GTA Online update fixes exploit that let griefers corrupt player accounts

Rockstar has pushed out a security-related GTA Online update to fix a remote code execution exploit that allowed griefers to corrupt players' accounts on PC, potentially leading to total account corruption. 

The patch initially went live earlier today, with the developer then confirming through its support portal that the update is intended to remedy the widely-reported exploit that has become an increasingly popular sight on paid mod menus. 

As explained in the patch notes, the update implements a new data protocol in GTA Online to improve the security of network sessions and peer-to-peer messaging. The team also confirms that an issue has been fixed that could result in a player's experience being modified by a third party, relating to in-game currency balance, RP level, Bad Sport status, and more. However, as consequence of this patch, a new GTA Online PC connection issue has been introduced for players with additional firewall or port blocking measures in place, preventing them from reaching the servers.

As we previously reported, an exploit of a similar nature was discovered back in 2019 pertaining to PS3. It's only been more recently, though, that knowledge of such an exploit relating to PC has been shared around mod menu creators. As a result, various players who had been hit with the exploit took to social media to share that their accounts had been corrupted, with some even sharing clips of what happened. 

Due to the ongoing situation on PC, Speyedr, the creator of a popular, community-made firewall decided to limit its availability – the idea being that the risk of misusing it and being exposed to griefers was too significant. 

"The main problem at the moment is that mod menus can infinitely spam their targets with exploits, and all it takes is for the victim to close Guardian for the exploit to finally make it through and affect them (crash, kick, or now bricking their account)," Speyedr told us.

"That reason is mainly why I've hidden the builds for now. Any unsuspecting user who may try to use Guardian won't understand the risks they're putting themselves into and would likely fall victim to the exploit anyways because they didn't set it up or weren't using it properly."

A mod menu is something a griefer can use to input commands online. They're typically popular as they allow people to bypass microtransactions, though they come with plenty of options to harass others – like turning them into something else or teleporting them to a random location. While every online game sees its fair share of bad actors, Rockstar's battle to suppress mod menu users in GTA Online and Red Dead Online remains a lengthy one.

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