Chrome glitch letting users download Netflix videos

While there have been rumours in recent months that Netflix is considering allowing users to download videos, the service is yet to implement such a feature. However, security researchers have found a glitch in Google Chrome that allows just that.

Google utilises Widevine EME/CDM technology to stream encrypted video. The researchers have demonstrated the glitch in action, but won’t reveal details of the bug for 90 days after having submitted it to Google.

The bug basically takes advantage of the fact that the system doesn’t check to ensure that the decrypted video is only playing in the browser. That means that there’s the opportunity to capture the video as it’s passed to the browser’s media player.

Responding to the submission, Google said, “We appreciate the researchers’ report and we’re examining it closely.”