Bad Update Hack
In Feburary 2025, Grimdoomer released the Xbox360BadUpdate hypervisor exploit, which allows for running unsigned code on any Xbox 360 model on the 17559 dashboard version - the latest as of 1st October 2025, released on 12th November 2019 - using entirely software-based entrypoints.
Several save game exploits can be used to launch the Bad Update exploit:
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Tony Hawk's American Wasteland via Tony Hawk's Pro Strcpy.
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Rock Band Blitz via DaTArrest.
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Xbox 360 Dashboard via ABadAvatar - the guide will be using this exploit.
This guide will show you how to launch XeLL Reloaded and other LibXenon homebrew.
What you need
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An Xbox 360 running dashboard 2.0.17559.0.
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A FAT32 formatted USB drive.
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The latest version of ABadAvatar.
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The latest version of FreeMyXe.
Preparation steps
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Ensure your console is on dashboard version 2.0.17559.0.
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If enabled, disable automatic profile sign-in for your profile.
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Disconnect from Wi-Fi on your console, or unplug the Ethernet cable.
Copying files
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Extract the contents of the ABadAvatar ZIP file to the root of your USB drive. There should be a "BadUpdatePayload" folder and a "Content" folder.
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Extract the contents of the FreeMyXe ZIP file to the BadUpdatePayload folder on your USB drive.
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Delete any existing "default.xex" in the BadUpdatePayload folder, and rename "FreeMyXe.xex" to "default.xex".
Running the exploit
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Turn off your console, then plug in your USB and turn it on again.
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At the dashboard, you should see a notice from ABadAvatar and the exploit will start running.
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Within 2 minutes, your Xbox should show you a prompt from FreeMyXe. If you don't get a prompt or your console freezes, power off the console and try again.
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Select "Launch XeLL instead" and XeLL Reloaded will launch.
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It is safe to re-connect an Ethernet cable once XeLL has launched.