Google Drive Desktop for Windows Flaw Lets Users Gain Full Access to Others’ Drives

A serious flaw in Google Drive Desktop for Windows allows a multi-user machine to access another person’s entire Drive content without re-authentication, by abusing the hidden DriveFS cache. The vulnerability hinges on DriveFS, a folder under each user’s Windows profile, which should be inaccessible to others but can be copied between profiles and loaded by the app without fresh login.

In a proof-of-concept on Windows 10 or 11 with Google Drive Desktop version 112.0.3.0, an attacker copies the victim’s DriveFS folder into their own DriveFS folder, and on restarting the app the victim’s data is loaded as if it belongs to the attacker. The result is full access to all files in My Drive and any Shared Drives, with no re-authentication or built-in limits blocking the move, exposing sensitive documents and code within seconds.

The piece notes that this bypasses core security principles such as Zero Trust and raises concerns about encryption at rest, since cached files remain in plain form. To mitigate, it recommends clearing the DriveFS cache between accounts, enforcing separate Windows profiles with tight permissions, and restricting Drive Desktop to trusted endpoints until a fix is issued.