WhatsApp exists vulnerabilities which allowed spyware to be installed

Financial Times published Monday in a report detailing a vulnerability (CVE-2019-3568) in WhatsApp. This vulnerability allows an attacker to inject Israeli spyware into a cell phone. These malicious codes were developed by the Israeli company NSO Group and can be spread by calling other users through WhatsApp on iOS and Android.

“Doble marca azul Whatsapp” by DownloadsourceES is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

According to the report, malicious code can spread even if the user does not answer the WhatsApp call. In many cases, such calls are cleared from the log. As a result, many users become victims without their knowledge. The details of the vulnerability are currently unclear. The report said that the vulnerability has been discovered for several weeks.

“WhatsApp encourages people to upgrade to the latest version of our app, as well as keep their mobile operating system up to date, to protect against potential targeted exploits designed to compromise information stored on mobile devices,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement. According to an advisory published by Facebook,

CVE-2019-3568

Description: A buffer overflow vulnerability in WhatsApp VOIP stack allowed remote code execution via specially crafted series of SRTCP packets sent to a target phone number.

Affected Versions: The issue affects WhatsApp for Android prior to v2.19.134, WhatsApp Business for Android prior to v2.19.44, WhatsApp for iOS prior to v2.19.51, WhatsApp Business for iOS prior to v2.19.51, WhatsApp for Windows Phone prior to v2.18.348, and WhatsApp for Tizen prior to v2.18.15.

According to the report, WhatsApp is still in the initial stage of the investigation, and it is impossible to estimate how many mobile phones are being attacked. WhatsApp has more than 1.5 billion users worldwide.

Via: CNET