The Nintendo Switch made a big splash when it launched in 2017, heralding Nintendo’s strong comeback in the portable gaming console market. But this new technology has not escaped the threat of piracy. A vulnerability in Nvidia’s Tegra X1 chip showed that only a paperclip could be used to bypass the Switch’s security.

Weakness in the Nintendo Switch’s Nvidia Tegra X1 processor can be cracked with a paperclip

The Nvidia Tegra X1 chip, which provides the hardware power of the Nintendo Switch, played a major role in balancing portability and performance. However, a cold boot vulnerability in this chip, called Fusée Gelée, exposed the device’s security vulnerabilities. The vulnerability is in the Switch’s boot ROM, which is a hardware component that cannot be changed or updated. This creates a permanent security problem.

Thanks to this vulnerability, an attacker can put the Nintendo Switch into RCM (Recovery Mode) mode, disabling all of the device’s security systems. This allows users to install any software they want on their Switch – a serious security threat for Nintendo. What’s interesting is that this process is very simple and can be done with just a paperclip.

Putting the Nintendo Switch into RCM mode requires a specific combination of buttons: Home, Volume Up and Power buttons must be pressed simultaneously. However, since the Switch’s Joy-Cons connect to the system a little later, this combination doesn’t work under normal conditions. This is where the paperclip comes in. By shorting pin 10 on the Switch’s right Joy-Con rail, you can send a signal as if the Home button was pressed. When you press the Volume Up and Power buttons during this process, the device switches to RCM mode.

This simple technique completely disables the device’s security systems and gives the user full control over the device. Users can run the software they want by sending downloads over USB. In other words, modifying the Nintendo Switch becomes quite simple with the help of a paperclip.

Nintendo has had major problems in the past with pirated software and security vulnerabilities on devices such as the Wii, 3DS and Wii U. With the Switch, this situation was aimed to end. However, Nvidia’s hardware vulnerability led to the same fate for Switch. Nintendo cannot solve this vulnerability with software updates because the problem is in the hardware of the device.