CVE-2017-8769
4.6 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2017-8769 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting whatsapp whatsapp. It was published on May 18, 2017 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.6 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.6, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
Facebook WhatsApp Messenger before 2.16.323 for Android uses the SD card for cleartext storage of files (Audio, Documents, Images, Video, and Voice Notes) associated with a chat, even after that chat is deleted. There may be users who expect file deletion to occur upon chat deletion, or who expect encryption (consistent with the application's use of an encrypted database to store chat text). NOTE: the vendor reportedly indicates that they do not "consider these to be security issues" because a user may legitimately want to preserve any file for use "in other apps like the Google Photos gallery" regardless of whether its associated chat is deleted
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from whatsapp. Update whatsapp to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| >= 0, < 2.16.323 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2017-8769?
CVE-2017-8769 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting whatsapp whatsapp. It was published on May 18, 2017 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.6 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2017-8769?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.6, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2017-8769?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from whatsapp. Update whatsapp to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2017-8769?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2017-8769 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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