Is CS2 Safe To Play Right Now?

The Counter-Strike franchise has come a long way from the days of 1.6, but the issue of security has been bugging the playerbase since the long-awaited release of CS2. Unfortunately, with the release of a new game, players encounter unpredictable vulnerabilities and bugs, and it’s almost impossible for the developers to take into consideration every possible scenario, as some bugs and exploits take time to surface. 

Ask the LoL and Val players how much they enjoy the abundance of constant bugs and glitches, so we here at the sunny CS2 side have little to complain about. However, the CS2 release was tarnished by a serious exploit back in 2023, and in this article we’ll reveal if it’s safe to play CS2 in 2024.

Is CS2 Safe To Play Right Now?

Yes, it is safe to play CS2 as of Summer 2024. Luckily for us, the exploit that was used for revealing the players’ IP-addresses is no longer active. The vulnerability cannot affect your game or capture your personal information, as it was back when the XSS vulnerability originally surfaced.

What is CS2 XSS Patch Vulnerability?

Back in 2023, CS2 players found a dangerous exploit that could be used to reveal everyone’s IP address on the server. Not only it could be used for such malicious purposes, it was also used as a gag by adding porn GIFs into the Vote section. By simply changing your nickname to a URL of said porn-gif, it would display below the “Vote” pop-up. Many rushed to call it the XSS vulnerability, but it wasn’t that bad and it got sorted out with a 7MB patch that fixed this issue. The vulnerability could no longer affect the game, as the update rolled out by Valve prohibited any use of HTML, deactivating links and transforming them to plain text. A week into some insane game interactions, the issue was no longer present. 

Did CS2 Fix The Exploit?

After a week or so of this exploit running rampant across the CS2 servers, Valve rolled out a 7MB patch that fixed this exploit, by nuking all HTML links and transforming them into simple text. No more weird GIFs and leaked IP addresses.

Could The CS2 Exploit Happen Again?

Yes, it is possible. As we have previously mentioned, it’s almost impossible for the developers to take into consideration every possible scenario. Although we think that it is highly unlikely that the exact same or similar mishap will happen, there is a possibility. Multiple bad actors and hackers will always try to find vulnerabilities and exploits, but so far Valve’s track record in fighting exploits has been pretty good. Considering the magnitude of this mishap, the developers must have dedicated lots of time and resources in finding any potential threat to the CS2 community. 

Unfortunately, there’s also a cheater issue at hand, but that is expected to be dealt with in the next couple of months. Perhaps.

How To Protect Yourself and Play CS2 Safely?

Use a unique and strong password for your Steam account, and keep a low profile if you have an expensive inventory. Make sure to activate the two-factor authentication on your Steam account, which will help you secure your profile from brute forcing and dangerous websites used for stealing account data and credentials. Don’t add randoms to your friends list, and don’t accept trade offers from the players you don’t know. Also, make sure to buy and sell skins from trusted portals, such as Skin.Land, a service that guarantees the deal security and fair prices. Don’t rely on Steam Support, as 9 out of 10 times they won’t be able to solve your issue when you accept the offer from a scammer. The last but not least – don’t download questionable community maps if you want your inventory to be left untouched.