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Plex_Patch

Reverse-engineering notes and tooling for Plex Media Server on Linux x86-64 — covering both feature unlocking and remote access.

⚠️ Disclaimer — For educational and reverse-engineering purposes, on software you legally run yourself. Nothing here bypasses account or server authentication, and no Plex code is included or redistributed. If you rely on Plex, buy a Plex Pass — it funds the developers. Use at your own risk; no warranty.

What's here

# Component Path Summary
1 Feature-unlock patch src/, build.sh LD_PRELOAD shared library that forces every FeatureManager bit on
2 Relay RE + model plex_relay/ Reverse-engineered, runnable reimplementation of Plex's RelayController
3 Remote access (no patch) scripts/plex-tailnet/ Reach your server over Tailscale/Headscale instead of Plex Relay
4 Docker support docker/, docs/DOCKER.md Patched plexinc/pms-docker / lscr.io/linuxserver/plex images (multi-stage build) and in-place patcher for a running container (plex-docker-patch.sh)

Each subsystem has its own README; this page is the map.

1 · Feature-unlock patch

Plex's feature gates read a single in-memory table, g_feature_bitset_slots (14 × uint64), populated from the MyPlex feature list. A feature with internal code C is "available" iff slots[C >> 3] & (1 << (C & 7)). The patch (src/) is a small shared library whose constructor finds FeatureManager_apply_feature_list_xml, installs a trampoline, and forces all 14 slots to 0xFF…FF after Plex applies its feature list — so every feature (including Plex Pass, code 92) reads as enabled.

Two non-obvious requirements make or break this on a real install:

  1. Build against musl, not glibc. Plex bundles its own musl libc + libgcompat (/usr/lib/plexmediaserver/lib/). A glibc-built .so fails to relocate glibc-only symbols and Plex exits 127. The build uses zig to target x86_64-linux-musl.
  2. Inject with LD_PRELOAD, never patchelf. patchelf --add-needed corrupts the PIE under musl's loader (instant SIGSEGV). A tiny launcher sets LD_PRELOAD only for the Plex exec, and the library unsetenvs it so Plex's glibc helper children are unaffected.
bash build.sh          # -> build/plexmediaserver_crack.so (musl); prints install steps

Full build / install / uninstall guide: docs/BUILD.md.

2 · Plex Relay — plex_relay/

A study of how Plex makes a server reachable when no direct connection exists: it opens a reverse SSH tunnel to a Plex-operated relay host. plex_relay/ is a clean-room, dependency-free Python reimplementation of the RelayController translation unit (key fetch + 24h cache, relayHostKey.txt pinning, the ssh tunnel, the 300s reaper), with a typed error model, injected I/O seams, and a full test suite. See plex_relay/README.md.

3 · Remote access without patching — scripts/plex-tailnet/

The pragmatic alternative to both Plex Relay and patching: put the server and its viewers on a Tailscale/Headscale mesh VPN and let Plex publish the tailnet address. Includes an idempotent setup script (security questionnaire, firewall lockdown, health check), an optional self-hosted Headscale installer, and a shared shell library. See scripts/plex-tailnet/README.md.

4 · Docker support — docker/

Same LD_PRELOAD-on-the-PMS-exec patch, packaged for the two popular Plex container images. Two flows are supported:

  • Rebuild a patched image — multi-stage Dockerfiles (Dockerfile.plexinc, Dockerfile.linuxserver) build the musl .so with zig, layer it onto the upstream image, and replace the s6 svc-plex run file. Best for repeat deploys and CI/CD.
  • Patch a running container in place — plex-docker-patch.sh modifies the live container's filesystem (.so, wrapper, s6 run file) and restarts it. No image rebuild, original image untouched, fully revertible. Best for one-off patching of a container you don't want to touch.

The wrapper sets LD_PRELOAD last and the .so's constructor unsetenvs it, so glibc helper children (Tuner, Script Host, transcoders) are unaffected. See docker/README.md and the full guide docs/DOCKER.md.

Repository layout

Path What
src/hook.cpp · hook.hpp hooking engine: dl_iterate_phdr discovery, signature scan, trampoline, feature logic, feature-UUID catalog
src/main.cpp library constructor (unsetenv + hook())
build.sh musl build via zig (auto-downloaded) with an ABI sanity gate
scripts/plex-crack-wrapper.sh systemd ExecStart launcher scoping LD_PRELOAD to the Plex process
scripts/readbitset.py verifier: dumps the live feature bitset from a running PMS
scripts/plex-tailnet/ Tailscale/Headscale remote-access setup (see its README)
plex_relay/ Python reimplementation of Plex's RelayController (see its README)
windows/ Windows x64 DLL injector + godmode patch (see its README)
docker/ patched plexinc/pms-docker + lscr.io/linuxserver/plex images + in-place patcher for running containers (see its README)
third_party/zydis/ vendored Zydis disassembler (MIT)
docs/BUILD.md native Linux build / install / uninstall guide
docs/DOCKER.md Docker build / run / verify / uninstall / troubleshooting guide
docs/WINDOWS.md top-level Windows x64 patching/build index
experimental/debug_hook.c standalone alternate hook (legacy signature)
AGENTS.md architecture / RE notes

Not in this repo (by design)

The copyrighted Plex binaries (Plex Media Server, libsoci_core.so), the IDA Pro databases (*.i64, *.id0, …), the auto-downloaded toolchain/, and any local machine config (.mcp.json, keys, .env) are intentionally git-ignored — they are large, sensitive, or not ours to distribute. Point your own analysis tools at your own Plex install.

License

GNU AGPL-3.0-or-later © the Plex_Patch authors. Each source file carries an SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later tag.

The vendored Zydis disassembler in third_party/zydis/ is MIT-licensed (see third_party/zydis/README.md); its terms are preserved and unaffected.