CVE-2020-8895
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedUntrusted Search Path vulnerability in the windows installer of Google Earth Pro versions prior to 7.3.3 allows an attacker to insert malicious local files to execute unauthenticated remote code on the targeted system.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceGoogle Earth Pro Windows installer versions prior to 7.3.3 contains an untrusted search path vulnerability where the application loads DLLs or other files from locations potentially controlled by an attacker (likely the current working directory). This allows remote code execution by placing malicious files in the same directory as the installer or in a path the installer searches before the legitimate location.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 7.3.3CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate Google Earth Pro installationCheck the Windows registry for the installation path at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Google\Google Earth Pro (or WOW6432Node\Google\Google Earth Pro for 32-bit on 64-bit), and also look for GoogleEarth.exe in typical install directories like C:\Program Files\Google\Google Earth Pro\Affected if Google Earth Pro is found installed on the system
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Retrieve installed version numberRight-click on GoogleEarth.exe in the installation directory, select Properties, and view the File Version information on the Details tab. Alternatively, query the registry value at the above key for a version entry.Affected if The version shown is less than 7.3.3 (for example, 7.3.2.x, 7.2.x, or earlier)
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Verify installer version if availableIf you have the original installer file (GoogleEarthProSetup.exe or similar), right-click the file, select Properties, and check the File Version on the Details tab.Affected if The installer file version is prior to 7.3.3
The system is affected if Google Earth Pro (either installed application or installer file) has a version number lower than 7.3.3, as the untrusted search path vulnerability exists in versions prior to that release.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data7.3.3
Upgrade Google Earth Pro to version 7.3.3 or later. Avoid running the installer from untrusted or shared network locations, and ensure the installation directory is owned by administrators and not writable by standard users.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8895 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-8895 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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