If you're planning to buy a Nintendo Switch game console to run Linux on it using the "unpatchable" exploit that was publicly disclosed a few months ago, think again about why Nintendo patched the security hole.
For information, a while ago, the hacker, ReSwitched, publicly disclosed a security vulnerability in the Nvidia Tegra X1 chip that they called Fusée Gelée and could allow anyone to hack a Nintendo Switch game console to install a Linux-based operating system and run homebrew code and applications using a simple trick.
Nintendo, for its part, has been working hard to fix the vulnerability, which hackers have called “unpatchable.” The company is releasing revised Nintendo Switch units that are no longer vulnerable to Fusée Gelée and similar hacks.
The good news is that if you already own a Nintendo Switch console, it's likely that you can hack it with various methods available on the market so that you can run Linux and other homebrew software on it. Similarly, some refurbished Nintendo Switch units still have older firmware that is vulnerable to these hacks.
Hacker SciresM is reporting on Twitter that new Nintendo Switch units are running firmware 4.1.0, which is vulnerable to the deja vu exploit. The hacker is urging users who purchased a new Nintendo Switch running firmware 4.1.0 not to upgrade to firmware 5.0.0 that Nintendo recently shipped.
