In January, a security vulnerability was discovered with GTA Online that could allow bad actors to essentially ruin your account. Hackers were able to completely wipe out your in-game money, reset account progress, and even screw with accounts so badly that they were banned from online play. If that wasn't bad enough, the creator of the unofficial Guardian firewall mod for Grand Theft Auto V speculated that the security vulnerability could potentially allow hackers to enable remote code execution on a target's computer. This would have allowed hackers to execute dangerous code on a target's machine that could do most anything they wanted.
Shortly after the vulnerability was discovered, Rockstar issued a statement saying that they are aware of the problem and were working on a fix. That update is now live.
The update isn't particularly large, but it is most certainly a welcome one to those who have steered clear of GTA Online while the vulnerability was actively being exploited in the wild. Initial reports seem to be a bit of a mixed bag. Tez2, the person who originally alerted players to the vulnerability, says that as far as these exploits, the issues seem to be fixed. However, the vanilla cheating that has been running rampant in GTA Online is still very much alive and well. Still, if you play in invite-only lobbies, you won't have to worry about your PC being compromised now.
The full changelog for today's update is below, courtesy of Rockstar Support.
GTAV Title Update 1.66 Notes (PC)
Security
Security
- Implemented a new data protocol in GTA Online to improve the security of network sessions and player-to-player messaging
- Fixed an issue that could result in a player’s GTA Online experience being modified by a third party, including:
- altering GTA$ balance, RP level, Bad Sport status, and other player stats
- manipulation of players being kicked or crashed
- General stability improvements​
