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Capcom acknowledges they sent out rootkit in update for SFV as "security risk"

Chev

Member
Ucchedavāda;218600534 said:
Yeah, that seems to be the source of that claim, and it does not seem to be well researched. As far as I can tell, the only evidence that it is malware is that the string "Htsysm72FB" was obfuscated, but malware is far from the only software to make use of obfuscated strings (it could be serving as a digital watermark in this case).
No, you don't get it. Htsysm is the signature of a known rootkit creation program. Its presence means that they deliberately used a malware tool to create capcom.sys. But even if they'd used a different tool, no, capcom.sys was a rootkit and rootkits are malware. It deliberately opened up a security hole bigger than Rufus' belly on your computer, all so that it could run a program to protect their transactions, something that every software design principle from the last quarter-century will tell you should have been fixed server-side, was succesfully detected as such by several anti-virus programs, only the reaction of both Capcom and many players was to say SF5 should be allowed to run despite triggering the warnings designed to prevent such a program to ever run.
 
No, you don't get it. Htsysm is the signature of a known rootkit creation program.

Do you have a source for that?


But even if they'd used a different tool, no, capcom.sys was a rootkit and rootkits are malware. It deliberately opened up a security hole bigger than Rufus' belly on your computer, all so that it could run a program to protect their transactions, something that every software design principle from the last quarter-century will tell you should have been fixed server-side, was succesfully detected as such by several anti-virus programs, only the reaction of both Capcom and many players was to say SF5 should be allowed to run despite triggering the warnings designed to prevent such a program to ever run.
I know it is a rootkit. I said as much in my previous posts.
 

Sophia

Member
Can someone explain what's a rootkit to me? I know it's malware and bad, but why is it bad? What does it do?

A rootkit is a type of malicious software (malware) that tries to gain the highest level access possible ("root") on a PC, while also going undetected. As rootkits are designed to be undetectable, they're also pretty hard to remove once a system is compromised with them. This particular rootkit that Capcom used basically had full control over the entire PC, which is of course really really bad.
 

Gren

Member
Friggin' idiots. DOA5 devs (futilely) asked PC users not to create mods that would "upstage" their own DLC costumes, whilst Koei-Tecmo would go on to charge highway-robbery prices for said DLC-packs.

And yet they never resorted to this kind of fuckery in the name of securing sales.
 
Isn't it a program?

It is. Presumably it has an associated signature database that you can either browse through the program or perhaps mine manually. Otherwise I am not sure how Chev would know that Htsysm is a known signature for malware that is included in that database, unless they have previously encountered this signature, prior to the Capcom debacle.
 

Oersted

Member
After providing the update, we have received many inquiries, and after investigating the issue we have discovered that part of the data in the update contains a program with some security risks.


Ahahaha. Good one.
 

CTLance

Member
It's almost comical just how much Capcom seems to be intent on fucking up their SF franchise with this game.

On topic, yeah, that crap was clearly intentional and not some random dev going nuts in their spare time. You don't deploy a Capcom.sys file to system directories and disable most of Windows' defense mechanisms just for fun. That entire software was specifically designed, a concentrated effort to grab a foothold in the affected systems without any input from the user or admin. You just don't fart that stuff out in an afternoon. It takes quite a bit of research and determination. Several people had to suggest this course of action, implement it or sign off on it, and frankly, I'd like to see them punished - and not by a mere slap on the hand, mind. Shit's serious.
 

MrCarter

Member
That is some closely worded PR. I hope whoever that implemented this at Capcom is punished and this shit never happens again. Now back to playing Urien again! He is so good. I think Capcom actually made his SFV version of him look better than his SF3 counterpart and that's saying something as SF3 has beautiful animations.
 

rockyt

Member
It's almost comical just how much Capcom seems to be intent on fucking up their SF franchise with this game.

On topic, yeah, that crap was clearly intentional and not some random dev going nuts in their spare time. You don't deploy a Capcom.sys file to system directories and disable most of Windows' defense mechanisms just for fun. That entire software was specifically designed, a concentrated effort to grab a foothold in the affected systems without any input from the user or admin. You just don't fart that stuff out in an afternoon. It takes quite a bit of research and determination. Several people had to suggest this course of action, implement it or sign off on it, and frankly, I'd like to see them punished - and not by a mere slap on the hand, mind. Shit's serious.
Yeah it seem it was intentional. That's why the PR wording is like that. They have to be careful, since misswording in regards to this is liable to be sued.
 

Head.spawn

Junior Member
For some reason I thought Steam would be able to catch stuff like this. I guess they really just allow people to release anything.
 

