Critical WhatsApp Bugs Could Have Let Attackers Hack Devices Remotely

Sep 28, 2022

WhatsApp has released security updates ^[1]
to address two flaws in its messaging app for Android and iOS that
could lead to remote code execution on vulnerable devices.

One of them concerns CVE-2022-36934 ^[2]
(CVSS score: 9.8), a critical integer overflow vulnerability in
WhatsApp that results in the execution of arbitrary code simply by
establishing a video call.

The issue impacts the WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for Android
and iOS prior to versions 2.22.16.12.

Also patched by the Meta-owned messaging platform is an integer
underflow bug, which refers to an opposite category of errors that
occur when the result of an operation is too small for storing the
value within the allocated memory space.

The high-severity issue, given the CVE identifier CVE-2022-27492 ^[3]
(CVSS score: 7.8), affects WhatsApp for Android prior to versions
2.22.16.2 and WhatsApp for iOS version 2.22.15.9, and could be
triggered upon receiving a specially crafted video file.

Exploiting integer overflows ^[4]
and underflows ^[5]
are a stepping stone towards inducing undesirable behavior, causing
unexpected crashes, memory corruption, and code execution.

WhatsApp did not share more specifics on the vulnerabilities,
but cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes said ^[6]
that they reside in two components called Video Call Handler and
Video File Handler, which could permit an attacker to seize control
of the app.

Vulnerabilities on WhatsApp can be a lucrative attack vector for
threat actors looking to plant malicious software on compromised
devices. In 2019, an audio calling flaw ^[7]
was exploited by the Israeli spyware maker NSO Group to inject the
Pegasus spyware ^[8].

References

^{^}
security
updates (www.whatsapp.com)
^{^}
CVE-2022-36934
(nvd.nist.gov)
^{^}
CVE-2022-27492
(nvd.nist.gov)
^{^}
integer
overflows (cwe.mitre.org)
^{^}
underflows
(cwe.mitre.org)
^{^}
said
(www.malwarebytes.com)
^{^}
audio
calling flaw (thenextweb.com)
^{^}
Pegasus
spyware (thehackernews.com)

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OWASP TOP !0

Injection. Injection flaws, such as SQL, NoSQL, OS, and LDAP injection, occur when untrusted data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. The attacker’s hostile data can trick the interpreter into executing unintended commands or accessing data without proper authorization. Broken Authentication. Application functions related to authentication and session management are often implemented incorrectly, allowing attackers to compromise passwords, keys, or session tokens, or to exploit other implementation flaws to assume other users’ identities temporarily or permanently. Sensitive Data Exposure. Many web applications and APIs do not properly protect sensitive data, such as financial, healthcare, and PII. Attackers may steal or modify such weakly protected data to conduct credit card fraud, identity theft, or other crimes. Sensitive data may be compromised without extra protection, such as encryption at rest or in transit, and requires special precautions when exchanged with the browser. XML External Entities (XXE). Many older or poorly configured XML processors evaluate external entity references within XML documents. External entities can be used to disclose internal files using the file URI handler, internal file shares, internal port scanning, remote code execution, and denial of service attacks. Broken Access Control. Restrictions on what authenticated users are allowed to do are often not properly enforced. Attackers can exploit these flaws to access unauthorized functionality and/or data, such as access other users’ accounts, view sensitive files, modify other users’ data, change access rights, etc. Security Misconfiguration. Security misconfiguration is the most commonly seen issue. This is commonly a result of insecure default configurations, incomplete or ad hoc configurations, open cloud storage, misconfigured HTTP headers, and verbose error messages containing sensitive information. Not only must all operating systems, frameworks, libraries, and applications be securely configured, but they must be patched/upgraded in a timely fashion. Cross-Site Scripting XSS. XSS flaws occur whenever an application includes untrusted data in a new web page without proper validation or escaping, or updates an existing web page with user-supplied data using a browser API that can create HTML or JavaScript. XSS allows attackers to execute scripts in the victim’s browser which can hijack user sessions, deface web sites, or redirect the user to malicious sites. Insecure Deserialization. Insecure deserialization often leads to remote code execution. Even if deserialization flaws do not result in remote code execution, they can be used to perform attacks, including replay attacks, injection attacks, and privilege escalation attacks. Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities. Components, such as libraries, frameworks, and other software modules, run with the same privileges as the application. If a vulnerable component is exploited, such an attack can facilitate serious data loss or server takeover. Applications and APIs using components with known vulnerabilities may undermine application defenses and enable various attacks and impacts. Insufficient Logging & Monitoring. Insufficient logging and monitoring, coupled with missing or ineffective integration with incident response, allows attackers to further attack systems, maintain persistence, pivot to more systems, and tamper, extract, or destroy data. Most breach studies show time to detect a breach is over 200 days, typically detected by external parties rather than internal processes or monitoring.

Critical WhatsApp Bugs Could Have Let Attackers Hack Devices Remotely

References

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