Microsoft patched a record number of security bugs across its product line on Tuesday. This is primarily due to the use of AI to help the company and external researchers find bugs.
Among the vulnerabilities fixed was one in the remastered version of the 25-year-old classic war strategy video game “Age of Empires II.” Security researchers say the flaw allowed hackers to take over victims' computers by sending invitations to custom malicious games.
A video posted on X shows how this flaw can be exploited by hackers.
Yesterday's Patch Tuesday's Age of Empires RCE is: CVE-2026-50663.
Joining the attacker's lobby and (automatically) accepting the UCG will lead to remote code execution. pic.twitter.com/QmMkY07C8S
— Rick de Jager (@rdjgr) July 15, 2026
According to cybersecurity firm Rapid7, a successful attack would allow the hacker to place malicious files on the victim's computer, increasing the likelihood that the hacker would be able to execute malicious code on the victim's machine.
This effectively means that the hacker may have taken control of the hacked computer.
There is no evidence that this bug was actually exploited by hackers. But targeting video gamers, for example, can be an effective way to install malware on numerous victims' computers and steal their passwords.