Activision confirm they’re working to fix Black Ops Cold War IP address exploit

Nathan Warby
Black Ops Cold War cover art

A serious exploit has been uncovered in Black Ops Cold War that allows other players in the same lobby to steal IP addresses, putting the community’s personal information at risk. Here’s what Activision had to say about the major issue.

Although attention has mostly turned to Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 at this point, many players still like to revisit older CoD titles after the rest of the community has moved on. The likes of Modern Warfare (2019) and Vanguard still have a dedicated player base, despite updates and new content drying up.

As the most recent Treyarch title, Black Ops Cold War still attracts a healthy number of fans every month, years on from its initial release.

However, it appears that those who still play Black Ops Cold War in 2023 are putting their personal details a risk.

On May 31, Call of Duty fans began reporting that an exploit had been discovered in BOCW that allowed players to crash the lobby for others while obtaining their IP address in the process.

While this makes for frustrating matches that can be cut short by players using the exploit, it also has more serious implications. If someone is able to get hold of your IP address, they could potentially dox your personal information, track your online movements, or even carry out DDoS attacks.

Activision acknowledge Black Ops Cold War IP address exploit

On June 7, Activision finally broke the silence via the newly created CODUpdates Twitter account. This new page is meant to provide updates for live game issues as well as reveal new patch notes coming to Call of Duty titles.

They had this to say about the issue plaguing Black Ops Cold War: “We’re aware of recent reports regarding exploits on #BlackOpsColdWar that impact a small population of players across all platforms. Investigations with partners began last week and are ongoing.”

In addition, CharlieIntel confirmed that Activision Blizzard sent a cease & desist to the individuals behind the IP attacks on Black Ops Cold War.

The replies to the CODUpdates tweet reveal that, while players are disappointed it took so long for Activision to acknowledge the situation, most are pleased that it seems it will finally get resolved.

Previously in the replies to CharlieIntel’s tweet, many players were quick to call out the publisher, as issues like this have plagued many of the older Call of Duty titles in the years after their main lifecycle has ended.

“MS, Sony & Valve need to just de-list the games until a patch is made,” said YouTuber TheWalkthroughKing. “I don’t think anyones asking for them to go and make an all new anti-cheat for things like aimbot, but it’s unacceptable for almost every release to have exploits to target individual users by crashing and that.”

Other players agreed, with one reply tagging Activision saying: “It’s literally affecting ALL your games now on ALL platforms now u HAVE to do something.”

There’s still no telling when this issue will be completely resolved, but we’ll be sure to let you know once it’s safe to play Black Ops Cold War once again.

For now, check out our guide on how to get The Throwback Audio Pack bundle in Modern Warfare 2 & Warzone 2, or how to watch Summer Game Fest 2023.

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About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer for CharlieIntel and Dexerto, primarily covering FIFA and Call of Duty, as well as general gaming news and guides. After leaving university with a degree in Sports Studies and a master's degree in Magazine Journalism, he took on a role as a local news reporter before moving into games media. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].