It's a vulnerability in the Tegra boot rom code, so it can be patched in future Switches without a total redesign, it just can't be patched on existing Switches because once they leave the factory the rom is read-only (as the name would imply) and can't be edited.
I foresee a situation like the OG Xbox where certain hardware versions are coveted by modders because of the ease of modding. I also am ecstatic to have a system that's as easily modded as the OG Xbox was. I loved playing emulated games* on my Xbox, and used it as an HTPC for years and years until the switch to mkv (which was too hard for the poor little Xbox to decode in realtime).
*I would never even consider using it to play pirated games. Not me, no siree. cough cough