If you use WhatsApp for chatting with friends and family, it’s essential to review your settings and ensure that you have the most recent version of the app installed. Security experts have identified two critical software vulnerabilities in the widely-used messaging platform. One flaw affects the handling of media files and attachments, while the other impacts users of WhatsApp on Windows.
Malwarebytes specialists have cautioned that although these vulnerabilities don’t automatically infect devices, they could facilitate social engineering attacks by cybercriminals or be combined with other weaknesses to pose more severe risks.
According to Malwarebytes, a malicious message could deceive a device into opening content from an untrusted source.
The vulnerabilities, known as CVE-2026-23866 and CVE-2026-23863, were uncovered through Meta’s Bug Bounty program.
Currently, there is no evidence of these flaws being exploited in real-world attacks or used to infect smartphones. WhatsApp has stated that they have not observed any exploitation occurring in practice.
Nevertheless, the Meta-owned company has issued an update and strongly advises users to review their settings.
To stay secure, users should ensure that WhatsApp is fully updated on their devices.
For Android users:
Access the Google Play Store, search for WhatsApp Messenger, and select “Update.”
iPhone users should:
Open the App Store, tap their profile icon, find WhatsApp, and choose “Update.”
After updating, phones will be safeguarded against potential future attacks.
This warning coincides with news that some older Android devices might lose WhatsApp access soon. WhatsApp intends to discontinue support for devices running versions older than Android 6 from September 8, 2026, as reported by WABetaInfo.
Affected users may receive a message stating: “Later this year, WhatsApp won’t work on this device.”
However, the impact is expected to be minimal since Android 6 was launched in 2015 and is now rarely found on modern smartphones.
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