Google researcher, Natalie Silvanovich, recently discovered a security vulnerability in WhatsApp messenger that could allow hackers to remotely take full control of your WhatsApp just by video calling you over the app.
According to the
bug report, the vulnerability is a memory heap overflow issue which is triggered when a user receives a malformed RTP packet via a video call request, which results in the corruption error and crashing of the WhatsApp mobile app. The flaw affects both the Android and iOS apps, but not WhatsApp Web that relies on WebRTC for video calls.
However, WhatsApp released an update last month that fixed the issue; the Android version received the fix on September 28 and iPhone version got its fix on October 3. All WhatsApp users should urgently update the app to the latest version in order to get the security patch.
Follow the steps below to update your WhatsApp:
For iPhone
- Open the App Store
- Tap Updates (in the bottom-right corner of the screen)
- Find WhatsApp Messenger and then tap the UPDATE button that’s on the right-hand side of it.
For Android
- Open the Google Play Store.
- Tap Menu and then My apps & games.
- Find WhatsApp and then tap Update.
If there’s no update button then maybe you are on the latest version already. Also check for updates multiple times to be sure.
You can also toggle on
two-factor authentication for added security.
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This article was first published on 15th October 2018
tobenna-ezike
Tobenna is a writer, programmer and musician who is passionate about God, tech, and music. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook by clicking the icons below.
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