Build 42.20.0 Stable is now live, and the headline is security. Indie Stone has patched a vulnerability affecting both Build 41 and Build 42.19, disclosed responsibly by Jorge Escabias before exploitation could occur. The patch is small enough that most players will barely notice the installation, but the security fix applies retroactively to legacy players. Anyone still on Build 41 will receive it automatically. This matters because it closes a gap that could have allowed bad actors to compromise multiplayer servers or client integrity. It's the kind of invisible work that doesn't sell patch notes but keeps the game safe.
The visible meat of 42.20.0 is the map glowup. The mapping team has substantially overhauled multiple areas across the world, adding new tiles, buildings, and locations whilst implementing performance optimizations around them. Room definitions and containers have been adjusted across a wide range of locations, which means loot distribution and navigation have changed in places you thought you knew. Extra Large tree types (XL and XXL) have been added to worldgen biomes, and cutting them down now yields more wood. A direct buff to early-game resource gathering for players who prioritise carpentry or base building. The overhang on XL trees can be hidden with right-click whilst driving or scouting, a small quality-of-life addition that prevents visual clutter during navigation. For players returning to familiar maps, this patch will feel like exploring a reshaped world.
Challenge Mode has been revamped. Two new modes, "28 Minutes Later" and "Top of the World", replace "Cabin in the Woods" in rotation, and spawn coordinates for "Winter is Coming" and "A Really CDDA" have been adjusted. Critically, respawning has been removed from "A Really CDDA" entirely, making it a genuine ironman run. The menu UI has been updated with new videos and descriptions. This restructuring signals that Indie Stone is rotating the challenge lineup rather than retiring it, so players hunting for specific difficulty curves will need to adapt to the new offerings.
Multiplayer has received extensive attention. Anti-cheat has been reworked and re-enabled after being disabled, with NoClip and PacketException still in progress. Seven separate exploits have been patched, including item spawning via animal attachments, arbitrary item spawning through modData, XP manipulation, and foraging exploitation. Network performance during vehicle collisions with zombies has improved, and stackable item transfers have been reworked to reduce the time required for large transfers. Zombie culling, which was triggering incorrectly and causing severe population drops, has been fixed. Controller support has been expanded across the board, with fixes to trading interfaces, campfire interactions, fishing, and crop interaction. The changelog lists 47 fixes in total, suggesting 42.20.0 is primarily a stability and exploit-closure patch rather than a feature release.
One absence stands out: mod compatibility warnings. Indie Stone notes there is a small chance the security patch may affect mods and asks authors to report issues in the mod_portal Discord channel. No specific mods are flagged as broken, and no compatibility layer has been added. This is a wait-and-see situation. For modded servers, the first hours after update will be critical for identifying breakage. The patch also temporarily disables main menu SFX and adds an epilepsy warning screen on startup, removing the previous "Unstable" warning from the menu. Build 42 is now the stable branch, and the housekeeping reflects that shift.
Full Patch Notes
▲ Buff▼ Nerf✓ Fix◆ TweakAs part of our preparations for the release of Build 42 Stable, we've also released a small security patch for Builds 41 and 42.19.
We'd like to thank Jorge Escabias for responsibly disclosing this vulnerability and bringing it to our attention before it could be exploited. We greatly appreciate the time and effort involved in reporting issues like this, which helps us keep the game secure for everyone.
There is a small chance this change may affect some mods. If you encounter any compatibility issues after the update, we would ask that mod authors please report them in the mod_portal channel on our Discord so we can investigate.
Right-click PZ in your Steam library.
Select "Properties".
Under "Game Version & Betas" select "legacy41".
The patch notes below cover the changes between 42.19 and 42.20. For an overview of the features and additions introduced between Build 41 and Build 42, check out our feature list here. Please note that Build 42 has seen an enormous number of changes throughout development, so this should be considered a highlights overview rather than a complete list.
- Map Glowup:
- Many area across the map have received a substantial overhaul from the mapping team
- Added a plethora of new tiles, buildings, and locations for these areas and elsewhere
- Implemented performance optimizations surrounding these new areas and features
- Various new room definitions and containers have been added and adjusted across a wide range of locations
Added "Extra Large" Tree Types:
- XL and XXL trees and updated worldgen biomes to include them
- "Wood" loot generated by cutting down trees increased for Extra Large trees
- XL tree overhang can be hidden using right-click when driving or scouting ahead
Challenge Mode Revamp:
- Two New Challenge Modes replace "Cabin in the Woods" in rotation: "28 Minutes Later" and "Top of the World"
- Adjusted spawn coordinates for "Winter is Coming" and "A Really CDDA" challenge modes
- Removed the ability to respawn in "A Really CDDA" challenge
- Challenge Modes menu UI videos and descriptions updated
Updated the Main Menu artwork
- Main menu SFX is temporarily disabled
Added epilepsy warning screen on startup
Removed Unstable warning message from the main menu
Added filter search boxes to the Discovered Recipes and Media UI.
