Facebook's WhatsApp, a leading messenger platform, has announced a new bug in the system that would allow hackers to access phone data using a video malware.
"A stack-based buffer overflow could be triggered in WhatsApp by sending a specially crafted MP4 file to a WhatsApp user," the company announced.
Facebook announce what led them to discover the vulnerability, according to Forbes magazine.
The latest flaw in the system comes after a series of announcements about different hacks of the system, the most notable of which was by Israeli cyber-surveillance firm NSO. Facebook and WhatsApp filed a complaint in US against the company after detecting “a new type of cyberattack involving a vulnerability in the video calling feature,” according to Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, who spoke to The Washington Post earlier last month.
The attack took place in April and May, during which the company sent malware via WhatsApp to over 1000 devices of human rights defenders, journalists and many others.
“A user appeared to be receiving a video call, but this was not a regular call,” Cathcart said. “After the phone call, the attacker secretly transmitted malicious code in an attempt to infect the victim’s phone with spyware. The person didn’t even have to answer the phone.”
Amnesty International Israel released a statement regarding the latest NSO phenomenon, stating: “Although the company claims to conduct a thorough investigation before selling its products, this claim does not appear to be true and given the number of attacks against innocent citizens – the process has already been proven to be in place.”
NSO Group's flagship software is Pegasus, which is capable of monitoring and collecting information from targeted mobile devices.
