Attackers manipulate Xbox's automatic banning system through Minecraft, could get your account suspended

Back in August’23, there were reports of a tool letting attackers fool Microsoft into banning any Xbox account. At that point, Microsoft had categorically denied the possibility. Now, as it turns out, similar reports are emerging, but this time, linked to Minecraft.

Experts claim that there is reportedly a bug in Minecraft which lets attackers use a dedicated tool to get accounts suspended. All they have to do is input the user’s Gamertag to automatically send out slurs and then have the tool mass report the account to Microsoft.

On receiving so many reports, Xbox’s automatic banning system comes into action and suspends the account.

Nike (GhillieYT) was reportedly one of the first popular users to get banned in the latest series of attacks. His account had a total of 21 strikes, all through the manipulation by an attacker.

The good news is that Nick’s Xbox ban has been lifted after 3 days. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he confirmed the same and shared a YouTube video.

But Nick’s wasn’t the only instance of an erroneous account ban. Several others had to face the same problem, all due to exploits present in Xbox and Minecraft.

Nick’s issue was reported to Sarah Bonds, President of Xbox, in a reply to one of her posts on X.

Maybe it had something to do with the suspension being revoked, or maybe not. The point is, it shouldn’t come down to this. If an exploit exists, Microsoft should acknowledge the issue and work on a fix. Players shouldn’t be forced to reach out to the support team over false strikes.

An improved and user-oriented content moderation system is the need of the hour. Microsoft could maybe rely on artificial intelligence to verify the report before initiating action. As we learned today, bombardment of reports can’t be a good enough reason to suspend an account!

If you want to find out how attackers exploit the existing vulnerabilities in Minecraft on Xbox, check the YouTube video by Gtamen, a YouTuber & Twitch Streamer. He explains the entire process in detail!

While the Xbox account ban through Minecraft exploit can cause problems, some can also prove beneficial. For instance, you can hack Xbox and run old games, all using a memory card!

What’s your take on the latest vulnerability being exploited by attackers? Share with our readers in the comments section.