WhatsApp Has Patched a Security Hole That Could Expose Sensitive User Data

Credits: Unsplash/Adem Ay

WhatsApp has recently patched a pretty big vulnerability that could have exposed sensitive user data. Security researchers discovered this vulnerability that could be exploited simply by opening an attachment that contained a malicious paradigm file, which would accept resulted in the user information and information being exposed.

Thankfully, the more recent versions of WhatsApp now check the integrity of the image that has been edited with filters to ensure that the user'southward safety is intact and no attempts are beingness fabricated to admission the information.

A WhatsApp Vulnerability That Existed Since Terminal Nov Has Finally Been Patched

With over two billion agile users, WhatsApp is one of the biggest messaging platforms at the moment. The Facebook-endemic service does promise to be one of the safest. It has many features such as stop-to-terminate encryption and more that will keep your messages and calls private. Still, security vulnerabilities withal manage to exist 1 way or another.

The latest vulnerability in WhatsApp was discovered by Check Point Research (CPR), and according to them, this vulnerability could have been used to access user information.

The "Out-of-Bounds read-write" flaw is related to WhatsApp's paradigm filter functionality, and this could have allowed an attacker to read sensitive user information from the app's memory. It "was triggered when a user opened an attachment that contained a maliciously crafted paradigm file, then tried to apply a filter, and then sent the prototype with the filter practical dorsum to the assailant."

CPR disclosed its findings to WhatsApp last November. Since then, subsequent updates to the app finally patched the hole and added two new image checks designed to identify filtered images and compare them with the source.

WhatsApp claims that they saw no evidence of any breaches, and CPR reports that a hack "would take required complex steps and extensive user interaction to exploit." If you are withal looking forward to keeping everything condom on your phone, make sure that you lot are running the WhatsApp version 2.21.one.13 or later on.