[CS2] VAC was unable to verify your game session

[lamka02sk]

Your system information

• System information from steam (Steam -> Help -> System Information) in a gist: https://gist.github.com/lamka02sk/470c7f8e1778b9a3f70279b6f72e8783
• Have you checked for system updates?: Yes

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

When trying to play competitive or any other official server, VAC error popup appears. Trusted launch in console is set to 1. I tried updating game, steam, verify files, restart PC, but nothing helped. Also happens on my laptop which is running AMD GPU. Problem started after the latest update.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

1. Launch game
2. Try to play on official servers

[kisak-valve]

Possible duplicate of #3398.

[mackatozis]

Same issue. This issue began on October 4, 2023, at 13:30 UTC.

System Information in gist.

Launch options

xrandr --output DP-4 --primary --mode 2560x1440 --scale-from 1920x1440 --rate 165 --pos 0x0; %command% -fullscreen -nojoy -vulkan; xrandr --output DP-4 --primary --mode 2560x1440 --transform none --rate 165 --pos 0x0

Things I have tried:

• Verify integrity of Game Files
• Restart Steam
• Go to Offline mode, exit Steam, Go to Online mode
• Reboot PC
• Restart router
• Remove all launch options

If I login with another account, I can play in Competitive modes (5vs5, Deathmatch, etc). If I switch back to my original account, I still get the same error.

[lamka02sk]

If I login with another account, I can play in Competitive modes (5vs5, Deathmatch, etc).

I can confirm, that another account works. But even after switching to another account and then back, it doesn't work for the original account. Very strange.

If it helps while debugging the issue, here is Steam ID of the broken account: 76561198867803503

[FSKiller]

Same thing happened with me, since the 4th I've not been able to play MM. Tried a smurf account and it worked fine but my main won't work for some reason.

For some reason if one of my friends enters a DeathMatch and i click join friend it also works.

Also Switching to Windows works normally and i can play MM just fine.

My SteamID64 is 76561198019995663

1 - I've tried to uninstall the game 2 - Move the game to another drive 3 - steam --reset 4 - deleting config files 5 - fully updating the system(EndeavourOS) 6 - Using steam-runtime instead of steam-native

[OlliKantola]

On a same boat here. Everything has been working since release of CS2 until on 4th I was unable to join matchmaking. I already tried: -verify integrity of game files -logged out of steam -uninstalled CS2 -multiple reboots -no VAC bans on account

Steam account ID: 76561198053290533

[saori-yuko]

This is happening randomly in the middle of the game for me as well as a result I've recieived a week long cooldown.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/2112808778308079119/E31B1388DB0F41DFB9EA3CA3C5D38181AB057034/ https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/2112808778308079119/E31B1388DB0F41DFB9EA3CA3C5D38181AB057034/

Steamid: 76561198832081156

@kisak-valve whats the ETA on this being fixed?

[learning-thing]

System info (Short:) OS: Arch Linux (up-to-date) GPU: GTX 1650 SUPER (driver: 535.113.01) CPU: Ryzen 5 3600 RAM: 16GB

Here my experience:

Whenever I try to start MM, I get the VAC error. no matter what mode. I have tried most of the already mentioned things to fix it, nothing helped.

However, I have noticed, when I am the lobby of a friend, and he tries to start a game, same VAC error, although when my friend is in a match (deathmatch) and I right-click join, I am able to play, without even getting kicked. And I can stay on the same server for multiple matches.

[paperlyly]

I am also having this problem, no solution has been found yet? I am on Linux too, it seems to be a problem with Linux

I've been wanting to play for several days, I've tried all the solutions and nothing can be solved, I hope something can be done

[crbble]

Same here.

[mackatozis]

It would be more beneficial if, along with saying "same here," you also provide your System Information.

You may get your System information from Steam (Steam -> Help -> System Information) and post it in a gist.

[alexandrpaliy]

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/csgo-osx-linux/issues/3408#issuecomment-1749139783

If I login with another account, I can play in Competitive modes (5vs5, Deathmatch, etc). If I switch back to my original account, I still get the same error.

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/csgo-osx-linux/issues/3408#issuecomment-1749169892

I can confirm, that another account works. But even after switching to another account and then back, it doesn't work for the original account. Very strange.

Pardon me if I missed something and you've already tried it, but I can imagine this test scenario:

1. Remove your steam installation (I believe it's not necessary to remove game files, i.e. to uninstall the game from steam library)
2. Remove your ~/.local/share/Steam/userdata or ~/.local/share/Steam/userdata/<your_profile_id> (I don't take any responsibility on the result; in my case it didn't break or change anything, I do believe the same data should appear after you log back into your account; also, I assume this directory may be different for you depending on your distro and your steam installation method)
3. Install steam again, log in to your account, check if the problem exists

My logic: if the problem exists only for some specific steam account - either something is wrong at the server side, or something is wrong at your local side.

