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406 points vk6 | 3 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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Etheryte ◴[] No.41867389[source]
Given the severity, I can't help but feel that this is underpaid at the scale Google is at. Chrome is so ubiquitous and vulnerabilities like these could hit hard. Last thing they need to do is to send the signal that it's better to sell these on the black market.
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thrdbndndn ◴[] No.41867548[source]
I hate that every time a vulnerability is posted, someone has to argue about whether the bounty is high enough. It’s always followed by, "blah blah, they're pushing whitehats to sell it on the black market."

Vulnerabilities will always sell for more on the black market because there’s an added cost for asking people to do immoral and likely illegal things. Comparing the two is meaningless.

To give a straightforward answer: no, I don’t think $20k is underpaid. The severity of a bug isn't based on how it could theoretically affect people but on how it actually does. There's no evidence this is even in the wild, and based on the description, it seems complicated to exploit for attacks.

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n2d4 ◴[] No.41867627[source]
> The severity of a bug isn't based on how it could theoretically affect people but on how it actually does

No, it's priced on demand and supply like anything else; bug bounties are priced to be the amount that Google thinks it takes to incentivise hunters to sell it to them, vs. to black hats.

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1. throwaway48476 ◴[] No.41868419{3}[source]
This assumes efficient markets which doesn't exist when there is a monopoly on legitimate buyers. The value any one individual puts on a thing does not a market make.
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2. swexbe ◴[] No.41868492[source]
Is it really a amonopoly though if there are multiple companies offering bug bounties? If the whitehat feels he is underpaid he could just go look for bugs for another product.
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3. throwaway48476 ◴[] No.41868550[source]
The market or lack thereof is for a product. That researchers can work on a different product is a market for labor.