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An exploit in DNS parsing (not sure if it’s related?) is used on Wii to patch games like Mario Kart Wii and Smash Brothers to use third party online servers. S
by jrmg 3y ago
An exploit in DNS parsing (not sure if it’s related?) is used on Wii to patch games like Mario Kart Wii and Smash Brothers to use third party online servers.
Since the Nintendo servers shut down, hacks have been the only way to play Wii games online - and this one is by far the easiest to use. Just change your DNS servers and you can play online again!
https://wiimmfi.de/patcher/dnspatch https://wiimmfi.de/patcher/dnspatch
There’s still a thriving Mario Kart Wii scene because of this! You can play Mario Kart online basically any time. I’d bet there are hundreds of players online right now (really brings home just how large the human population is…). Here are the current online stats: https://wiimmfi.de/stat?m=8 https://wiimmfi.de/stat?m=8
- ozarker 3y agoThere’s a big 3rd party server scene for the PS2 as well using alternate DNS servers. Pretty awesome to see people care enough about these old games to set stuff up like this
- charcircuit 3y agoThat link does not say that it uses a exploit with DNS parsing. DNS just lets you point the game at 3rd party servers run by a third party. It just happens that 3rd party servers can exploit the client.
- jrmg 3y agoYou’re right! I misremembered this - it’s an SSL bug that’s really the first step in the chain in this case. When you try to connect to the Nintendo WFC using this DNS server, the DNS redirects your login request to Wiimmfi instead. Wiimmfi then uses a specially crafted SSL certificate which some games consider valid due to an IOS bug, and then lets you go online. After you are online, Wiimmfi is using a different bug in Mario Kart Wii in order to send and execute the rest of the Mario-Kart-specific Wiimmfi patches to your game, which is what happens during the loading screen when you are online.