P.S. Step 2 is the key, maybe steps 1 and 3 may be omitted.

[lamka02sk]

My logic: if the problem exists only for some specific steam account - either something is wrong at the server side, or something is wrong at your local side.

Definitely a server-side problem. I tried on 3 computers. There is no chance, all of them have broken Steam install specifically for the same account.

Valve pls fix ❤️

[mackatozis]

Replying to https://github.com/ValveSoftware/csgo-osx-linux/issues/3408#issuecomment-1752956101

Thank you for the input. I've attempted to uninstall CS:2 and Steam, as well as clean $HOME/.local/share/Steam/*, in an effort to start anew, but the problem still persists.

[learning-thing]

Is anyone else, who is unable to play, able to join a friend? (friend in deathmatch, right-click -> join)

(as mentioned in my last comment) I won't get kicked by VAC, which I find really weird and I would like to know if I'm the only one. it seems to work as normal even though I can't start any matchmaking by myself, nor can my friend in my lobby start a game with me.

[lamka02sk]

The problem still persists after today's update.

[OlliKantola]

The problem still persists after today's update.

Same here.

[mackatozis]

The problem spontaneously resolved itself today, October 11, 2023, precisely one week after it initially occurred.

[OlliKantola]

Matchmaking works now.

[FSKiller]

Can confirm, MM now works correctly!

[drakosoldier298]

im revivving this issue as,...its back and im sad

[mackatozis]

im revivving this issue as,...its back and im sad

According to the feedback from other contributors in this GitHub thread, it appears that the problem resolves itself naturally after a span of seven days.

[marcuslark]

Not working for me..

I've tried to reinstall both steam and CS itself, of course tried to verify game files, making sure i'm solely using runtime and making sure nothing else than the official softwares are being used. Not using Proton, making sure the official path is being used as well: /home/username/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive

Using the latest version of vulkan, Nvidia drivers, steam, even made sure to generate and use the offical locales (en.US- UTF-8).

Rebooted multiple times, removing all kind of background processes, solely running Steam & CS. Still not working.

I tried some weird work-arounds I found on random forum threads, like changing your avatar & profile name while running CS2 (Seems to have solved it for some people), also starting a local server, playing against bots seems to have solved it for some people. Not for me though.

I have literally tried everything I have found online, actively trying to debug for at least 15 hours straight today. Seems impossible.

NEOFETCH:

``` OS: Manjaro Linux x86_64 Kernel: 6.1.55-1-MANJARO Uptime: 6 hours, 15 mins Packages: 1680 (pacman), 12 (flatpak) Shell: bash 5.1.16 Resolution: 1920x1080, 2560x1440 DE: GNOME 44.5 WM: Mutter WM Theme: CustomAccentColors Theme: Adw-dark [GTK2/3] Icons: Papirus-Dark-Maia [GTK2/3] Terminal: terminology Terminal Font: Inconsolata CPU: 11th Gen Intel i7-11700K (16) @ 4.900GHz GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Rev. A Memory: 5278MiB / 31932MiB ```

STEAM, SYSTEM INFO:

``` Computer Information: Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. Model: TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS Form Factor: Desktop No Touch Input Detected Processor Information: CPU Vendor: GenuineIntel CPU Brand: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700K @ 3.60GHz CPU Family: 0x6 CPU Model: 0xa7 CPU Stepping: 0x1 CPU Type: 0x0 Speed: 4900 MHz 16 logical processors 8 physical processors Hyper-threading: Supported FCMOV: Supported SSE2: Supported SSE3: Supported SSSE3: Supported SSE4a: Unsupported SSE41: Supported SSE42: Supported AES: Supported AVX: Supported AVX2: Supported AVX512F: Supported AVX512PF: Unsupported AVX512ER: Unsupported AVX512CD: Supported AVX512VNNI: Supported SHA: Supported CMPXCHG16B: Supported LAHF/SAHF: Supported PrefetchW: Unsupported Operating System Version: "Manjaro Linux" (64 bit) Kernel Name: Linux Kernel Version: 6.1.55-1-MANJARO X Server Vendor: The X.Org Foundation X Server Release: 12101008 X Window Manager: GNOME Shell Steam Runtime Version: steam-runtime_0.20231024.64411 Video Card: Driver: NVIDIA Corporation NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060/PCIe/SSE2 Driver Version: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 535.113.01 OpenGL Version: 4.6 Desktop Color Depth: 24 bits per pixel Monitor Refresh Rate: 143 Hz VendorID: 0x10de DeviceID: 0x1f08 Revision Not Detected Number of Monitors: 2 Number of Logical Video Cards: 1 Primary Display Resolution: 2560 x 1440 Desktop Resolution: 4480 x 1440 Primary Display Size: 23.50" x 13.23" (26.97" diag), 59.7cm x 33.6cm (68.5cm diag) Primary Bus: PCI Express 16x Primary VRAM: 6144 MB Supported MSAA Modes: 2x 4x 8x 16x Sound card: Audio device: Realtek ALC897 Memory: RAM: 31932 Mb VR Hardware: VR Headset: None detected Miscellaneous: UI Language: English LANG: en_US.UTF-8 Total Hard Disk Space Available: 937498 MB Largest Free Hard Disk Block: 536869 MB Storage: Number of SSDs: 2 SSD sizes: 1000G,1000G Number of HDDs: 0 Number of removable drives: 0 ```

