12 years after release, the Xbox One has finally been hacked

The Xbox One was a polarizing console. Many gamers preferred the PlayStation 4 over Microsoft's offering. Yet, the Xbox One's security stood out. For over a decade, numerous attempts to bypass its protections failed, giving it an "impenetrable" reputation until now.

At the recently held RE//verse 2026 conference, security researcher Markus Gaasedelen unveiled the "Bliss" double glitch. This security exploit bypasses the Xbox One's encryption by precisely adjusting the device's voltage (the electrical power supplied) at specific times. By doing so, it interrupts the typical security checks that the hardware performs to keep the device secure.

This is a monumental milestone: the first public, reproducible bypass of the Xbox One since its launch in November 2013. Although Markus successfully demonstrated the "Bliss" glitch, it is not as straightforward as jailbreaking a PS4 or JTAGging an Xbox 360.

Firstly, it only works on the original Xbox One console. The One S and One X systems cannot be exploited through this technique. Secondly, it is tremendously complicated and requires several hardware tweaks. For example, you need a microcontroller, which is a small, programmable electronic device. You must remove some capacitors on the motherboard to achieve the correct voltages. Even after these tweaks, good luck replicating this process at home.

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Gaasedelen's technique is different from other exploits we have seen. It does not rely on software vulnerabilities. Instead, it depends on careful voltage manipulation at two specific points in the startup sequence. This can cause the processor to skip or misinterpret instructions. That creates a window of opportunity, allowing the hacker to hijack the boot chain. Since this technique operates at the hardware level, it is essentially "un-patchable."

Even though the process is exceedingly complicated and cannot be mass-replicated, that is not the entire point of Markus' presentation. This bypass is a huge deal for preservationists, who now have a path to study Xbox One firmware at a level never before achieved while also creating an opportunity for security research and ensuring Xbox One's software remains accessible once online support shuts down.

Microsoft can rest easy, for now. This security exploit serves as little more than a reminder. There is nothing truly "unhackable" in tech for a slightly bored genius with just the right amount of caffeine.