Enable Exploit Protection to fix the VAN 9002 error in VALORANT.
Riot Games takes in-game cheating and exploits very seriously. The company prides itself in providing a fair and competitive playing ground for all its games, including VALORANT.
The good news is that, with some help from their in-house Anti-cheat software, Riot Games can effectively monitor and prevent unauthorized communication between VALORANT and third-party software anytime your PC is on or your Riot game is running.
Whenever VALORANT or Vanguard detects unusual behavior in a PC, players will be greeted with a random fault code that will prevent players from entering the game. The VAN 9002 error is one of those codes. Fortunately, you can easily fix this error code by enabling Exploit Protection on your Windows PC.
What is Exploit Protection?
Exploit Protection is a Windows feature that helps detect and protect your Windows device from malware. Generally, you want this feature to protect your PC and other devices communicating with your Windows PC. The feature does not interfere with most of your day-to-day apps as well and works quietly in the background, so there is no downside to using Exploit Protection on Windows.
With that said, some apps, such as Riot Vanguard, rely on Exploit Protection, namely, CFG or Control Flow Guard, to function properly. If Control Flow Guard is disabled, Riot Vanguard will spew an error telling the user to enable CFG so the program can work properly.
You cannot launch and play VALORANT properly without a fully functioning Riot Vanguard.
Enable Exploit Protection in VALORANT
Riot Games uses Exploit Protection’s malware mitigation with its Riot Vanguard software to curb malicious behavior effectively. Riot Vanguard needs CFG or Control Flow Guard to be enabled in the Exploit Protection Settings in Windows to work properly. Here is how you can configure these settings.
- Click on Windows Search and type in “Exploit Protection.”
2. In the Exploit Protection Window, make sure all the options under “System Settings” are set to “Use Default (On).”
3. Click on the “Program Settings” tab and look for any VALORANT-related apps. If you find any, click on the listing and “Remove.”
4. Restart your PC to apply these settings.
Final Thoughts
The steps above typically solve the VAN (9002) error in VALORANT. Ensure you set all the options in the Exploit Protection menu to On and remove all Riot Games-related apps in the Program settings tab so Riot Vanguard can use CFG.
Dealing with small quirks with Riot Vanguard might seem like a hassle if you are just looking to play VALORANT, but you will be thankful Riot Games’ anti-cheat software even exists in the first place. With Riot Vanguard, Riot Games can ensure you get the best online competitive experience free of hackers and other exploits that could ruin the game for you and other players.
