Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system, said CERT-In…reports Asian Lite News
The Indian cyber agency CERT-In on Wednesday warned WhatsApp users of multiple bugs which could be exploited by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system.
In an advisory, CERT-In, under the IT Ministry, described two remote code execution vulnerabilities in Meta-owned WhatsApp in both Android and iOS versions.
The first vulnerability exists in WhatsApp due to integer overflow.
“A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute remote code in an established video call,” warned the cyber agency.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system, said CERT-In.
Hackers can also exploit a second vulnerability in WhatsApp by sending a specially-crafted video file that can put users’ information at risk.
CERT-In advised WhatsApp users to install latest security updates.
WhatsApp has nearly 500 million users in the country, according the third-party reports.
Critical bug in older versions, now patched
Meta-owned WhatsApp has revealed a critical bug that could affect older installations on various devices that have not been updated with latest software versions.
The vulnerability could allow an attacker to exploit a code error known as an integer overflow.
“An integer overflow in WhatsApp for Android prior to v2.22.16.12, Business for Android prior to v2.22.16.12, iOS prior to v2.22.16.12, Business for iOS prior to v2.22.16.12 could result in remote code execution in an established video call,” WhatsApp said in an update.
In remote code execution, a hacker can remotely execute commands on someone else’s computing device.
Remote code executions (RCEs) usually occur due to malicious malware downloaded by the host and can happen regardless of the device’s geographic location.
The recently disclosed vulnerability has been called CVE-2022-36934, with a severity score of 9.8 out of 10 on the CVE scale.
WhatsApp also revealed details of another bug that could have caused remote code execution when receiving a crafted video file.
Both of these vulnerabilities have been patched in the latest versions of WhatsApp.
WhatsApp on Monday announced it was rolling out Call Links to make it easier to start and join a call in just one tap.
The company also started testing secured and encrypted group video calls for up to 32 people on WhatsApp.
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