Today, the source code for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2, was leaked to the public. Both of which are two of developer and publisher Valve’s most popular games. The source code dates back to 2017/2018 and was originally distributed to licensees of the Source Engine, a multi-platform game engine used in all of Valve’s games.
The leak was reported by Steam Database on Twitter earlier today.
Source code for both CS:GO and TF2 dated 2017/2018 that was made available to Source engine licencees was leaked to the public today. pic.twitter.com/qWEQGbq9Y6
— Steam Database (@SteamDB) April 22, 2020
While the code is a few years out of date, it’s still possible for hackers and individuals with malicious intent to use it to develop new cheats and exploits for the games, as well as remote code execution attacks. Several online gaming communities, including the subreddits for both TF2 and CS:GO, have advised players to avoid playing the games until further notice due to a number of unconfirmed reports of remote code execution exploits already being seen on live servers.
Update* — Value has released the following statement on the leak:
We have reviewed the leaked code and believe it to be a reposting of a limited CS:GO engine code depot released to partners in late 2017, and originally leaked in 2018. From this review, we have not found any reason for players to be alarmed or avoid the current builds (as always, playing on the official servers is recommended for greatest security). We will continue to investigate the situation and will update news outlets and players if we find anything to prove otherwise. In the meantime, if anyone has more information about the leak, the Valve security page describes how best to report that information.
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