By Aditya Sunny, Bug Hunter

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> “Sometimes the smallest backdoors open the biggest gates.”

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Introduction

In today’s AI-first world, access to premium models like Google’s Gemini Advanced offers tremendous value — from coding and research to content generation and academic support. Google knows this and offers free Gemini Advanced access to verified students with .EDU email addresses as part of its education program.

But what if I told you there’s a way to unlock this premium access using nothing more than a temporary .EDU email and a VPN?

Yes — you read that right.

In this article, I’ll walk you through:

How I discovered the issue

Step-by-step replication

Screenshots and evidence

Technical vulnerability explained

Who is impacted and why it matters

Disclosure notes

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What Did I Discover?

Google provides students in the U.S. with Gemini Advanced access till August 2025 or more, based on just .edu email verification.

But the process is missing multiple critical checks, including:

No real-time institution verification

No student ID or enrollment validation

No post-verification location or abuse protection

This means anyone using a temporary or disposable .edu email and a USA VPN can get verified and enjoy long-term access.

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Evidence: Screenshot of Verified Access Valid Till 2025

Full Reproduction Steps

Use this strictly for testing, educational, or bug bounty purposes only.

Step 1: Connect to a USA VPN

This offer is region-locked to the United States. Use any reliable VPN provider and select a U.S. server.

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Step 2: Visit a Temporary Email Provider

Use a trusted site that offers temporary .edu email addresses (Note: I won’t share domains here to prevent abuse, but many are publicly searchable.)

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Step 3: Visit Google’s EDU Offer Page

Go to:
https://one.google.com/edu

Paste the .edu email and click "Get started".

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Step 4: Receive the OTP

Check your temp email inbox for the Google verification code and enter it.

> OTP received in temp inbox

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Step 5: Success

You’ll see a confirmation message:
“You now have access to Gemini Advanced till August 2025”

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Technical Explanation: Why This Works

The vulnerability lies in over-trusting email domain-based verification. Here's a technical breakdown:

Google only checks if the email ends with .edu

There’s no additional check to validate whether the domain is issued by an accredited institution

OTP validation is enough to complete onboarding

Once verified, the benefits remain tied to your Google account for months or years — even if the temp email disappears

This leads to a loophole where non-students can pretend to be students without any real authentication.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can be exploited by anyone with internet access, especially in regions where Gemini Advanced is not freely available. The result?

Unauthorized access to AI features worth $20/month

Mass abuse through automation and scripting

Loss of revenue for Google

Unfair advantage to non-students over genuine student users

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Who Is Affected?

Google’s AI services: Financial and system-level abuse

Students and institutions: Devaluation of verified student offers

Developers and researchers: Potential API overuse/misuse

Bug bounty systems: This kind of unchecked verification can affect other Google programs too

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My Disclosure to Google

As a responsible bug bounty hunter, I submitted a full report via:
https://hunters.google.com

Marked it as private

Submitted technical details and proof

Awaiting triage or bounty decision

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Conclusion: A Small Backdoor, A Big Bypass

This might not be a typical RCE or XSS bug — but in terms of impact and abuse potential, it’s significant. It highlights how even large companies like Google can overlook basic validation when balancing user experience and security.

I hope this article brings awareness to similar domain-based verification vulnerabilities and encourages stronger authentication methods for educational programs.

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About Me

Aditya Sunny
Bug hunter | Cybersecurity enthusiast | Passionate about ethical hacking & cyber awareness
Founder @ Cyber Vichar