Only now a bug in WhatsApp became known, which could destroy entire group chats and make it impossible to start the app.

As several media reports , this bug could be used to completely crash the app by entering a special character string in a WhatsApp group chat, making it impossible to start it.

The only thing that helped was uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp, but that only solved the lesser evil. At the same time, the bug also effectively destroyed the entire chat history, i.e. all texts and media files.

[mk_ad]

How could the vulnerability be exploited?

To do this, an attacker first had to have access to a WhatsApp group that he intended to attack. Since such groups can have up to 256 members, this shouldn't be too difficult for some political discussion groups; people often invite people to join such discussion groups on Facebook and Twitter.

Now a lot of technical work was necessary: ​​the web version of WhatsApp had to be open on Chrome, and Chrome's DevTools had to be opened. Technically speaking, the following was done: Within the group, the attacker could change the number of a participant from numbers to letters or special characters. If a message was sent with this changed number, the entire app crashed.

This is what it all looked like in practice:

Even if all members reinstalled WhatsApp, the group chat would still not be accessible again. The only solution: delete the group chat completely, but the bug is actually also responsible for the loss of all data in the chat.

[mk_ad]

Bug fixed, but many users still have an old version

The bug was fixed in September 2019 with version number 2.19.58, but many users have not updated their WhatsApp since September, so attackers still have a good chance of crashing group chats.

It is not known whether and how many group chats have already been lost through this method, but the mere fact that there were instructions for this on YouTube as well as on special sites in August suggests that attackers also used this method.

Article image by Mark Rademaker / Shutterstock.com


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )