Nintendo Closes Mario Kart 8 And Splatoon Multiplayer On Wii U To Address Security Issues

A major security breach is forcing Nintendo to shut down Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon multiplayer on Wii U. Once again, ENLBufferPwn is the culprit.

Nintendo has disabled the Wii U games Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon indefinitely until security issues are resolved. “This online service is temporarily unavailable due to maintenance required to address a vulnerability in online gaming,”reads a recent announcement on the Nintendo website. “We do not yet have information on when online services will be restored. We apologize for the inconvenience caused.”

Serious security breach forces Nintendo to shut down Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon multiplayer on Wii U

As VGC points out, the vulnerability in question may be due to a flaw that allows an attacker to gain control over the system of his victim, simply by choosing him as an opponent in an online multiplayer game. Dataminer OatmealDome suggested that this issue is “almost certainly”related to ENLBufferPwn.

Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS was already vulnerable to this vulnerability. Apparently, so are several Switch games, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo Switch Sports, and Splatoon 2 and 3. Nintendo has already patched all of these games against this flaw.

A video posted by YouTuber PabloMK7 last December shows ENLBufferPwn in action in Mario Kart 7. This is used to inject custom firmware onto the target console. PabloMK7 wrote on GitHub that it is “theoretically possible”to steal account or credit card information and record the microphone and camera of the 3DS.

The culprit will again be ENLBufferPwn.

Mario Kart 8, with nearly 8.5 million copies sold, has become the best-selling game on the Wii U. Meanwhile, the original Splatoon has sold nearly 5 million copies. Those still playing these games on this more serviced console will likely be disappointed to see the online feature not available, but it looks like Nintendo had no choice but to go down that route.

The problem arose just a few weeks before Nintendo closed the Wii U and 3DS online store. After March 27, owners of these consoles were unable to make in-store purchases, but were still able to download games they had already purchased. Meanwhile, Nintendo just revealed that the latest tracks will be coming to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch next week as part of the fourth DLC wave.