PSN Accounts Threatened by New Password Exploit [Updated]

Sony’s new PlayStation Network security measures have seemingly been compromised just days after the service reboot.

According to reports from Nyleveia, a new exploit enables attackers to change other users’ passwords via the PSN password reset page members are forced to access when they first reconnect to the online service.

Attackers can apparently reset the password themselves using just a PSN account email and date of birth, pieces of data that were compromised in the recent PSN hack.

Despite the methods currently employed to force a password change when you first reconnect to the PlayStation network, your accounts still remain unsafe.
A new hack is currently doing the rounds in dark corners of the internet that allows the attacker the ability to change your password using only your account’s email and date of birth.

It has been proven to me through direct demonstration on a test account, so I am without any shadow of a doubt that this is real.

I would suggest that you secure your accounts now by creating a completely new email that you will not use ANYWHERE ELSE, and switching your PSN account to use this new email. You risk having your account stolen, when this hack becomes more public, if you do not make sure that your PSN account’s email is one that cannot be affiliated with or otherwise traced to you.

While we originally assumed this was a poor hoax designed only to stir the community into another frenzy, the individual who we are in contact with requested just two pieces of information from us: this being an account email and the date of birth used for that account. We promptly created a new account via us.playstation.com and provided the individual with the email address and date of birth used.

Roughly a minute later they requested that we try to login with the password we used for the account (which they did not know at any point), and sure enough, we were presented with an invalid username and/or password prompt.

While we will not reveal specific details regarding how the exploit is performed for obvious reasons, we can say that the exploit involves a vulnerability in the password reset form currently implemented, not properly verifying tokens.

Updated:

Sony has fixed the security breach found today. Sony’s Patrick Seybold has issued an update via the PlayStation Blog denying it was a “hack”, and saying Sony has fixed the issue.

We temporarily took down the PSN and Qriocity password reset page. Contrary to some reports, there was no hack involved. In the process of resetting of passwords there was a URL exploit that we have subsequently fixed.

Consumers who haven’t reset their passwords for PSN are still encouraged to do so directly on their PS3. Otherwise, they can continue to do so via the website as soon as we bring that site back up.