CVE-2020-8896
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 · uneditedA Buffer Overflow vulnerability in the khcrypt implementation in Google Earth Pro versions up to and including 7.3.2 allows an attacker to perform a Man-in-the-Middle attack using a specially crafted key to read data past the end of the buffer used to hold it. Mitigation: Update to Google Earth Pro 7.3.3.
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 · moderate confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the khcrypt encryption implementation in Google Earth Pro versions up to and including 7.3.2. An attacker performing a man-in-the-middle attack can use a specially crafted key to read data beyond the intended buffer boundary, potentially exposing sensitive information.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Verify Google Earth Pro is installedCheck for the application in the system. On Windows: look for 'Google Earth Pro' in Programs and Features or check C:\Program Files\Google\Google Earth Pro\. On macOS: check /Applications/ for Google Earth Pro.app.Affected if Google Earth Pro is present on the system
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Identify installed version numberOpen Google Earth Pro and go to Help > About Google Earth Pro, or right-click the application and select Properties > Details. The version number will be displayed (e.g., 7.3.2.xxxx).Affected if Version displayed is 7.3.2 or earlier, or any version shown as less than 7.3.3
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Compare version against vulnerable rangeNote the full version string and compare the major.minor.patch format against the affected range. Versions prior to 7.3.3 are vulnerable.Affected if Version is less than 7.3.3 (for example, 7.3.2.1337, 7.3.1, 7.3.0, etc.)
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Check if khcrypt encryption feature is in useReview any configuration files or logs that may indicate use of the khcrypt encryption module. This is typically used for encrypted network communications or stored credentials. Examine Google Earth Pro logs in %APPDATA%\Google\GoogleEarthPro\logs\ (Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleEarthPro/ (macOS).Affected if Logs or configuration indicate active use of khcrypt encryption functionality
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Monitor network for MITM attack indicatorsUse network monitoring tools to inspect SSL/TLS certificates presented by Google Earth Pro servers. Look for unexpected certificate changes, mismatched hostnames, or untrusted CAs on connections to Google Earth servers.Affected if Anomalous certificates or unexpected MITM proxy behavior is detected in network traffic from Google Earth Pro
A system is affected if Google Earth Pro is installed with any version prior to 7.3.3 and the khcrypt encryption feature is being utilized, allowing potential data exposure beyond buffer boundaries during MITM attacks.
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
Update Google Earth Pro to version 7.3.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8896 — 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-2020-8896 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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