Hello guys! Today we're gonna try something different from what we usually do: Game Hacking.

In this writeup, we will walk through the Grand Larceny Auto (GLA) room on TryHackMe. We are going to use Cheat Engine to inspect and manipulate the game's runtime memory, bypass in-game wanted level limitations, unlock the safehouse vault, and capture the flag. Let's dive in!

Challenge Overview & Mechanics

After playing the game for a little bit, we can see that the max number of stars we can get is 5, but opening the Safehouse Vault requires 6 stars. Since reaching 6 stars is impossible through standard gameplay, we need to inspect the game's memory using Cheat Engine and modify the wanted stars variable directly in memory.

Attaching Cheat Engine

First, launch the game and open Cheat Engine:

1. Click the Process List
2. Select the game process GrandLarcenyAuto.exe and click Open.
3. Set the scan options:
   • Scan Type: Exact Value
   • Value Type: 1 Byte

Memory Scanning (Finding the Wanted Stars Address)

Our goal is to isolate the dynamic memory address that stores the wanted stars count.

Note: Do not start by scanning for 0 stars; instead, go do something illegal in-game first and search directly for 1 (scanning for 0 stars at the start may erase/miss the dynamic address we are looking for and floods the results with millions of useless addresses).

Step 1: First Scan (1 Star)

Start the game and commit an illegal action such as stealing a car or killing someone to gain 1 star:

• Switch to Cheat Engine.
• Set Value to 1.
• Click First Scan.
• We find around 163 323 addresses currently holding the value 1.

Step 2: Next Scan (5 Stars)

Return to the game and kill more people to reach 5 stars:

• In Cheat Engine, set Value to 5.
• Click Next Scan.
• The number of addresses drops to 4677.

Step 3: Dynamic Filtering (Decreasing Stars back to 1)

To filter out and isolate the real address, let the police catch you decreasing from 5 down to 3, and then back down to 1:

• Each time the stars change in-game, update the Value in Cheat Engine and click Next Scan.
• After scanning for 1 again, you successfully narrow down to the exact address controlling the wanted level:

Address       : 0x21B8E046CD8
Value Type    : 1 Byte 
Current Value : 1

Memory Modification (Setting Stars to 6)

With the target address identified, we can now modify it:

1. Select the address (0x21B8E046CD8) from the scan results list.
2. Click the Red Arrow icon to add it to the bottom address table.

3. Double-click the Value in the table and change it to 6.

[+] Address: 21B8E046CD8 | Type: 1 Byte | Value: 6

Looking back at the game, the 6th star is now active!

Unlocking the Vault & Capturing the Flag

Now that our wanted level is set to 6 stars:

1. Walk over to the Vault.
2. Stand near the vault door and press F to interact.