- The UI now also sorts alphabetically with discovered recipes on top
- Increased the amount of meat cuts gained from large animals when using the butcher hook
- Rebalanced vehicle speed/towing to improve towing experience; trailers can now detach when turning sharpness/speed is too high
- Increased the max limit for "Zombie count before deletion" Sandbox option from 500 to 5000
- Adjusted WouldInfectionFactor from 1.0 to 2.0 in Extinction mode
- Minor adjustments to the sand biome adjusting sand/dirt/clay balance
- Changed gamepad preset default to "Original" which sets running/sprinting bound to buttons
- Added gamepad focus and button rendering support for PrintMedia
- Moved gamepadBinding.lua from /shared to /client to prevent client-side bindings from being overridden on server join
- Added controller support in the trading interface
- Improved campfire interaction reliability when using a controller
- Fixed errors occurring when accessing the vehicle seat menu with controller
- Fixed an issue that could cause random brandishing or interruptions while standing or running with controller
- Fixed a red checkerboard momentarily displaying when swapping between controller types in the config UI
- Fixed the cursor not disabling after casting a fishing rod while using a controller
- Fixed respawning during a challenge on controller giving a stack error
- Fixed a lua crash that could occur when reading a brochure a second time
- Fixed OpenMap button not closing brochures
- Fixed an issue where controller input could cause the Multiplayer server list screen to lose focus and allow unintended menu navigation
- Fixed being unable to interact with crops on controller
- Re-Worked and Re-Enabled anti-cheats
- "antiCheatItem" removed as now server-side
- NoClip and PacketException currently WIP
Improved anti-cheat logging
Added ServerOption "Show coordinates" to show/hide coordinates line on all connected clients
Added ping values for each player in the Players and Users List tabs
Improved load times between pressing "Click to Start" and the player spawning into the world
Improved network performance during vehicle collisions with zombies
Reworked transferring stackable items
- This should significantly reduce the time required to transfer large stacks of items
Added separate trading interfaces for each splitscreen player.
Added a list of all tradable items to the trading interface.
Fixed zombie culling triggering incorrectly, causing severe drops in zombie populations
Fixed an issue where special characters in server names could cause errors or prevent proper server file creation.
Fixed an exploit that allowed item spawning via animal attachment commands.
Fixed an exploit that could allow users to spawn arbitrary items in the world.
Fixed an exploit that allowed arbitrary item spawning via modData
Fixed an exploit that allowed users to gain XP illegitimately
Fixed an exploit that allowed users to manipulate items spawned while foraging
Fixed a map exploit that allowed copying dedicated server map data
Fixed some anti-cheat false positives
Fixed the no-Steam game client not obtaining the public server list if it was unreachable on launch
Fixed zombies desyncing when not visible
Fixed remote zombies appearing out of sync due to incorrect animation timing
Fixed an issue where remote players would immediately appear to land while falling.
Fixed server option HidePlayersBehindYou not correctly applying when disabled
Fixed XP boost provided by skill books not being calculated properly in some cases
Fixed timed actions not queuing properly when installing/uninstalling vehicle parts if tools are in the backpack
Fixed a client-side issue causing knocked down players to appear rotated 180 degrees
Fixed "Day/Night Zombie Speed Effect" only affecting zombies in your immediate area
Fixed wet towels not drying
Fixed Whiskey+Water mixed containers sometimes losing water after teleporting and dropping them
Fixed the owner transfer confirmation button tooltip text being incorrect when attempting to transfer ownership to a non-faction member
Fixed the "Create Faction" button tooltip text being incorrect if factions are disabled in server options
Fixed the crafting queue not stopping if required tools break
Fixed antique stoves not affecting core temperature
Fixed an issue where dumbbells could become unusable after interrupting the bicep curls exercise.
Fixed an issue where crafting multiple Molotov cocktails in quick succession could consume items incorrectly.
Fixed an issue where local chat was not displayed over characters, radios, or walkie talkies.
Fixed garage doors opening and then immediately closing on the first interaction
Fixed hand craft actions not working
Fixed building animations playing for the wrong player in split-screen co-op
Fixed placing furniture failing for distant locations when the movables cheat is enabled
Fixed an issue where remote players moving while crouched could appear frozen in place.
Fixed map chunks failing to load while the player is driving a vehicle
Fixed an issue where trading could remove items from the wrong player.
Fixed trading interface layout issues when using different font sizes.
