17 years later, Activision finally patches Modern Warfare 2's dangerous PC exploits

After 17 years, Activision has finally addressed the dangerous Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC. The update, released this week, claims to have solved all known exploits that had plagued the 2009 title for years.

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In a statement to Windows Central, Activision confirmed that the team has patched the vulnerabilities and is actively working to support legacy titles. The studio encouraged players to report any remaining issues through its Bug Bounty Portal, which you can access if you are interested or have recently encountered a bug and want to report it here. For PC players, this is a long-awaited fix, as RCE exploits allowed malicious actors to upload malware during multiplayer sessions and, in some instances, take over PCs completely.

"An update released this week addressed all known vulnerabilities in Modern Warfare 2. The team continues to support our legacy titles, with additional updates coming soon. We encourage anyone aware of additional issues to report them through Activision's Bug Bounty Portal," wrote Activision

The backward-compatible versions of these games remain vulnerable, but the developers confirmed the team is continuing with work on legacy games to provide similar fixes. In a statement to WindowsCentral, Activision wrote these updates are "coming soon". With Activision still working on legacy titles, PC fans of Modern Warfare 2 can finally breathe a little easier, as the likelihood of encountering wallhacks should be significantly less, or even gone completely.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Question #1

Which Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 PC vulnerabilities did Activision say it patched this week?

Activision said it patched all known vulnerabilities in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC this week, including the dangerous remote code execution exploits that had affected the game for years. Those RCE issues could let malicious players upload malware during multiplayer sessions and, in some cases, take over PCs completely.

Question #2

Does the fix also protect modern multiplayer sessions from remote code execution attacks on PC?

Yes. The update is said to have addressed all known vulnerabilities in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC, including the remote code execution exploits that could be used during multiplayer sessions to upload malware and sometimes take over PCs. The backward-compatible versions are still described as vulnerable.

Question #3

Are the backward-compatible versions of Call of Duty games on Xbox still exposed to the same exploits?

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Question #4

Will Activision's coming legacy-title updates include console versions as well as PC?

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Unfortunately, those backward-compatible versions of Call of Duty games are left holding the short end of the stick for now, as backward compatibility means the new consoles inherit all of the issues of the previous-generation consoles, including the exploits. We hope to see Activision roll out a comparable update for Xbox fans who are currently stuck with the least-secure classic versions.