Don’t click that CS:GO Steam invite - it could be malware

The bug uses CS:GO invites as a lure

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A critical bug in Valve’s game engine has been demonstrated by a security researcher to allow hackers to take control of their victims’ computers. All the attacker needs to do is trick their victims into clicking aSteaminvite link to playCounter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).

Even more worryingly, the security researcher, known as “Florian” toldMotherboard, said that the bug can be used to develop a worm-like exploit to infect other machines.

The vulnerability isn’t game-specific, but rather exists in the Source game engine that’s used by several popular games including CS:GO, Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, and Postal III among others.

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Slow to respond

Florian said he brought the vulnerability to Valve’s attention as part of the company’s bug bounty program back in 2019. And while the bug has been rendered ineffective on virtually all Source-powered games, it still mysteriously exists in CS:GO.

“I am honestly very disappointed because they straight up ignored me most of the time,” said Florian.

While Valve didn’t returnMotherboard’s request for comments, Carl Schou, founder of a not-for-profit group of security researchers called Secret Club, pointed outtwoother vulnerabilitiesthat Valve failed to acknowledge even after being informed several months ago.

“Valve’s response has been a complete disappointment right from the start,” Schou toldMotherboard, adding that slow response times have been the hallmark of the group’s past interactions with the popular gaming publisher and distributor.

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Via:Motherboard

With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’sTechRadar Pro’sexpert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.

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