The minds over at GTV Hacker have successfully achieved root on Sony Google TV boxes and TVs running the newest firmware version (Honeycomb 3.2). The exploit also allows for custom kernels to be loaded by hijacking the boot process. These custom kernels can, in turn, bring a number of desirable features to the device.

According to the GTVHacker blog, the following modifications are included in the custom kernel:

  • Modified flash plugin with random per box flash string for Content Provider Bypass.
  • Crippled update feature to prevent box from receiving automatic updates.
  • Completely RW system, cache, and rootfs partitions
  • Full ADB Root
  • Removed signature checks on kernel / init scripts / init binary
  • A few other surprises.
  • BETA: Enable NTFS Support for Sony Google TV devices (see wiki for instructions on how to add: GTVHacker.com: Sony NTFS)

It's worth mentioning that, in order to achieve root on the latest build, a downgrade (and four 512MB+ flash drives) is required.

For full instructions, check out the GTV Hacker blog.