs.

[hallo007]

isnt the idstorage a part of the kd folder?

[EvilSeph]

We should just stop giving people so much liberal access to flash.

I really think LUA shouldn't have flash access. At least with C, we can somewhat guarantee that the person knows what they're getting into. With LUA, it's not that easy to tell, since it's given all to you.

I personally refuse to help anyone learn how to access flash. If they were meant to know, they'd be able to discover it for themselves. There are so many ways to find out and if you can't do that, you shouldn't be messing with flash. Adding flash access to LUA is very dangerous in that respect.

[the unique warrior]

Originally Posted by hallo007

isnt the idstorage a part of the kd folder?

of course ....................

SG57 - Let LUA coders edit LUA player them selves . STOP , we'll have a flash modifying LUA apps flood soon :\

[BlackShark]

Originally Posted by EvilSeph

We should just stop giving people so much liberal access to flash.

I really think LUA shouldn't have flash access. At least with C, we can somewhat guarantee that the person knows what they're getting into. With LUA, it's not that easy to tell, since it's given all to you.

I personally refuse to help anyone learn how to access flash. If they were meant to know, they'd be able to discover it for themselves. There are so many ways to find out and if you can't do that, you shouldn't be messing with flash. Adding flash access to LUA is very dangerous in that respect.

Im not so sure on that, if I were to make a flasher in C, it would be devastating.
at least with Lua, you can check the source yourself.

[EvilSeph]

It would be more devastating if the programmer didn't know what they're doing. Running the program would cause more damage than anything. Ok, wow, you can check the source? So what? If you're not a Developer, it wouldn't make a difference.

Stop thinking just like a Developer and think like a user too.

[jsharrad]

Why is this such a problem? If you are scared some obscure lua script is going to mess up your flash, just don't use the luaplayer that has the flash mod. Use the original one or one of the other many modded lua player versions out there.

[youresam]

OR...just take over io.open and System.removeDirectory ect....like:
local _ioopen = io.open
function io.open(x,y)
if string.lower(x:sub(1,5)) == "flash" and string.lower(y:sub(1,1) == "w") then
return nil
end
return _ioopen(x,y)
end

[FreePlay]

Originally Posted by the unique warrior

of course ....................

...................... no. it's not. it's a section of the NAND chip.

[Moca]

jsharrad, sadly, this issue can be said about C. Think about the previous brickers. Honestly, i dont use lua apps/games so my personal concern would be someone hexing a byte in the IPL...

Hallo007, *sigh* idstorage is not on flash0. TUW was joking .

The scene is too trusting. People are too trusting of flasher apps.. hell, someone could make an irremote, and edit the IPL. The same for prx plugins etc...
After thinking about it, if some idiot who wants to cause chaos, ill think twice to download.

[jsharrad]

Originally Posted by Moca

jsharrad, sadly, this issue can be said about C. Think about the previous brickers. Honestly, i dont use lua apps/games so my personal concern would be someone hexing a byte in the IPL...

Not really, in c you have a binary that you execute and that's that. With Luaplayer its interpreted, so it's up to you which luaplayer you use to interpret the code. If you have a compiled script that messes with the flash and use the original luaplayer it will error out because it doesn't recognize the functions. Problem solved.

Even if the script comes bundled with the flash mod luaplayer, it's easy enough to interchange between other interpreters. If you're concerned for the safety of your flash, just stick with the original non-modified lua interpreter and you won't have a problem.

[Merick]

In my first post, when I said block it for any program, I meant even ones that had been made in c or assembly or whatever other languages might be used. It's not enough to say just check the code, or use a hex editor to search for strings in programs that have been compiled into eboots. After all, you don't expect people to manually inspect every program they download onto their pc do you? No, because on our desktop pc's, we've all got virus/ trojan / adware / etc.. scanners and blockers. With all the mods and plugins that have been made for the psp, it's almost become a portable pc, so why not create the same type of automatic protections for it as we do for our desktops?

[crypysmoker]

wow..
how about dont mess with flash0 if you dont know what u are doing??
or is that take just way to much common sense for kids nowadays to understand?

I swear this whole past generation I think was dropped on their heads a few to many times

[Fanjita]

Yeah it's doable, and is probably the right way to do it these days.

[Moca]

Originally Posted by crypysmoker

wow..
how about dont mess with flash0 if you dont know what u are doing??
or is that take just way to much common sense for kids nowadays to understand?

I swear this whole past generation I think was dropped on their heads a few to many times

This is concerning if someone is TRYING to spread a bricker :|

There hasnt been one in a while, and writing to flash is fairly common these days and well known how to do so.

[BlackShark]

Originally Posted by crypysmoker

wow..
how about dont mess with flash0 if you dont know what u are doing??
or is that take just way to much common sense for kids nowadays to understand?

I swear this whole past generation I think was dropped on their heads a few to many times

please.....every generation was dropped on their heads, were do you think War comes from?

[SG57]

Nationalism...

On Topic:

I hope this concern is still not about Lua player, but rather compiled programs as well.

[dagger89]

Well, LUA's source is viewable (for the most part anyway), so why not just create a Scanner that can be run on the computer, or as a plugin for the PSP (no idea if this is even possible), and if the lua file is attempting to do something malicious, it will automatically be deleted?

[BlackShark]

nah, too difficult, and not really necessary if you just don't install the Flash enabled lua interpreter or SG's Mod of Cool's Mod.... your set

[Merick]

well yeah, that'll work if it's a lua script. but what if it's a program that's been compiled from c or some other language?

[youresam]

Originally Posted by BlackShark

nah, too difficult, and not really necessary if you just don't install the Flash enabled lua interpreter or SG's Mod of Cool's Mod.... your set

flash1 is able to be written to with the default io lib.