Microsoft Fixes Age of Empires II Bug Affecting Gameplay

As part of its record-breaking Patch Tuesday release, Microsoft also fixed a security vulnerability affecting the remastered edition of the classic strategy game Age of Empires II. The company’s latest update addressed a historic number of security flaws across its software portfolio, with Microsoft crediting AI-assisted vulnerability discovery for helping identify many of the issues.

Among the patched bugs was a vulnerability in the 25-year-old real-time strategy title that security researchers said could have allowed attackers to compromise a player’s computer by sending a specially crafted malicious game invitation.

A demonstration shared on X showed how attackers could potentially exploit the vulnerability.

According to cybersecurity company Rapid7, a successful exploit could have enabled hackers to place malicious files onto a victim’s system, creating a pathway to execute arbitrary code on the affected machine.

In practical terms, this could have enabled an attacker to gain control of the compromised computer.

There is currently no indication that the vulnerability was exploited in real-world attacks before Microsoft released the patch. However, security experts note that video games can be attractive targets for cybercriminals because they offer an effective way to distribute malware to large numbers of users and to steal sensitive information, including account credentials and passwords.