WhatsApp has been grappling with its reasonable share of bugs and problems and a modern flaw has now appeared to light.
Before we share any deets, we urge you to update the application on your Android gadgets, since the defencelessness we are going to speak about could facilitate hackers to gain admission to your files and texts on the app.
As per a security researcher with the pseudonym Awakened, a dual-free vulnerability in the famous messaging application could crash a device or even assist hackers to gain admission to your smartphone.
First documented by TNW, the bug affects gadgets running on Android 8 and above, which implies iOS users do not need to worry about this specific bug.
Before you fear, do note that Facebook was informed of the flaw and the firm patched the problem with WhatsApp version 2.19.244. The researcher remarks, in a Github blog post, that utilizing just a malicious GIF format, one could accelerate a Remote Control Execution (RCE) exploit.
This could potentially facilitate an attacker to continue in two ways; they could conduct local privilege escalation and establish a malicious application that can be utilized to steal catalogs in WhatsApp sandbox, encompassing message database.
Remote code performance was also feasible by exploiting the flaw, which would earn the use of WhatsApp‘s Gallery view. In an update, WhatsApp told TNW that there is no reason to think the flaw affected any users.
As per a statement was given by WhatsApp’s spokesperson to TNW that the key point that the [vulnerability disclosure] earns is that this problem affects the user on the sender part, meaning the problem could, in theory, occur when the user seizes action to send a GIF.
The issue would affect their own devices. It was noted and rapidly addressed the previous month. They have no reason to think this affected any users though obviously, they are always laboring to give the latest security captions to their users.
