Two of Nintendo’s Wii U games have been taken offline.
Nintendo has pulled both Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon offline, citing a security vulnerability as the main reason. As reported by VideoGamesChronicle (VGC), both titles were taken offline at 8:30pm PT/11:30pm ET on Thursday, March 2nd, and it might be “days” before they’re back online.
“We have identified vulnerabilities with online play for network and have begun temporary emergency maintenance,” read a message on Nintendo’s Network Maintenance website. “We expect an extended maintenance duration while we address these issues and have not determined when online play will resume. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.”
As Dataminer @OatmealDome suggests, the issue could be related to an exploit called ‘ENLBufferPwn’ that allows attackers to take control of a victim’s system by merely being matched with them in an online multiplayer game. The vulnerability has also reportedly been found in several Switch games, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Switch Sports, Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3. To protect gamers, Nintendo has patched all of these titles.
The security vulnerability is almost certainly ENLBufferPwn, which could allow an attacker to take over your console just by connecting to them online.
This exploit affected many of Nintendo’s games on the Switch, along with Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS.https://t.co/GWR6alQVy4
— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) March 3, 2023
It’s currently uncertain when the games will come back online. Nintendo will close its eShop for the Wii U and 3DS on March 27th, 2023, making all digital games unavailable to purchase on either platform.
Image credit: MarioWiki
Source: VideoGamesChronicle (VGC)
