WhatsApp is the most used social messaging platform in the world with over 1.5 billion monthly active users. The app is particularly popular in emerging markets like India and its popularity also comes with its own risks. WhatsApp has released a new update that brings in a number of tweaks.
WhatsApp update detailed
The update from the social messaging platform also includes a fix for a serious bug that caused the prior version of WhatsApp to crash for many users. According to reports, the flaw in version 2.19.335 has seemingly been fixed in the latest update.
How cybercriminals can exploit the bug
The cybersecurity company Check Point Research recently discovered a critical vulnerability in WhatsApp that allows cybercriminals to block the app and prevent users from using it by sending a malicious message to a group chat, blocking the application upon all group members.
Check Point researchers discovered this vulnerability by inspecting communications between WhatsApp and WhatsApp Web. As the company explained in a statement, when a member of a WhatsApp group sends a message to a group, the app examines the participant parameter to identify who sent the message. However, Check Point discovered that this parameter could be manipulated in WhatsApp communications.
With this vulnerability, cybercriminals can also create a destructive loop within the app by infiltrating a group chat, modifying specific message parameters and generating an unstoppable bug that strikes all members of the affected group. To then use the application again, this bug requires you to uninstall the WhatsApp app and reinstall it again. Furthermore, users have to delete the infected group, so you lose its messages and shared files.
To protect yourself against this vulnerability, users can download the WhatsApp app version 2.19.58 or later, which has a security patch and incorporates new controls to prevent people from being added to unwanted groups. The head of product vulnerability research at Check Point, Oded Vanunu, said that “obtaining access to the application to prevent its use and eliminating valuable information from chat groups is a very attractive asset for cybercriminals,” since companies and government agencies use WhatsApp as a communication channel. “It is essential that users update WhatsApp to the latest version available in order to protect themselves against a possible attack of this type,” Vanunu said.
How to check if you are safe
If Android and iOS users want to be safe from this vulnerability, they will have to upgrade the messaging app to the latest version. Android users should download the version 2.19.362. You can check whether you are using the latest version or not in the Settings section. You then need to tap on Help and go to ‘App info.’
Meanwhile, iOS users should be on the 2.19.121 WhatsApp version. To check the version on your iPhone, you need to visit the Settings section, then tap on ‘Help.’ Here you will be able to check the version number.
