Crit bucket mechanic is exploitable.

[0cyn]

Description

This is an exploit currently in use by hacked game clients. As it allows modified clients to deal 3x damage on demand, it very often negatively affects casual gameplay.

This section on the tf wiki provides an overview of this bug. The comment there regarding melee crits is inaccurate, they also follow the bucket mechanic.

Checklist

• [x] None of the open or closed issues document this problem.

• [x] This is a bug, not a new idea.

• [x] This is objectively a bug, and not something that people commonly disagree on.

• [x] This issue occurs on the latest Team Comtress release, or the master branch.

• [x] This issue occurs on the latest vanilla TF2 update.

• [x] This bug is in the code of the game, not in the textures, sounds, or other resources.

• [ ] This issue is listed on the Source 1 official bugtracker.

• [x] This issue occurs with DirectX level 100.

• [ ] This issue occurs when using no custom content.

• [x] This issue occurs when using start_tf2.bat (or start_server.bat) with no custom launch options.

• [x] This issue occurs when using a listen server (using the map command ingame).

• [x] This issue occurs when using a dedicated server.

• [ ] This bug is in the internal procedures or tooling (e.g. the build process).

Setup Details

Client Settings

• Server or client: This particular exploit concerns both servers and clients
• Operating system: Hacked clients on all systems are able to replicate
• Team Comtress version: 0.1.0
• Custom content: Memory editing at runtime

[0cyn]

Due to the unpatched nature of the exploit I’ll avoid documenting much of it here. Can be reached on the discord.

Might be worth limiting the issue to contributors due to past arguments.

[micwoj92]

Could you tell me how to replicate this? I need testing.