Users of the WhatsApp Desktop are facing a vulnerability that could give bad actors access to local files on a PC. The vulnerability involves hackers sending specially crafted messages to fool users.
In an advisory, the company said the attack would need the user to click a link.
It seems the problem is the Electron application that is built on an aging web rendering engine. It is based on Chromium 69 that has the vulnerability. Of course, Chrome has since moved on and had the problem patched. However, for WhatsApp Desktop the problem remains.
Facebook says a patched version of the app is now available. For this to be available, you must have WhatsApp Desktop downloaded from the Microsoft Store. Other versions of the app may still have the vulnerability. It has been inevitable as the company had not been supporting the app for some time. That means WhatsApp on Windows Phone had not been receiving updates and was not visible in the Microsoft Store. However, users with the app already installed had been able to continue using it.
