GPT-6 Astra Helped Me Jailbreak My Kindle

While everyone has been worried about it becoming too easy to hack into things, something I've been worried about for the last few years is it becoming too hard to hack into things. Right now, all of these things are being broken into to be jailbroken and such, but the companies building these hardware devices have access to the models too.

It seems like a distinctly possible and sad world that they might get so much better at keeping their devices locked down by hardening them with the support of LLMs that future devices become an absolute bitch to jailbreak, even moreso than they were before.

The write up says it used an existing jailbreak.

It sounds like most of the work went into getting the slideshow to work, setting up a feedback loop so Astra could work out / blunder into a solution with the desired characteristics.

Opus 5.5 has built Lineage ROMs for me for 3 different devices in the last couple of weeks, that do not have official Lineage support or any one else working on them.

https://github.com/9cb14c1ec0/android_device_lenovo_sycamore...

https://github.com/9cb14c1ec0/android_device_tcl_selene_vzw

https://github.com/9cb14c1ec0/android_device_lenovo_clove_ro...

Quite impressive what these models are capable of.

claude code helped me get access to the raw files from a scientific instrument we use in the lab all the time, but which won't give us raw data (only PDF reports). claude asked me for the .exe, which it promptly decompiled and reverse engineered the data format, and then helped me write my own analysis suite for the raw data. super cool.

I was able to do something pretty similar w Claude Code 4 months ago w Opus 4.8 (https://github.com/brunomarinho/labs-kindle-artframe). It took a few attempts as Claude understands that jailbreaking is not legal.

This is what I used to jailbreak mine: https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreak-wizard.html

It will be curious how anti regulation all these execs are when they start losing money.

Just a quick reminder, you have the legal right to "jailbreak" devices that you own. This is a recognized exemption and a right that has been fought over in court.

It is your device. It is your money. You own it.

From the Federal Register, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/10/28/2024-24...

    > 9. Computer Programs—Jailbreaking [47] 
    > 
    > Multiple organizations petitioned to renew the four exemptions for computer programs that enable electronic devices to interoperate with or to remove software applications (“jailbreaking”). These exemptions permit circumvention for the purpose of jailbreaking (1) smartphones and other portable all-purpose computing devices, (2) smart televisions, (3) voice assistant devices, and (4) routers and dedicated networking devices. No oppositions were filed against renewal. The petitions demonstrated the continuing need and justification for the exemption and that petitioners have personal knowledge and experience with regard to this exemption. Petitioners described how users of a variety products in each of these categories rely on this exemption to maintain functionality and security of older devices, to install alternative operation systems, and to customize software applications on electronic devices. Collectively, the petitions demonstrated that without this exemption, TPMs installed on the enumerated products would have an adverse effect on various noninfringing uses.

    > 11. Computer Programs—Repairs of Devices Designed Primarily for Use by Consumers [51] 
    > 
    > The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) petitioned to renew the exemption for computer programs that control devices designed primarily for use by consumers for diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the device. The Office did not receive meaningful opposition to renewal.[52] 
    > 
    > The petitioners demonstrated the continuing need and justification for the exemption. For example, EFF asserted that “[m]anufacturers of these devices continue to implement technological protection measures that inhibit lawful repairs, maintenance, and diagnostics, and they show no sign of changing course.” [53] 
    > 
    > EFF has personal knowledge of this exemption, as it has been involved with the section 1201 rulemaking process since its inception and has specifically advocated for device repair exemptions.

    

Here's the project! I MIT licensed it. https://github.com/areoformed/Re-Kindled

Please note, I say so in the human note on top, but "The project code was written by GPT-5.6 Sol xhigh. It has not been verified by a human for correctness, efficiency, or speed; i.e. ymmv and use this at your personal risk."

In case you're wondering why I didn't write the code myself... I needed this as a tool to read long sequences of AI text output for work. Including code. Spending time making this tool would be counter-productive to that goal.

I do plan on writing a text rendering engine some day. Hopefully, soon.

Machine assistance also allows me to do things that would've been otherwise impossible.

For example, I'm aware of NASA's 3001 standard for human-rated spaceflight systems has very specific findings related to readability of labels. There are also other standards for checklist and document readability. Asking software to support the standards wouldn't work. Most people just aren't going to use NASA's human rating checklist to design websites and terminal outputs. They either don't know about it, or don't care enough to do so.

But machine intelligence makes it possible for me to extract NASA's learnings, turn them into requirements, and then have the machine custom build software that embeds it into my day-to-day life. https://github.com/areoformed/Re-Kindled/blob/main/code/TYPO...

I'm very grateful for that. The world is built to a very different tune, but with machine intelligence I can make tools that fit for me.

Meanwhile Opus 5.5 didn't even answer my question about reading user memory in a linux die notifier, a question which had nothing to do with security, just low-level system programming..

Oh wait, the author said:

> The attempts with Fable 5.1 and Opus 5.5 were both blocked by Anthropic's cybersecurity safeguards after two prompts.

How unsurprising :)

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