Cyberpunk 2077 players should “be careful” with mods and custom saves after discovery of an exploit • Eurogamer.net

Following the discovery of a file save exploit, CD Projekt Red told players to “use caution” when downloading files of unknown origin for use in Cyberpunk 2077.

In a statement to Eurogamer, the CDPR explained a bit about the nature of the vulnerability:

“A group of community members have contacted us to report an issue with the external DLL files used by the game. This issue can potentially be used in remote code execution on PCs. We appreciate their input. and are working to resolve this issue. In the meantime, we advise everyone not to use files from unknown sources. Anyone considering using mods or custom saves for Cyberpunk 2077 should exercise caution until we release the aforementioned fix. “

According to PixelRick, a member of the modding community who is credited with discovering the problem, the backup file vulnerability is “not hard to find because it’s a matter of luck, but it [is] difficult to exploit, ”describing it as a“ game vulnerability and not a vulnerability of human nature. ”PixelRick has provided an in-depth explanation, but here’s an attempt at a simplified presentation: When Cyberpunk 2077 reads a save file, it can create a buffer overflow file. This buffer overflow can be used to redirect the running thread to an old DLL, at a fixed known address that has no modern protection. Essentially, the vulnerability makes a non-executable file executable, which could run “any virus executed locally.” In addition to that, “the designed save file may be silent, after closing the pop-up window I open, the actual save file data is loaded by the game without error, ”added PixelRick.

“It’s the trust system that’s undermined since you should be able to trust datafile mods to be harmless, and only be skeptical of executables in general. PixelRick said. “This vulnerability makes it impossible to truly trust a modified data file for this game until [the] room.”

After finding the exploit, PixelRick reported the vulnerability to the Cyberpunk 2077 modding Discord administrator, and the information was forwarded to CDPR. An interim fix has been created for Cyber ​​Engine Tweaks, a popular mod tool for Cyberpunk 2077, to help users until CDPR can release an official patch. Although so far it appears that this exploit has not been spotted “in the wild” on sites like Nexus Mods, it is probably best to avoid downloading save files until this fix. official be deployed.