A German gamer recently purchased a used AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D processor on the Kleinanzeigen platform. Upon installation, the user discovered they were banned from the game Valorant. Riot Games support confirmed that the CPU serial number was blacklisted by the Vanguard anti-cheat system on August 12 due to the previous owner's use of cheats.
The Vanguard system does not limit its ban to the processor alone. Reports indicate that the motherboard and hard drive associated with the CPU were also blacklisted. Riot Games stated that it is impossible to manually lift these hardware-level restrictions. The system operates at the kernel level and checks hardware configurations upon startup.
Because the ban targets physical components rather than user accounts, standard troubleshooting methods like reinstalling the OS or creating new accounts are ineffective. Currently, there is no public database or channel for buyers to verify if a used component has been flagged by Vanguard. The ban is likely linked to the CPU's integrated TPM 2.0 module.
To regain access to Riot titles, the affected user must replace the blacklisted hardware, including the CPU, motherboard, and hard drive. This effectively requires building an entirely new computer. This case highlights the risks associated with the secondary hardware market, where components may carry hidden penalties that are undetectable through standard checks.
