On April 16, 2025, chaos erupted across the internet as users of the infamous imageboard 4chan were locked out of their accounts. But this wasn’t just a routine outage. No — 4chan was hacked, and the culprits? A rival gang of meme-loving internet dwellers from a site called Soyjack.party — or Sharty, as it’s mockingly known.
The attackers didn’t just break in — they made a statement. They revived an old 4chan forum and simply posted:
“You got hacked.”
But that was just the beginning.
🚨 What Was Leaked?
The hackers went way beyond digital graffiti. They accessed and leaked:
- Internal moderation tools
- Private staff emails
- IP logs of 4chan’s “janitors” — low-level moderators
- Even source code from 4chan’s backend
One disturbing revelation? Banned users are shown one reason, but staff see a different, more specific one — a practice eerily similar to how platforms like YouTube operate internally.
How Did it Get Hacked? It Was a Real Hack — Not a Phishing Job
Unlike typical hacks involving stolen passwords or phishing scams, this was a pure code exploit — something straight out of a Hollywood movie.
Here’s how they did it:
- 4chan allows PDF uploads on certain boards.
- But it doesn’t verify if those files are actually PDFs.
- That opens the door to PostScript files — which contain code that gets passed into an ancient tool called GhostScript to generate thumbnails.
The punchline?
4chan’s version of GhostScript is from 2012.
GhostScript, in that outdated state, has multiple known vulnerabilities. The hackers used this exploit to gain root access, effectively becoming superadmins.
And it gets worse…
🧠 4chan’s Tech Stack Is a Museum of Mistakes
Here’s what else the attackers uncovered:
- 4chan is still running PHP, with a version last updated in 2016
- The server OS? FreeBSD 10.1 — discontinued since 2014
- The database? MySQL with InnoDB, hosting over 10 million bans
- They aggressively fingerprint every browser to track and stop spam and evade bans
In short? 4chan’s infrastructure is a security disaster that’s been waiting to happen.
😬 Who Are the Hackers?
Turns out, they’re former users of an old 4chan board called /qa/ — originally used for Q&A, but later taken over by soyjack meme culture, moderation drama, and nonstop cross-board beefs. The board was shut down in 2021, which led to the birth of Soyjack.party as a spiritual successor.
Now, the exiled jacks have returned, reclaiming the dead /qa/ board as part of their symbolic victory.
💡 A Bigger Problem: Outdated Software, Zero Funding
Here’s an ironic twist. The CVE database — the main government-backed tool that tracks vulnerabilities like the one used in this hack — was nearly defunded by the U.S. government on the same day as the breach. Thankfully, the decision was reversed last-minute, but it raises a bigger concern about digital security awareness and infrastructure negligence.
⚙️ Better Tools Exist — So Why Not Use Them?
The breached setup at 4chan is laughably outdated, especially compared to modern tools like Timescale, a high-performance, open-source analytics database built on PostgreSQL. It’s optimized for real-time data and scalable apps — unlike 4chan’s prehistoric stack.
🔚 Final Thoughts
This wasn’t just a prank. It was a full-blown hack executed with finesse, exploiting neglected security and exposing internal secrets. While most user data remains safe — for now — the breach could change how anonymity, moderation, and cybersecurity are viewed on platforms that thrive in the shadows.
The soyjacks didn’t just return — they took the throne.
