| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to hacking and cheating in the game Among Us has happened again within the same organization, Innersloth. The article mentions that players have complained about hacking and cheating in Among Us since at least early October, and some players were hit with a deluge of pro-Trump spam in mid-October. Additionally, James Sebree, a researcher for security firm Tenable, discovered hackable vulnerabilities in Among Us and tried to get in touch with Innersloth to share his findings in mid-October but got no response [Article 107562].
(b) The software failure incident related to hacking and cheating in indie games has also happened at other organizations. The article mentions that James Sebree, the researcher who found vulnerabilities in Among Us, also pointed to a similar collection of cheating techniques for another indie game, Fall Guys, that allow players to fly, teleport, and move at hyperspeed. This indicates that security vulnerabilities affecting indie games are not limited to just Among Us but can be found in other games as well [Article 107562]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is related to the design phase. The vulnerabilities and hacks discovered by James Sebree in the game Among Us were a result of flaws in the game's code and the lack of server-side validation of data sent by the game client running on players' computers. Sebree was able to reverse-engineer the game's code and create a modified version of the game client that allowed for various cheats and exploits, such as killing players at will, impersonating other players, teleporting, walking through walls, controlling other players' movements, obtaining paid in-game items for free, and more. These vulnerabilities were a result of design flaws in the game's security measures [107562].
(b) The software failure incident is also related to the operation phase. Players were experiencing hacking and cheating in Among Us since early October, indicating that the operation of the game was affected by external factors such as cheating players colluding on external channels and sending spam messages. The lack of server-side validation of a message's sender allowed for attacks like sending messages as other players. These operational issues impacted the gameplay experience for legitimate players and highlighted the vulnerabilities in the game's operation [107562]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is primarily within_system. The vulnerabilities and hacks discovered by James Sebree in the game Among Us were due to the lack of server-side validation of data sent by the game client running on players' computers. This allowed for a range of cheats and exploits within the game, such as killing players at will, impersonating other players, teleporting, walking through walls, supercharging character speed, controlling other players' movements, obtaining paid in-game items for free, and more. The root cause of these issues was the lack of proper validation within the game's servers, which enabled the manipulation of game data [Article 107562]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is primarily due to non-human actions, specifically vulnerabilities in the game's code that allowed for hacking and cheating. The security researcher, James Sebree, discovered hackable vulnerabilities in Among Us that allowed for a range of cheats such as killing players at will, impersonating other players, teleporting, walking through walls, supercharging character speed, controlling other players' movements, obtaining paid in-game items for free, and more. These vulnerabilities were a result of the game's servers not validating information sent by the game client, which allowed for spoofed or altered data to be sent and manipulated [107562].
(b) However, human actions also played a role in this software failure incident. James Sebree, the security researcher who discovered the vulnerabilities, along with some friends who are fans of the game, initially started looking into the game's code with the goal of modifying it to allow more than the default 10 players. While their initial intention was not malicious, their exploration led to the discovery of deeper vulnerabilities that could be exploited for cheating within the game [107562]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is not related to hardware issues but rather to vulnerabilities in the software itself. The incident was caused by hackable vulnerabilities in the game Among Us that allowed for cheating and manipulation of the game's mechanics [107562].
(b) The software failure incident in the article is directly related to software vulnerabilities. The incident involved a researcher discovering and exploiting various hackable vulnerabilities in the game Among Us, allowing for cheating, impersonation, and manipulation of in-game actions [107562]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident related to the game Among Us was malicious in nature. The incident involved hackable vulnerabilities discovered by a security researcher, James Sebree, who was able to exploit these vulnerabilities to perform a range of cheats in the game. These cheats included killing players at will, impersonating other players, teleporting, walking through walls, supercharging character speed, controlling other players' movements, obtaining paid in-game items for free, banning players without being the host, and more [Article 107562]. The hacks were a result of the lack of server-side validation of data, allowing for malicious manipulation of the game by sending spoofed or altered data to the game server.
(b) The software failure incident was non-malicious in the sense that the vulnerabilities discovered in Among Us did not pose a serious threat to users beyond the confines of the game itself. James Sebree mentioned that the security vulnerabilities he found did not allow access to anything on a target player's computer outside of the game, making it unlikely for users to have their identities stolen while playing Among Us. The hacks primarily focused on trolling or disrupting the gameplay experience rather than causing harm outside the game environment [Article 107562]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
unknown |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident was not due to poor decisions but rather due to intentional hacking and exploiting vulnerabilities in the game. The security researcher, James Sebree, intentionally discovered and exploited hackable vulnerabilities in the game Among Us, allowing for a range of cheats and manipulations [107562]. This incident was not a result of poor decisions but rather a deliberate exploration of the game's code to identify weaknesses and security flaws. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident in the article is related to development incompetence. The incident involved hackable vulnerabilities in the game Among Us that were discovered by a researcher for security firm Tenable, James Sebree. These vulnerabilities allowed for a range of cheats that disrupted the basic mechanics of the game, such as killing players at will, impersonating other players, teleporting, walking through walls, supercharging character speed, controlling other players' movements, obtaining paid in-game items for free, and more [107562].
(b) The software failure incident in the article is not related to accidental factors but rather to intentional exploitation of vulnerabilities in the game Among Us by individuals with malicious intent. |
| Duration |
permanent |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is more of a permanent nature. The vulnerabilities and hacks discovered by James Sebree in Among Us were due to fundamental flaws in the game's security design, particularly the lack of server-side validation of data sent by the game client. These vulnerabilities allowed for a wide range of cheats and exploits, such as killing players at will, impersonating others, teleporting, walking through walls, supercharging character speed, controlling other players' movements, obtaining paid in-game items for free, and more. Despite some fixes being implemented, many of the hacking techniques remain unfixed, indicating a persistent issue with the game's security [107562]. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article does not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. The incident primarily revolves around hackable vulnerabilities in the game "Among Us" that allow cheating and manipulation of the game's mechanics [107562].
(b) omission: The software failure incident does not involve a failure due to the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). Instead, the incident is centered around security vulnerabilities that allow players to cheat and manipulate the game [107562].
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to a failure due to the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. The focus is on the security flaws that enable cheating within the game "Among Us" [107562].
(d) value: The software failure incident does involve a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The vulnerabilities discovered by the researcher allowed players to cheat by impersonating others, moving through walls, controlling other players' movements, obtaining paid in-game items for free, and more, which are all incorrect behaviors [107562].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit a byzantine behavior where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The primary issue highlighted in the article is the lack of server-side validation in the game, which allows for various forms of cheating [107562].
(f) other: The other behavior observed in this software failure incident is the exploitation of security vulnerabilities to manipulate the game's mechanics and cheat in various ways. This behavior falls under the category of unauthorized access and manipulation of the game environment, which was made possible due to the lack of proper validation mechanisms in the game's servers [107562]. |