Critical Whatsapp Bug Let Hackers to Crash & Delete Group Messages by Sending a Single Destructive Message

A new Whatsapp bug that allows hackers to crash the WhatsApp by sending a single destructive group chat message for all the group members and delete all the group’s chat history.

Security researchers from Checkpoint discovered the bug buy manipulating the WhatsApp protocol. The bug is critical as it crashes WhatsApp on multiple phones in a shared group.

GBHackers recently reported a critical security bug that was discovered in both Android/iOS WhatsApp version Let hackers sending a specially crafted MP4 file to WhatsApp user and trigger the stack-based buffer overflow to perform remote code execution and DoS Attack.

This is another critical bug that WhatApp users need to seriously concern about to apply the patch and protect from the malicious attackers to exploit the vulnerability.

WhatsApp Crash Bug

The WhatsApp crash bug resides in the XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) communication protocol that used to handle the message delivery system.

Researchers developed a Burp Suite WhatsApp Manipulation Tool through which they were able to obtain the private, public keys, and the “secret” parameter by manipulating WhatsApp protocol.

Researchers from Checkpoint stated, “We should now be able to start decrypting and modifying messages in a conversation where we participate. Now that we have everything set up correctly, we can start intercepting our messages. Once a message is intercepted we can decrypt it by using the extension.”

It was noted that when a user sends the WhatsApp group message, the application will check the parameter of the participant who sends the message by using the Burp Suite WhatsApp Manipulation Tool extension. With this Process, researchers modified the sender’s phone number to a non-digit character.

By sending this crafted message the WhatsApp will get crash in every group member’s phone, and it continues to crash even if you re-open. Users will not able to return to the group and all the group history gets removed.

The only solution to solve the issue is that the user needs to uninstall the Whatsapp and to remove the group with contains the malicious payload. Here is the PoC video.

The bug was reported by Check Point Research in August 2019 and reported to WhatsApp, the bug was fixed with version 2.19.246 and above.

You can follow us on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook for daily Cybersecurity and hacking news updates

Also Read

New WhatsApp Bug Let Hackers Execute a Remote Code & Perform DOS Attack by Sending Crafted MP4 File

New WhatsApp RCE Vulnerability Let Remote Hackers Steal the Files in Your Android Phone Using Malformed GIF’s

GIF Processing Vulnerability That Present in WhatsApp Also Affects More Than 28,300 Android Apps

WhatsApp Privacy Flaw – Delete for Everyone Feature Fails to Delete Media from iPhone

Gurubaran

Gurubaran is a co-founder of Cyber Security News and GBHackers On Security. He has 10+ years of experience as a Security Consultant, Editor, and Analyst in cybersecurity, technology, and communications.

Recent Posts

Hackers Use ConnectWise SkyKick Credentials to Access Microsoft 365, Halting Cloud Backups

Attackers abused compromised ConnectWise Cloud Backup credentials to access Microsoft 365 customer environments, prompting ConnectWise…

1 day ago

Anthropic’s Claude AI Uncovers Origins of NSA-Provided Cryptographic Keys After 25 Years

Anthropic says an internal Claude research model reconstructed how the National Security Agency generated seeds…

1 day ago

Critical WordPress Flaws Allow Attackers to Execute Remote Code Without Authentication

Two WordPress Core vulnerabilities can be chained to execute remote code without authentication, according to…

1 day ago

OpenBSD Kernel Flaw Dating Back 37 Years Enables Local Privilege Escalation to Root

A newly disclosed OpenBSD kernel exploitation chain combines a shared memory accounting flaw with a…

1 day ago

GhostAction Hackers Hide Credential-Stealing Malware in Fake Font Files Across 94 GitHub Repositories

GhostAction attackers have expanded their GitHub credential theft campaign with a second stage that disguises…

1 day ago

SideCopy Hackers Target Indian Organizations With ReverseRAT Malware to Steal Data

Indian authorities have warned that SideCopy hackers are targeting Indian organizations, including academic institutions, with…

1 day ago