Fixed issues with object selection when right-clicking on objects in splitscreen
Fixed characters with "All Thumbs" perk being unable to transfer some items from one container to another
Fixed the player's map visited data not saving after a server restart
Fixed an issue where remote players could appear to vault or jump over low fences when simply walking near corners
Fixed an issue that could cause servers to hang during chunk generation
Fixed the vehicle's trunk taking damage when driving over zombie crawlers
Fixed an issue where remote players could appear frozen while dragging corpses, despite continuing to move normally.
Fixed an issue where corpses could appear to be dropped unexpectedly while being dragged by remote players outside of the vision cone
Fixed being unable to bury corpses or drop them into a container while dragging
Fixed players occasionally becoming stuck in Hit Reaction state during PvP interactions.
Fixed a client side exception that could occur when the client fails to create a zombie
Fixed the shoot animation not playing for remote characters when a gun has no bullets
Fixed instances where players could detect the presence of an invisible player (admin) nearby
Fixed hidden shared map symbols reappearing after relogin
Fixed dyed clothes not changing colour for remote players
Fixed being able to overwrite CombatSpeed mid-game
Fixed bomb throwing animation not playing for remote players
Fixed warnings being spammed in console when the player shoots zombies with a shotgun
Fixed a client side exception when the remote player on another chunk renames a container
Fixed an issue where corpses could incorrectly remain visible after being moved into containers.
Fixed the same building showing different loot for different players
Fixed another case of animal skeletons reappearing in the player's inventory after relogin
Fixed killed zombies duplicating after relogin
Fixed notes left by players not being saved correctly
Fixed being unable to perform a medical check in split-screen
Fixed remote players' flashlight appearing to remain active after the battery is empty/removed
Fixed "Enable melee PVP in Factions" also enabling firearm PVP damage
Fixed dice roll and card pick results not showing for other players
Fixed players not gaining Tracking XP when sneaking near wild animals
Fixed not being able to properly disassemble double door gates or garage doors
Fixed dropping a corpse midway through the grab corpse animation on controller freezing the player
Fixed multiple stack errors occurring when connecting a split screen player 2 to a MP session
Fixed an error that would occur when queuing two of the same protective gear
Fixed a server-side exception that could occur during dedicated server startup
Fixed a server-side exception that could occur when synchronizing custom light settings
Fixed a case of animals duplicating when picked up
Fixed being unable to pick up fallen zombie hats/glasses
Fixed being unable to pick up items dropped using Disassemble
Fixed chickens in a hutch disappearing after relog
Fixed chickens sometimes disappearing after being placed inside a hutch
Fixed footwear condition not appropriately syncing with the server
Fixed throwing a corpse onto basement stairs resulting in the body having an incorrect Z coordinate and not being interactable
Fixed player names overlapping when multiple players enter a vehicle
Fixed all players lagging/stuttering when a player builds or interacts with gates
Fixed rare issue where interacting with drying racks could cause world objects to disappear
Fixed the "Dry self" action not consuming all of a towel's remaining value
Fixed world and inventory items disappearing in SP saves after a player gets kicked in MP
Fixed a client-side exception that could occur when players were close together
Fixed incorrect message being displayed when attempting to claim a safehouse from a distance
Fixed an issue where certain cells within a chunk would not load for some clients
Fixed player clothing not receiving damage when jogging through hedges/bushes/trees
Fixed a performance issue related to puddle geometry
Fixed removing mineral deposits not allowing items to be picked up
Fixed holsters unequipping weapons and changing positions on the hotbar after relogging
Fixed scratch ticket results not displaying until after moved from the inventory
Fixed an issue where remote players could incorrectly appear to hop over low fences
Fixed zombified players undressing after death
Fixed "Reclaim Sling Bag" not working when the item is on the floor
Fixed occasional graphical issues with the crafting animation for remote players
Fixed water containers not updating correctly after watering plants
Fixed a graphical issue where traits would duplicate momentarily in the Character Info panel after reading a book
Fixed being able to fire weapons without ammo when the player has a high ping
Fixed animals on a rope being unable to pass an open fence gate
Fixed an issue where a player could become corrupted after attempting to pick up an animal that is playing the death animation
- Fix to Modding API to restore functionality that was lost following security patch in 42.14
- Additional Modding API documentation is planned in the future
Fixed a rare crash that would occur for users with certain AMD GPUs
Fixed a crash on the MacOS build
Fixed desktop icons on Linux/MacBook not appearing properly
Fixed being unable to get up quickly while holding a weapon
Fixed the loot transfer window closing when exiting the pause menu
Fixed items not auto-transferring when attempting to enter a vehicle seat containing more than 5.0 encumbrance
Fixed lights not properly consuming generator power
Fixed hypothermia applying damage incorrectly and killing players too fast
Fixed Animal Info panel not opening and throwing errors
Fixed cases where point-blank shots could miss due to muzzle position being inside the target
Fixed 2 tile wide/long zones appearing as a blue line on the ground
Fixed high cupboards not becoming transparent when they block view of the player
Fixed animal stress instantly jumping to 100 when in range of an active car engine
Fixed ISDesignationZonePanel not displaying the full size of a multi-part zone
Fixed Mechanics UI showing duplicate install options for vehicle parts in backpacks
Fixed zombies freezing/walking away when being thrown over objects
Fixed an issue where crafting tooltips would show each item individually when packing stacks like ammo or nails.
