This bug crashes WhatsApp for entire groups, deletes chat history
What's the story
WhatsApp - the biggest messaging service on the planet - has become a point of security concern for people around the globe.
The service was recently compromised by spyware spreading through calls, and now, in another case, the folks at Check Point Research have flagged a bug that anyone could exploit to crash the messaging app for entire groups.
Here's all about it.
Attack
Attack to render WhatsApp unusable for groups
According to the security firm's report, the bug in question opens a way for a single malicious user to render WhatsApp unusable for all members of a group chat.
To exploit it, the threat actor just has to join a group of unsuspecting users and then edit specific message parameters using WhatsApp Web and a browser debugging tool.
Impact
This creates a crash-loop, rendering the app unusable
Once the message parameters are edited, the bug activates and WhatsApp enters into an 'unstoppable crash-loop', becoming completely unusable for all the members of the group.
The crashes are so frequent and quick that it becomes nearly impossible to use the app; you can't even access the chats or leave the group that creates this problem.
Fix
Un-installation and re-installation only fix for the attack
The only way for an affected user to get out of this crash-loop is to uninstall the messaging app and reinstall it.
However, to shield yourself from suffering from this exploit in the first place, we'd recommend updating WhatsApp to the latest version.
The issue was first detected in August and was officially patched a month later with WhatsApp version 2.19.58.
Previous issues
Similar issues have been discovered before too
Having said that, it is worth noting that this is not the first message-based issue that has been found in WhatsApp.
Back in October, it was revealed that hackers could exploit a bug by using malicious GIFs and gain unauthorized access to messages and files, while last year, a vulnerability allowed users to manipulate entire messages in WhatsApp group chats.