Whatsapp messaging app which was owned by Facebook, recently fixed a security breach from one of its Android –based applications. A security researcher from the department reported this issue which has happened three to four months back, Android phones to be specific.
Hackers can easily create this vulnerability by simply sending you a GIF file to which a malicious code attached to the victim’s mobile either through a simple message or by a third party app. When the victim downloads the GIF to their mobile in Whatsapp, the malicious code creates a remote code execution runs on the victims android mobile which creates a path for the hacker to gain access for the victims mobile. Awakened ,a security researcher has discovered this was a technologist and information security enthusiast and he says to upgrade your Whatsapp to latest version (2.19.244) or above to stay safe from this bug. Also recently Symantec’s Modern Security OS security team has discovered a bug affecting the Whatsapp especially for Android users. However, Whatsapp for IOS is not affected by this Vulnerability.
Researcher says that the vulnerability has allowed hackers to gain access for the Android devices remotely which in turn allowing them to have sneak peek into their files, photos and chat messages. Vulnerability named CVE-2019-11932 is a double free memory corruption bug which exists in the Gif file which has been sent by the hackers. This works very well in versions of Android 8.1 and 9.0 but will not work for Android 8.0 and below. When we try to trigger the malicious Gif file to the older version the app just crashes before reaching to the point.
Therefore, to protect yourself by these hackers who can steal your personal information you are recommended to update your Whatsapp to the latest version by just going through your play store. In addition to this the affected GIF library also released their latest version 1.2.18 to patch the double free-vulnerability.
