[Emulation] With Ensata source code leaked, is it possible to build Ensata and run anything?

[delete12345]

Ensata is an emulator that got released alongside with the most recent Nintendo leaks, with the full source code and compiling tools to go with it.

We're all going to assume everything is safe, and there are no "clean room" morality issues.

I'm specifically just curious to know if Ensata is capable of even running tech demo ROMs just by building it off from the source codes from the leaks? I'm not talking about booting commercial games, it's moot at this point. I'm also not talking about the leaked 1.3d and 1.4 Ensata emulator builds, because they were officially built and compiled from correctly configured development environments within Nintendo headquarters, and they have this activation code you need to enter in.

But now the full source code, let alone the full CVS repository is released with all the history of Ensata, one couldn't help but wonder if it's possible to replicate Ensata enough that it can run demo ROMs?

The history of Ensata starts out as a Nintendo DS prototype software emulator, so there has to be some points in history where it is capable of running certain scripts, or demonstration of code technologies. Otherwise, it wouldn't be used as part of the software development process, and it wouldn't be released at 1.0 at all, or 1.3d for that matter. With the leaked source code, one can easily disable the activation code checking, and run Ensata without worry.

And hence, the point of this thread and the main topic. Thoughts?

 

[Joom]

This licensing mechanism you mention interests me. Has anyone looked further into this? Like, does the emulator make a call home to validate the license, or is it something akin to HWID licensing where a machine's serial number has to be whitelisted? This being an in-house tool, and considering Nintendo's track record for lackadaisical security measures, I have to imagine that it might be relatively simple to crack. I'd like to know if someone has hooked Olly or IDA up to it to find out.

 

[delete12345]

This licensing mechanism you mention interests me. Has anyone looked further into this? Like, does the emulator make a call home to validate the license, or is it something akin to HWID licensing where a machine's serial number has to be whitelisted? This being an in-house tool, and considering Nintendo's track record for lackadaisical security measures, I have to imagine that it might be relatively simple to crack. I'd like to know if someone has hooked Olly or IDA up to it to find out.

If you go by the Gigaleaks, they or the folks on 4chan had a VM with Ensata development environment set up. Someone modified the source code to be able to skip over the entire license validation by setting a single debug flag that checks for validation to TRUE or FALSE, and still be able to compile and run Ensata.

That is as far as I know about Ensata and the VM situation.

 

[Joom]

Ah, so then they did use something primitive. This is how a lot of novice .Net (C#/VB.Net) applications get cracked; instead of cracking the licensing mechanism itself, just skip it in the form loading order.

 

[delete12345]

Ah, so then they did use something primitive. This is how a lot of novice .Net (C#/VB.Net) applications get cracked; instead of cracking the licensing mechanism itself, just skip it in the form loading order.

Yeah, but I think the original algorithm is still there. It's just using a macro to skip it optionally.