Summary

  • A security researcher has detailed a simple flaw in Google Drive that enabled them to access other users’ private files and earn a $3,133.70 bounty in the process.
  • The issue, reported to Google in 2019, was an input-validation error that allowed them to change the ID of a targeted file in a request and gain access to it, even if it was private.
  • After reporting the flaw, the researcher noted that the initial response took a day, with Google triaging and escalating the report, and then another two days to confirm the vulnerability via its “Nice Catch!” message.
  • The researcher said they were subsequently inducted into the search giant’s Hall of Fame, and were surprised three weeks later to receive the sizable bounty payment.

Original Article