YouTube vulnerability discovered that allows users to upload and access compressed data hidden in videos backup solution, although it is not as easy or advisable as it sounds, basically acting as a cloud storage provider for life.
For this to work, Infinite Storage Vulnerability (opens in a new tab) (By Computer player (opens in a new tab)), a tool developed in Rust by Github user DvorakDwarf, must be run from a Linux distribution and compiled from source or using a development platform Docker (opens in a new tab). There are no readily available releases on Github, and perhaps for good reason.
DvorakDwarf speculates on the Github project page that while YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS) may not explicitly prohibit uploading videos containing files, it’s possible that Google’s lawyers planned this ahead of time given the “circumvention” section.
Storing files in a YouTube video
As a result, while this is an interesting development, TechRadar Pro cannot explicitly suggest that you rush to try it out.
The creator of the tool, also careful with his words, warned against making it another one cloud storage solution, noting that it does not support the file system and has many bugs that they do not plan to fix. These include bad RAM usage which limits individual files to “about” 100 MB.
However, if you do not pay special attention to your Google account or you are interested in innovative forms of data storage (eg hybrids of tapes and hard drives, or even GOUT) like us, you might be fascinated by it.
Users store files in a .zip archive, and the tool embeds them in a video file: a new one, “several times bigger.” The video can then be uploaded as well as downloaded and the files can be “moved” with the tool.
Users have several options for storing data: in RGB pixels (fast and efficient, but more susceptible to damage and compression) or black and white binary.
Both modes are susceptible to compression, so a few settings such as pixel size (with 2×2 pixels recommended for binary) are available for customization and are stored in the first frame of the processed video to make it easier to remember the working options.
