Wololo covers console hacking and homebrew news for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo systems, including exploits and emulators.
HN commenters link it as a source for console exploit releases, like PS5 kernel and WebKit exploits, and for correcting inaccurate press coverage.
Yes and no. The gaming industry serves as an illustrative example because we know the Sony Playstation 4 and 5 are both based on FreeBSD[0].
Compare Sony PlayStation Network[1]
Monthly active users on PlayStation Network reached 123 million as of June 30, 2025. with Valve's Steam[2]
Valve reported 132 million active monthly players (that is, they used Steam within the month, as opposed to being logged in at exact the same time) at the end of 2021... This isn't scientific, but if the same ratio of active monthly to peak concurrent users held through to today, back of the napkin math would put Steam's current active monthly users at 221.5 million With an optimistic estimate of current Monthly Active Users, if gaming on Linux grew overnight from 2.5% to 50% of total players on Steam, then it would still be slightly behind half of the people who are currently gaming on FreeBSD-based Playstation.
FreeBSD code is also in iOS and macOS via Darwin, the Nintendo Switch, and the Microsoft Windows networking stack.
Evidently BSD is a go-to choice for consumers today, but many don't realize it, and those of us who do often do not think about it. That's because the BSD license and the companies that use it result in products that bear no resemblance to the BSD we know.
A similar situation occurred with Minix - to the extent that it's creator Andrew Tannenbaum had no idea it's install base was arguably bigger than Linux until 2017. Intel had put Minix into the Management…
It's a use-after-free in FontFaceCache (https://wololo.net/2021/10/14/use-after-free-webkit-vulnerability-impacts-ps4-possibly-up-to-firmware-9-00-included/ and https://github.com/Cryptogenic/PS5-4.03-Kernel-Exploit/blob/cafa1527c742118e2b7f15d71ce289aac5c3ee85/document/en/ps5/webkit.js#L27), not a JIT bug.
Funnily enough, I think the CVE they're saying it is is wrong? The link to the project zero itw tracking page is for CVE-2021-30858 which is an IndexDB UAF, which is a completely seperate bug; the MITRE tracking page for CVE-2021-30858 just has the boilerplate "a malicious page can cause an exploit" from Apple, and doesn't say if it's for the IndexDB or FontFaceCache bug, so I think the Jailbreak people are just confused on this one.
Looking around, this appears to be a hobbyist news and discussion site. Here's the news portion:
http://wololo.net/category/news/
Even if this were the New York Times talking about an exploit, I'd expect their reporters to, well, report, not necessarily directly verify something themselves. And this is quite clear that it's unconfirmed. What he does do is report what the developer is saying, adding sufficient context for non-experts to understand, and giving links so those interested can learn more. Presumably once it's verified, there will be another article saying so.
Given that, it seems like perfectly fine amateur journalism. Why do you expect it to be something else?
It runs via an exploit found about a year ago in WebKit [1] , and allows running custom code. It does not enable piracy, as that would require greater system access. It allows running simple applications, with severe limitations (can't use native video out or controllers; workarounds employed are using an HTML Canvas for visual output and a Nintendo DS for control).
It is a very basic SDK right now, it is still in development and has a long way to go. Considering the exploit to run code only works on FW 1.76 (~1 year old), there presumably aren't many people able to run code anyway.
[1] http://wololo.net/2014/10/24/webkit-exploit-confirmed-to-run-on-ps4-firmware-1-76
Better translation from: [0]
> It means ultimately that decrypted firmware files will be available for hackers. This would make reverse engineering of the PS5 firmware possible, and from there, open possibilities for finding future exploits and/or write custom firmwares or Homebrew enablers.
[0] https://wololo.net/2021/11/08/ps5-exploit-fail0verflow-show-decrypted-ps5-firmware-files-they-already-have-the-ps5-keys/
Looks like the dream isnot completely dead: https://wololo.net/2019/09/24/a-look-at-udk-ultimate-a-modified-unreal-engine-3-sdk-with-support-for-exporting-to-hacked-ps3-and-xbox-360-consoles-recently-beefed-up-with-ps3hen-support-and-main-developer-to-soon-showcase-an-or/
(Also, talk about putting the whole story in the URL...)