[justpie]

Started getting the error on 10/27.

Removed my steam files and reinstalled. Removed my CS2 files and reinstalled. Tried verifying game files ( no issues ).

[marcuslark]

Started getting the error on 10/27.

Removed my steam files and reinstalled. Removed my CS2 files and reinstalled. Tried verifying game files ( no issues ).

Issue started for me around that time as well, probably even the same day.

[DeadShotti]

last night worked fine, now i have this problem aswell. have tried every trick possible but it still persists. only on my account

[DeadShotti]

last night worked fine, now i have this problem aswell. have tried every trick possible but it still persists. only on my account

i tried it on another pc and worked fine but its only on my account and on this pc that it does not work

[justpie]

Sup nerds - I was able to resolve my issue by doing the following.

sudo apt-get purge steam
sudo apt-get purge steam-launcher
cd ~/.local/share && rm -rf Steam
rm ~/.steampath
rm ~/.steampid

Then I followed the APT instructions at the following link: https://repo.steampowered.com/steam/

[fortnider]

Having this issue as well. Tried every single fix I could find online but to no avail. Has been happening for around a week now. I tried with a second account and was able to queue into casual matches, so I assume it's an account based thing. https://gist.github.com/fortnider/49392f101ee0e7cf77a00e3de86a1b6b

[mackatozis]

@fortnider, the problem is linked to your account/PC. After 7 days from the initial occurrence, it should automatically resolve. You can play without any issues on another PC or using a different account during this period.

[tonikelope]

Same here with ArchLinux since two days ago. (SteamID: 76561197968560062)

Note: if i join game from a friend i can play.

Edit: after one week it has been solved.

[ZakMcKrack3n]

And like in other countless threads, started for me on 1.Dec, was able to play again yesterday on 6.Dec, default +5 mystery days.... , changed steam nick name some days before but could still play with that, last hardware change=cloned sata hard disk to m2... , just if any of you have done similar things some time before or around the time this happened , would be good to know.

[simonoscr]

Same for me since today.

[InkiDream]

I've been having this issue since Tuesday night. Here is what I have tried: -Verifying game files -Reinstalled CS2 -Signed out of account -Deleted userdata -Reinstalled Steam -Entered bot lobbies -Changed steam pfp

Nothing that I try works. This might be an issue that valve needs to push an update to fix. We might just be out of luck for the time being

~Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon~

[alou-S]

Since this issue seems to be linked to a particular account try directly contacting steam support to see if there is any avail. Every time I had this particular issue on dota or cs2 I just simply restart steam and it goes away.

[caioob]

I'm having this issue whenever I try joining a game running gamescope but not when running hyprland's compositor. After I try running with gamescope if I try to run on hyprland's compositor the issue starts appearing as well. After doing step 2 I'm able to search without using gamescope, but as soon as I try gamescope again it breaks on both compositors.

