Meccha Chameleon Suffers Malware and Discord Hack Amidst Viral Success

Meccha Chameleon, the indie prop hunt game that has achieved viral success, experienced a tumultuous weekend marked by security incidents. Reports emerged of user-created maps available on Steam Workshop containing malware, coinciding with a hack of the game's official Discord server.

The issue with malicious maps first came to light when an independent researcher, Feint, detailed findings on Medium. Feint investigated a Steam Workshop map after a friend reported a command prompt window appearing during its download. Analysis revealed what appeared to be a malware dropper within the map files. The map in question, "Laser Tag Neon," was promptly removed from the Steam Workshop. However, a different malware-infected map, "Chroma Grid Arena," reportedly took its place before also being removed.

Developer Lemorion_1224 issued multiple statements on the game's Steam page, clarifying that the game itself is free of malware. The developer attributed the confusion and false claims of in-game malware to a hacker who had compromised the game's official Discord account. According to Lemorion_1224, the hacker bypassed a system engineer's Discord Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), gained control of server permissions, and subsequently banned official staff members.

In response to the vulnerability that allowed malicious maps to execute malware, Lemorion_1224 released patch version 3.1.0 for Meccha Chameleon on Saturday. This update also included fixes for other bugs. The researcher who initially reported the malware confirmed that the identified malicious maps have been removed.

For players who may have launched affected Workshop maps before updating, a full malware scan of their system is strongly recommended. The original report also provided advice on best practices for downloading Steam Workshop content.

On Sunday, Lemorion_1224 announced that the official Meccha Chameleon Discord server had been restored, and operations had returned to normal. Meccha Chameleon has become one of Steam's biggest hits this year, selling 15 million copies in its first month.