HD-VHS

Banned
That is some closely worded PR. I hope whoever that implemented this at Capcom is punished and this shit never happens again. Now back to playing Urien again! He is so good. I think Capcom actually made his SFV version of him look better than his SF3 counterpart and that's saying something as SF3 has beautiful animations.

Shill
 

Mulgrok

Member
apparently the launch of SF5 did not go as bad as planned, and they taking measures to kill the game with extreme prejudice
 

Vitacat

Member
Obviously, at some level, someone at Capcom knew very well what they were doing.

What's really galling is that they obviously thought there was some chance they'd get away with it.
 

KingBroly

Banned
If Street Fighter 5 wasn't going to win EPIC FAIL of the Year before this, it will win solely because of this.

Rootkits. In 2016.
 
This is all I have to say to Capcom:

image.png


I would not be surprised about future lawsuits.
 
"This PC place is a den of pirate scum!"

*sets up a shop that sells cultasses and jolly roger flags*

This thing still ain't gaining traction compared to not meeting expectations.
 

New002

Member
Man, hindsight is 20/20 but I really wish I had just passed on SFV. I'm annoyed I gave them so much of my money (steam, season pass, ps4 CE). I can't see myself going back to the game. Still pissed about this.
 
I know you didn't. But that's the point why that guy called out the original person who did brought up Urien as a shill.
The guy who brought up Urien was defending rootkits in an earlier thread regarding this shit storm. He just desperately tries to defend Capcom or change subject.
 

I think this whole situation brings up a lot of questions and worrying implications. Capcom sent the Capcom.sys file to thousands of users rather easily over steam. The reason it got caught is because the game does have a dedicated user base that is willing to data mine files and knowledgeable enough to know what they are looking at. Imagine if this was an indie game where people don't take that effort or have that knowledge. This kind of malware could potentially be spread easily and unnoticed. The only thing that can protect consumers in this case is if they were both knowledgeable and vigilant, which is extremely hard with how large the steam user base is and that not everyone is strong in this area of computer security, especially since this is something that is above the average computer user.

MikeZ (creator of Skullgirls and Indivisible) was on Super Desperation Radio and he was going over this whole debacle. Steam doesn't have any certification, since it allows developers to consistently update and patch their games at their own pace, unlike Sony and Microsoft. It is mostly a rather good and convenient thing, but this whole issue really makes people worried what shady stuff could potentially sneak in, especially since not all developers can be trusted, since this shit show happened because of Capcom who has been in business for decades and at least had some resemblance of goodwill before the incident. It's very unlikely according to the podcast that the burden of security will be on Valve over this, because honestly it's not their fault that a developer can be so incompetent to do something that already has hit the court and found to be illegal within the Sony scandal.

edit:SDR podcast with MikeZ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcH89Eh_KDU
 

CTLance

Member
I hope antimalware/anticheat/antivirus software starts checking for Capcom.sys... I mean, it's tiny, it's signed, it gives kernel level execution privileges - this thing is perfect for black hatters or cheaters.

Trying to sneak-install a rootkit to secure your own game and instead opening a huge backdoor that allows anyone to cheat at any game, including yours. Brilliant move, Capcom.

Not sure how I feel about a batch file in 2016. I mean, sure, even nowadays I'm writing some of those for personal use because I'm a kid of the DOS era and don't want to dive into the intricacies of Powershell/WSH scripting for a quick and dirty task, but I'm not Capcom, and I didn't just get caught with my pants down and my hand in the cookie jar. Kinda low effort, that.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
How did Steam install Capcom.sys into System32 without Admin access?

Steam didn't, Steam only did the update for the game. The game/Capcom itself asked for admin level permissions to install the rootkit after the update. People went "WTF" (and rightly so because a game shouldn't have to ask for admin level permissions EVER) and poked around.
 

KingBroly

Banned
Steam didn't, Steam only did the update for the game. The game/Capcom itself asked for admin level permissions to install the rootkit after the update. People went "WTF" (and rightly so because a game shouldn't have to ask for admin level permissions EVER) and poked around.

It also asked to give you permission every time you played, AND was a random file name each time, just like a Virus.

Capcom intentionally put this thing out because they didn't want people cheating on their game. Did they know it was malware/rootkit? No, because as Mike Z said in that podcast link, it's what a novice would do. It's an embarrassment, and I don't think Capcom quite understands the gravity of the situation or how it's going to negatively affect their business going forward, and not just for Street Fighter 5, either.
 

jacobeid

Banned
I saw the 5gb update and decided to delete the game instead of installing the patch.

I'm lucky that I did and I sure as shit won't be reinstalling. They've lost my trust and I don't even play the game. What a massive fuck up.

I will be very hesitant to purchase a contemporary release from Capcom on PC. They'll do it again if they're that incompetent.
 
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