According to a report from Ars Technica, the new method is a lot more efficient than previous PS5 jailbreak exploits, which could hang the system for 50 minutes per attempt. The so-called 'Relapse' exploit makes use of a long-known WebKit vulnerability in the PS5's hard-to-access web browser. It escalates from there to gain write access to the PS5 kernel and install an ELF loader to streamline the running of arbitrary code.
Because the exploit targets a flaw present in firmware 13.6 and earlier, any PS5 that has not yet updated to the mid-September release of firmware version 14.00.00 is potentially vulnerable. Consoles updated to 14.00.00 are not supported by this specific exploit. For a few years now, the PS5 hacking community has been chipping away at various exploits that let users fully jailbreak their locked-down console. For the most part, though, those exploits have only worked with years-old versions of the PS5's frequently updated firmware, making them less than useful for many everyday users. This latest development changes the calculus, opening up jailbreaking to a much wider swath of the installed base.