Cyberpunk 2077 dev issues warning after malicious mod exploits emerge

Cyberpunk 2077 mods — (Image credit: CD Projekt Red / Jelle Bakker - MaximiliumM)

After it emerged earlier this week that Cyberpunk 2077 players on PC could be susceptible to malicious software via downloading mods, developer CD Projekt has urged caution.

"A group of community members reached out to us to bring up an issue with the external DLL files the game uses. This issue can be potentially used as part of a remote code execution on PCs," CD Projekt said in a statement provided to Eurogamer. "We appreciate their input and are working on fixing this as soon as possible. In the meantime, we advise everyone to refrain from using files obtained from unknown sources. Anyone who plans to use mods or custom saves for Cyberpunk 2077 should use caution until we release the aforementioned fix."

In the post below from the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit, players were alerted that CD Projekt's game contained a "security vulnerability" when using mods or downloaded saves. As the post states, malicious code can be executed through downloaded mods to take control of a user's PC, and it can be incredibly difficult to know whether a mod potentially contains a code like this when you're downloading something from NexusMods, for example.

PSA - Cyberpunk 2077 currently has a security vulnerability if you're using mods or downloaded saved games! from r/cyberpunkgame

However, there appears to be a temporary fix from the Cyberpunk 2077 community to combat this issue. If you're willing to download Cyber Engine Tweaks, as the original post reads above, you can effectively close the loophole exploited by the malicious codes within the mods themselves. Given CD Projekt's response to Eurogamer, it shouldn't be long before we have an official fix for the issue via the developer themselves.

So far, we've seen a deluge of mods made available for Cyberpunk 2077, just weeks after the game first launched late last year. For our pick of the very best mods you can download for CD Projekt's latest game, including life path saves, third-person perspectives, and much more, head over to our guide on the best Cyberpunk 2077 mods.