What are DMA cheats?

How a DMA cheat works

DMA stands for direct memory access. Microsoft describes DMA-capable devices as hardware that can access system memory without the processor, which is what makes PCIe devices fast. A DMA cheat uses that path to read a game from the outside, in three parts.

1. 1A card goes into the gaming PCThe DMA card is installed in the gaming PC, typically in an M.2 slot or a PCIe slot. To Windows it looks like another PCIe device.
2. 2The card reads memory over PCIeThe card reads the game's memory directly. The open-source research tool PCILeech describes the same technique: it uses PCIe hardware to read and write target system memory.
3. 3A second computer runs the cheatThe cheat itself runs on a separate computer, linked to the card over USB or a network, as this technical write-up from May 2026 explains. That second PC turns the memory data into ESP or aim features.

Nothing runs inside the game process on the gaming PC. That is the whole idea behind DMA, and it is also why anti-cheats now look at the hardware itself instead of only at software.

What is a DMA card?

A DMA card is a PCIe device that reads system memory without going through the CPU. Riot Games defines DMA cards as hardware that plugs into your PC and touches memory directly, "bypassing the CPU and Windows" (Riot Games, 18 December 2025).

DMA itself is normal: graphics cards and storage controllers use it every second. Windows guards it with the IOMMU, a hardware unit that blocks external peripherals from reading memory unless their drivers support memory isolation, a feature Microsoft calls Kernel DMA Protection. A cheat card is simply a PCIe device built to read a game instead of moving data for the system.

DMA vs software cheats (external and internal)

Software cheats come in two kinds: external ones run as their own program next to the game, internal ones load into the game process. The full comparison is on external vs. internal cheats. The table puts DMA next to both. Short definitions of DMA, ESP and the other terms are in the cheat glossary.

Can anti-cheats detect DMA?

The big anti-cheats say yes, and they have said so on the record. These are their own statements, with dates:

Riot Vanguard (18 December 2025): Riot says it relies on the IOMMU to stop DMA cards, and that Vanguard will enforce stricter boot-security checks for certain players. Affected PCs get a VAN:Restriction until the protection is on or the motherboard firmware is updated. Riot's support page Enable IOMMU (updated 24 June 2026) adds that Vanguard checks IOMMU is enabled in the BIOS.

Riot Vanguard (May 2026): Notebookcheck reported on 25 May 2026 that a Vanguard update used the IOMMU against DMA cards, and quoted Riot's post: "Congrats to the owners of a brand-new $6k paperweight."

FACEIT (27 February 2025): in its patch notes, as reported by dust2.us, FACEIT called undetectable DMA a misconception and said it is only a matter of time before DMA users get caught.

EA Javelin (28 November 2025): EA writes in its Battlefield 6 anticheat update that using known cheating hardware is no exception to its cheating ban.

None of them publish how their detection works, so nobody outside can measure it. What the statements do show: DMA hardware is a named target, not a blind spot.

Will I get banned?

You can be banned. No cheat is free of risk, whether it is a DMA card, an external cheat or an internal one. A game ban can also be tied to your hardware: read how to tell if you are HWID banned and what an HWID spoofer does before you play on a flagged PC.

Our alternative

We sell software, not DMA hardware: no cards, no second PC. Our cheats and HWID spoofers run on the PC you play on, and each one is listed in the shop with its own requirements. Check the status page for the current state of every product before you buy.

Start with your game: our Rust cheats and Fortnite cheats pages list what each product does and how it runs.

What is a DMA card used for?

In cheating, a DMA card reads a game's memory and hands the data to a second computer that runs ESP or aim features. Outside of games, the same technique is used for memory research: PCILeech, for example, reads and writes target system memory over PCIe. Ordinary PCIe devices such as graphics cards use DMA for normal work.

Are DMA cheats undetectable?

No. Riot relies on the IOMMU to stop DMA cards and restricts PCs where that protection is off (December 2025), FACEIT said in February 2025 that DMA users get caught, and EA prohibits known cheating hardware (November 2025). Running the cheat on a second PC does not put the card itself out of reach.

Do you sell DMA cards?

No. 420 Services does not sell DMA cards, DMA firmware or any other cheat hardware. We sell software cheats and HWID spoofers for the PC you play on.

Do I need a second PC for a DMA cheat?

Yes. The card sits in the gaming PC, but the cheat runs on a separate computer connected over USB or a network. A software cheat needs no second PC: it runs on the same machine as the game.

What does IOMMU have to do with DMA cheats?

The IOMMU decides which devices may read which parts of memory. With it enabled, Windows can block a PCIe device from reading memory it was not assigned. That is why Riot asks players to enable IOMMU in the BIOS before Vanguard lets them play.

Sources

All sources retrieved on 14 November 2026.

Riot Games, Vanguard security update, published 18 December 2025.

Riot Games Support, Enable IOMMU, updated 24 June 2026.

Microsoft Learn, Kernel DMA Protection, dated 15 August 2025.

ufrisk, PCILeech on GitHub, project README.

kernullist, About PCIe DMA Cheats, published 21 May 2026.

dust2.us, FACEIT claims to be able to detect DMA cheats, published 28 February 2025.

Electronic Arts, Battlefield 6 anticheat update, Season 1, published 28 November 2025.

Notebookcheck, Valorant's latest Vanguard update renders cheat PCIe cards useless, published 25 May 2026.

Related answers

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• How do I know if a cheat is detected?
• What is the difference between external and internal cheats?
• What does stream proof mean for a cheat?
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• How do I spoof in FiveM?
• Is 420 Services legit?
• How do I set up Eulen for FiveM?
• Can you get aimbot on PS5 or Xbox?

Last updated 14 November 2026