A public PlayStation 5 jailbreak called Relapse can run custom code on consoles using firmware versions 7.00 through 13.60. The exploit chain is published on GitHub under an MIT license, a permissive open-source license that allows users to use, modify, and improve the code.

Relapse is not persistent. Users must run the exploit again after every console restart, and PS5 systems updated to Sony’s 14.00 firmware, released on September 16, are not compatible.

The jailbreak’s release comes weeks after Sony told a federal court that reasonable consumers would not be misled into believing they own the digital games they purchase. In a class-action lawsuit filed in June in the Northern District of California, four PlayStation customers allege that the platform’s “Buy Now” button gives consumers the impression that they own the games they acquire.

The process described by console-scene figure ApolloHB requires users to change the PS5’s primary DNS to 45.56.67.85, open the User Guide, enter the exploit page’s address in the URL field, and wait. DNS is the system that translates web addresses into the server locations a device connects to, so changing the setting alters where the console’s web requests land. Nathan Fargo posted the instructions on X, where ApolloHB also shared them.

How to jailbreak PS5 firmware 7-13.60 Connect your primary DNS on your PS5 to 45.56.67.85, then navigate to user guide and open it; then put “ “ (without the quotations) in the URL box and wait. Congratulations! — Apollo (@ApoIIoHB) September 29, 2026

The exploit uses two attacks in sequence and allows users to load payloads through an ELF loader. ELF is a standard file format for executable code. That can enable homebrew applications—third-party software not approved by Sony—as well as game backups and other code.

Piracy is an immediate concern. Users on the r/PS5_Jailbreak subreddit are discussing which games work with Relapse, and the jailbreak may allow players to run copies of games they have not purchased. The project’s repository states that it is intended for “educational and security research purposes only” and does not endorse piracy.

The repository also describes technical limitations and risks. The tethered jailbreak stops functioning after a reboot until the exploit is run again. Its documentation warns that the WebKit stage “may need several attempts” and that the kernel stage can hang or cause the console to panic. The project description further warns that use may result in system failures, data loss, or account bans.

The ownership dispute

Sony’s response to the lawsuit is that it is “not plausible to allege that reasonable consumers believed they were obtaining ‘ownership.’” The company points to license terms stating that the software is “licensed to you, not sold.” Sony’s primary request is to move the dispute into private arbitration; the judge had not ruled on that motion as of the source’s publication. If granted, the motion would shift the case out of open court, making the pending ruling the next procedural development to watch.

Relapse concerns a different aspect of digital ownership. The lawsuit addresses what consumers own when they purchase a game through the PlayStation store, while the jailbreak concerns what users can do with they have already paid for.

The issue has been debated for years in the context of consumer rights and the right to repair. The source also cites the well-known jailbreak litigation involving Apple and iOS jailbreaker Justin Freeman, who won the case even as Apple made its operating system more resistant to jailbreaking through successive updates. Firmware remains the practical boundary for tools like Relapse: its support stops at 13.60, and consoles on Sony’s newer 14.00 release fall outside its range.

Primavera De Filippi, director of research at CERSA, said that when a person buys a digital asset from a platform, “the platform ultimately retains control of the asset.” Relapse gives users some additional control over their consoles, but only while those systems remain on compatible firmware.

Sony’s original statement on the digital-games dispute was reported by Decrypt here.