Fixed placeholder text being displayed when viewing the Animal Info page of some animals
Fixed the racking bolt action rifle animation being out of sync with the sound
Fixed overlapping text occurring in the context menu for some font sizes
Fixed some incorrect tooltip text formatting for barbecues
Fixed "Drop Corpse Into" function ignoring Organized/Disorganized traits
Fixed an issue where Inventory and Loot panels had to be manually opened after loading a save or starting a new game.
Fixed sensor bombs ignoring timers and immediately exploding after placement
Fixed an error that would occur when checking fuel in camp fires
Fixed floating artifacts in crafted denim shirt models
Fixed another case of zombies phasing through short fences/windows/railings if stunned during climbing animation
Fixed players incorrectly being able to throw corpses from a distance when right-clicking a window
Fixed screwdriver appearing twice in the Mechanics UI when uninstalling parts
Fixed dyed clothes not updating colour when placing them on the ground
Fixed an error that would sometimes occur when double clicking possible ingredients in the crafting menu
Fixed crafting progress bar not showing for bulk crafts after the first has completed
Fixed world generation not correctly applying all intended simplex noise layers
Fixed multi-tile feeding troughs becoming unusable after being picked up and placed
Fixed an issue where incorrect surface heights on tiles caused placed items to clip
Fixed an issue causing zombies to deal excessive thump damage
Fixed an issue where being too close to vehicles allowed bullets to incorrectly pass through them
Fixed incorrect context menu text being displayed for Base.Shoulderpads_Football
Fixed an issue where zones could be incorrectly removed when using multiple map mods
Fixed vehicle engine power being incorrectly set to the maximum script value instead of its calculated value
Fixed vehicles with active alarms, engines, or sirens not updating correctly outside loaded areas
- When a vehicle is updating outside the loaded area of the map, the object is a VirtualVehicle, not a BaseVehicle
Fixed attached sprites on translucent cutaway walls drawing on top of foreground objects
Fixed the player briefly becoming highlighted when mousing over the inventory button
Fixed some words/phrases not being translatable
- Note that this is a WIP. Some words/phrases may still be non-translatable
Fixed food names not updating to the decayed versions when placed in the world
Fixed Crafting and Building UI Favourites tab not displaying or filtering correctly
Fixed an issue where players could incorrectly grab corpses from trunks from in vehicles
Fixed being unable to start the drying process if the drying rack is installed on a player built floor
Fixed some cases of multi-tile boulders not spawning all of their tiles correctly
- Other edge cases are still being addressed
Fixed brick walls, door, and window frames that couldn't be plastered
Fixed depth map issues for a wide variety of tiles
Fixed various tile property issues such as vaulting through unopenable windows
Fixed some elements of the UI disappearing when searching within workstations
- If an invalid search string is entered "No Recipes Available" will display instead of empty ingredient inputs
Fixed the world object context menu appearing and allowing interactions while map is open
Fixed being able to butcher already butchered animals after placing it in a Livestock Trailer
- Added new SFX for metal saw crafting animation
- Added new SFX for FixWeapon, Welding, and Packing/Unpacking animations
- Added new SFX for Add/Remove bottles from water dispensers
- Fixed coughing after smoking not triggering SFX
- Fixed VOIP audio cutting out under heavy SFX load
- Fixed container corner pieces not having appropriate SFX
- Fixed repeated FMOD errors caused by 192 kHz audio devices
- Fixed some zombie bodyfalls not registering the correct surface and playing incorrect SFX
- Fixed occlusion parameter not working as expected on Remote Events for multiplayer
- Fixed incorrect SFX playing when vaulting over metal/glass fences
- Fixed Apply Alcohol to Bandages and Rags SFX not properly syncing to the animation
- Fixed the incorrect SFX being played when shooting another player during PVP
- Build 42 now correctly applies its default option settings when migrating from Build 41
- Re-added compatibility launch mode
- Removed extra debug info added for unstable
- Improved ZNet logging consistency and configuration for servers
- Improved reliability of packet logging for servers
- Added object pool statistics for improved monitoring and diagnostics for servers
- Fixed "SERVER STARTED" log message not printing properly
- Removed 225% default zoom option for Steam Deck
- Fixed certain exceptions not being reported when running Lua code
- Included XML files in the CheckSum verification
As always, discussions regarding this update can be found pinned to the Project Zomboid Discussions Forums here.
