VRChat.exe blocked by Windows Smart App Control (Code Integrity Event ID 3077)
tracked
トキ toki
- Enable Windows Smart App Control.
- Install VRChat through Steam.
- Launch VRChat from the Steam Library.
- Easy Anti-Cheat starts the launch process.
- Windows Code Integrity blocks VRChat.exewith Event ID 3077.
- VRChat fails to launch and displays the error: "The game executable path is invalid."
The issue persists after verifying the integrity of game files, deleting the
Cache-WindowsPlayer
folder, and restarting the PC.Log In
StormRel
updated the status to
tracked
StormRel
Merged in a post:
Windows Smart App Control Blocking VRChat.exe
LoliKami
It happened 10/22/26 on BETA Branch and today 11/02/26 on Stable Branch. Smart App Control blocked the VRChat.exe and I was not able to get on until I turned Windows Smart App Control off.
暇人な非魔人
Hello VRChat Team,
I am experiencing the same issue described in this report.
My system information:
- OS: Windows 11 Home, Version 25H2
- OS Build: 26200.9974
- Platform: PC (Steam)
- Smart App Control: ON
Problem:
When I try to launch VRChat through Steam, I receive an error saying:
"Invalid game executable path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\VRChat\VRChat.exe"
Windows Smart App Control also blocks VRChat.exe, stating that the publisher could not be verified.
Troubleshooting already attempted:
- Verified the integrity of VRChat game files through Steam.
- Confirmed that VRChat.exe exists in the installation folder.
- Tried launching VRChat.exe directly, but Windows blocked it.
- Deleted the Cache-WindowsPlayer folder.
- Restarted my PC.
- Installed all available Windows updates.
Unfortunately, the issue still persists.
I would prefer to keep Windows Smart App Control enabled while playing VRChat.
Could you please investigate this issue and provide a safe solution?
Thank you for your help!
༒ŴÍŁŁØŴ༒
I have the same issue
長ネコ！
I am experiencing the same issue on the stable version of VRChat.
System information:
OS: Windows 11, Version 25H2
Platform: PC (Steam)
Smart App Control: ON
VRChat branch: Stable
Problem:
When I launch VRChat through Steam, Easy Anti-Cheat starts, but VRChat.exe is blocked by Windows Code Integrity. The game does not launch.
Steam's "Verify integrity of game files" completed successfully, but the issue persists.
Windows Event Viewer findings:
I found matching Code Integrity events (3033, 3077, and 3089) with the same Correlation ActivityID.
PolicyName: VerifiedAndReputableDesktop
Status: 0xc0e90002
RequestedSigningLevel: 2
ValidatedSigningLevel: 1
TotalSignatureCount: 0
PublisherName: Unknown
I also checked VRChat.exe using PowerShell's Get-AuthenticodeSignature command, which returned:
Status: NotSigned
The SHA256 hash of VRChat.exe is:
82786AF2CD9296FD3CF92E5E359105A1FDAF0BEBEF8840FD6CBC87EB4F5E0C18
Smart App Control is enabled, and I have not disabled it.
Could you investigate whether the current stable build of VRChat is missing a required digital signature or is otherwise incompatible with Windows Smart App Control?
Thank you for your help.
Transparency note: This entire report was written by ChatGPT based on the information I provided to it about my situation.
Update: Additional troubleshooting results
I tried deleting the
Cache-WindowsPlayer
folder and restarting my PC, following another user's suggestion. However, this did not resolve the issue.After restarting, I launched VRChat again, but the same error message appeared.
I checked Windows Event Viewer again and found that Code Integrity was still blocking VRChat.exe (Event ID 3077).
The new event showed the same information as before:
- PolicyName: VerifiedAndReputableDesktop
- Status: 0xc0e90002
- RequestedSigningLevel: 2
- ValidatedSigningLevel: 1
- SHA256 Hash: 82786AF2CD9296FD3CF92E5E359105A1FDAF0BEBEF8840FD6CBC87EB4F5E0C18
The SHA256 hash is exactly the same as the one recorded before deleting the cache.
This suggests that deleting the cache did not change the underlying issue, and Windows Smart App Control is still blocking the same VRChat.exe file.
Smart App Control remains enabled on my PC.
I hope these additional details help with investigating this issue.
Transparency note:
This update was also written by ChatGPT based on the additional troubleshooting results I provided.東雲よだか
Title:
VRChat.exe blocked by Windows Smart App Control – Invalid Game Executable Path
Description:
Hello VRChat team,
I am unable to launch VRChat through Steam on Windows 11.
When I try to launch the game, I receive the following error:
“Invalid game executable path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\VRChat\VRChat.exe”
Windows Smart App Control also blocks VRChat.exe, stating that the publisher could not be verified and that the application may be unsafe.
Troubleshooting already attempted:
* Verified the integrity of VRChat game files through Steam.
* Repaired Easy Anti-Cheat.
* Restarted Steam and attempted to launch VRChat again.
* Confirmed that VRChat.exe exists in the installation folder.
* Confirmed that Smart App Control is enabled.
The issue persists.
I would like to keep Windows Smart App Control enabled while playing VRChat.
Could you please investigate this issue and provide a solution?
Thank you.
Tsukiyoル式
I am experiencing the same issue on the Stable branch of VRChat (Steam, Windows 11).
After updating VRChat on November 10, 2026, Windows Smart App Control prevented VRChat from launching.
The initial error message was:
- Bad Image
- Error code: 0xc0e90002
- Affected file: UnityPlayer.dll
I investigated the Windows Code Integrity logs and found the following:
Event ID 3033 and 3077
- Process: VRChat.exe
- Blocked file: GameAssembly.dll
- Policy name: VerifiedAndReputableDesktop
- Policy ID: {0283ac0f-fff1-49ae-ada1-8a933130cad6}
- Status: 0xc0e90002
Both events have the same Correlation Activity ID:
{30960483-710c-000a-d02a-97300c71dd01}
Event ID 3089
- TotalSignatureCount: 0
- PublisherName: Unknown
- ValidatedSigningLevel: 0
File hashes (GameAssembly.dll)
SHA1:
8C1154DAAC3B918469FE750765981B8DF2656678
SHA256:
439F4C75FB49ECC365FA40DFAEAA66F76C7EBBB6391EEC5472854E505ECF825A
Steam's file integrity verification did not resolve the issue.
Other Unity-based games work normally on my PC.
Could the VRChat team investigate the signing or distribution of these DLLs and their compatibility with Windows Smart App Control?
I would prefer a solution that does not require disabling Windows security features.
I also saw several people on X reporting similar issues.
I don't have much technical knowledge about computers, so I asked ChatGPT to investigate the issue and help me translate the findings into English.
I hope this information is helpful.
Add
Update: I managed to fix the issue!
I found a report from another user suggesting the following steps:
Uninstall and reinstall VRChat.
Delete the Cache-WindowsPlayer folder inside the VRChat folder.
Restart the PC.
I decided to try step 2 first, without uninstalling VRChat.
After deleting only the Cache-WindowsPlayer folder and restarting my PC, VRChat launched successfully, and I was able to join a world.
I did not need to uninstall or reinstall VRChat.
Smart App Control is still enabled on my PC.
I hope this information helps anyone experiencing the same issue!