I'm running Arch Linux kernel version 6.7.1-arch1, gamescope version 3.13.19, hyprland version 0.34.0 and wlroots version 0.17.1

Edit: Downgrading gamescope to version 3.13.17 seems to resolve the issue

[berysaidi]

started having the same issue today >_< Ubuntu 20.04 with LTS Linux s76 6.5.6-76060506-generic

[hellotehworld]

started having the same issue today >_< Ubuntu 20.04 with LTS Linux s76 6.5.6-76060506-generic

same for me. started some days ago. im on Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS with HWE kernel 6.5.0-26-generic and mesa 24.0.3 from the recommended kisak fresh ppa

-uninstalled the game. installed again and verified the game files. still the same message. -uninstalled steam and every game and also delete every steam game config files manually. then reinstalled everything, but still the same message. -made a second installation via the flatpak version of steam. same message -made a new account and tried it. still the same message

[hellotehworld]

i found a solution.

flatpak works a few tricks:

1. if flatpak is installed and steam flatpak version also, delete flatpak and all config files manually on the system.
2. restart your router to get a new ip
3. make somewhere a new mail account
4. install flatpak and steam flatpak version
5. register new steam acc with new mailacc
6. install cs2 over steam flatpak, but don't enable the compatibility mode and enable something. leave everything at it is
7. start cs2 and play the game

WARNING: do not login first with your old account. if you login with your old account first, then the old acc and the new acc will not work.

[PingusPepan]

Happened to me today and still persists I am on openSUSE Leap 15.5 with kernel 6.7.7 and nVidia driver 550.54.14 I am using X11 with KDE Plasma 6.0.4

Everything was working just fine yesterday and today I can't join a single game. There have been no updates that I know of I've tried verifying game data, playing a round of competitive with bots and removing all launch parameters but still the dialog pops up every time

[PingusPepan]

Well, after today's update I was able to play normally again. Will see how long it lasts

[hellotehworld]

i found the bug:

normal steam installation from ubuntu repo works now again!

open steam>library>counter strike 2>right click>properties>compatibility>uncheck "force the use..."

now go into steam client settings steam>settings>downloads>clear download cache

now go into steam client settings steam>settings>storage>click on the ... dots and select repair library

now go again into the library>counter strike 2>right click>properties>installed files> verify integrity of game files

after that the game works again

it has something to do with the Proton Experimental mode and "Steamworks Common Redistributables" files

when the force mode is disabled the file is 0 bytes and everything works

but when enabled the file is 126.02 MB and the game wont stark because of the "VAC was unable to verify your game session " error

[ridicolos]

@hellotehworld tried your steps but unfortunatly it did not work. Could not get this running.

On the other hand after logging into another steam account it could play cs without a problem. But my primary account does still not work at all.

[g0ga]

Same thing here. Switching to another account helped. Rechecking files didn't. Never cheated or modified game files. Feels like account was automatically temporary banned from playing till they verify the installation is ok. But ffs can they tell you something when this happens? Absolutely idiotic situation. Curious if deleting the steam folder fully is going to help. (O.S. is archlinux, most recent)

[charmpitz]

Can someone look into this? I genuinely can't play and I'm sure there are others out there..

[charmpitz]

I am having same issue as @ridicolos I have done a couple of fresh linux installs and my account still doesn't work but a newly created account on the same email works.. The main account that doesn't work on linux DOES work on Windows though, tested on another PC.. How is this possible?

[asap2Go]

I am having same issue as @ridicolos I have done a couple of fresh linux installs and my account still doesn't work but a newly created account on the same email works.. The main account that doesn't work on linux DOES work on Windows though, tested on another PC.. How is this possible?

I can confirm that. On Windows the game just works. But all the Linux distros I tried do not work. Tried Ubuntu with Steam as Flatpak as well as Manjaro with a regular steam installation. All with the same steam account and clean, fresh installs. If I remove "force the use of a specific compatibility..." then CS2 becomes unplayable. Loading the main menu takes minutes. Playing competitive is out of scope as I just get kicked or can't join at all. If the Devs can read this: a short feedback would be nice. Noone expects you to fix this instantly, but a short reply would be nice...

[charmpitz]

After 1 week of not playing it resolved itself.. I got pissed and formatted and reinstalled a couple of times too but it just won't work, they have a bug on the server side most likely..

I am having same issue as @ridicolos I have done a couple of fresh linux installs and my account still doesn't work but a newly created account on the same email works.. The main account that doesn't work on linux DOES work on Windows though, tested on another PC.. How is this possible?

I can confirm that. On Windows the game just works. But all the Linux distros I tried do not work. Tried Ubuntu with Steam as Flatpak as well as Manjaro with a regular steam installation. All with the same steam account and clean, fresh installs. If I remove "force the use of a specific compatibility..." then CS2 becomes unplayable. Loading the main menu takes minutes. Playing competitive is out of scope as I just get kicked or can't join at all. If the Devs can read this: a short feedback would be nice. Noone expects you to fix this instantly, but a short reply would be nice...

After 1 week of not playing it resolved itself.. I got pissed and formatted and reinstalled a couple of times too but it just won't work, they have a bug on the server side most likely..