GTA 5 Exploit is Soft Locking Player Accounts, Rockstar Promises Fix

Rockstar says it's preparing a title update for Grand Theft Auto Online in response to an exploit that is effectively locking some players out of the popular multiplayer game.

First spotted late last week, the remote code execution exploit [RCE] allows cheaters to effectively corrupt accounts from afar. Players affected by the exploit will finding themselves permanently trapped in Grand Theft Auto's loading screen.

#GTAOnline PC High Alert⚠️

New extreme exploits have appeared allowing cheaters to remotely add/remove/modify your stats and permanently corrupt your account aka ban/delete.

Avoid playing without a firewall rule or playing at all!🚨

Thanks to @HarryGotTaken for notifying. pic.twitter.com/tyh4tCInML

— Tez2 (@TezFunz2) January 20, 2023

RCEs have been an ongoing concern in several multiplayer games, most notably Dark Souls, which saw its PvP servers shut down for months due to the issue. While a firewall rule can help, fans are currently being encouraged to take a break since RCE expoits can be quite dangerous, allowing hackers to do significant damage to a player's PC from afar.

In a tweet earlier this afternoon, Rockstar said that it's aware of the exploit and that it's preparing a security-related title update. It encouraged players to reach out to the studio's support page if they run into additional problems.

While Rockstar didn't reveal when the promised title update would be released, fans can likely expect it soon due to the severity of the exploit.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.