After a loophole was found that allowed fake Cyberpunk 2077 mods to execute malicious code on players' PCs, developer CD Projekt Red is fixing the issue in a patch. Though news of bugs and glitches isn't unusual for open-world games, the bug in question is a particularly harmful one. The developer has already resolved a litany of issues within the game, including everything from a bug that caused save file corruption to the potential for photosensitive players to have seizures during certain (now fixed) light sequences.
The game's most notable bug of late has caught players' attention as it centers around Cyberpunk 2077 mods. While there are a variety of helpful and interesting mods that can make a player's experience better, this bug allowed malicious code posing as mods to infect players' computers, giving real-life hackers access to their data through the game's files. CDPR quickly addressed the bug online, imploring players to be careful with any mods that they download and to use caution until the issue is fixed.
Coming hot on the heels of that announcement, CDPR has released a hotfix that addresses the bug, hopefully ensuring that players will no longer be vulnerable to fake mods and malicious code. Patch 1.12 is now live on PC. However, there are reports from players that the issue can also be found in the PS4 version of the game, but no official statement or patch directed at PlayStation players has been issued at this time. Polygon analyzed the patch, noting that the removal of "non-ASLR DLLs" most likely refers to CDPR's fix for the vulnerability. Removing some of these files, known as DLLs, will protect players' real-life computers and data while still allowing them to use mods.
The patch also includes a fix for a "buffer overrun issue," which Polygon speculates will help stop memory leak issues within the game. Memory leaks can affect the game's performance, as they result in the game using more memory than it should. Consequently, there are less resources left over for the system to use on running the rest of the game, which can cause a variety of performance issues. CDPR didn't add a note saying what problems the leak caused or whether players will notice a different in their personal performance, but if it's worthy of being included in a Cyberpunk 2077 hotfix, it must have been a necessary fix.
CDPR was right to fix this bug as quickly as possible. It's unknown whether any players were actually affected by malware posing as fake mods, but allowing the issue to go unchecked for too long while simultaneously making the community aware of the issue could have led to a very dangerous situation for the developer.
If someone's data was stolen before the issue was fixed, it would be very easy for the affected player to say that the fault lay on CDPR for not ensuring that the game was safe to play, especially after official mod support tools was just released. Bugs and technical issues aside, there are still a lot of problems with Cyberpunk 2077, but at least players can rest a little easier today knowing that their data isn't at risk.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available on PS4 (retail-only), Xbox One, Stadia, and PC, and it will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021.
Source: CD Projekt Red, Polygon