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WhatsappApplication

CVE-2019-3566

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-05-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.19.103 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A bug in WhatsApp for Android's messaging logic would potentially allow a malicious individual who has taken over over a WhatsApp user's account to recover previously sent messages. This behavior requires independent knowledge of metadata for previous messages, which are not available publicly. This issue affects WhatsApp for Android 2.19.52 and 2.19.54 - 2.19.103, as well as WhatsApp Business for Android starting in v2.19.22 until v2.19.38.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A logic flaw in WhatsApp for Android's message handling allows an attacker who has already compromised a user's account to recover previously sent messages, provided they have independent knowledge of message metadata that is not publicly accessible.

MitigationUpdate WhatsApp for Android to version 2.19.104 or later, and WhatsApp Business for Android to version 2.19.38 or later to receive the vendor patch.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
WhatsappApplication
Affected:>= 2.19.54, <= 2.19.103= 2.19.52
Whatsapp BusinessApplication
Affected:>= 2.19.22, <= 2.19.38

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check WhatsApp for Android version
    Open WhatsApp, tap the three-dot menu, go to Settings > Help > About to view the version number
    Affected if Version is 2.19.52 OR falls between 2.19.54 and 2.19.103 inclusive
  2. Check WhatsApp Business for Android version
    Open WhatsApp Business, tap the three-dot menu, go to Settings > Help > About to view the version number
    Affected if Version falls between 2.19.22 and 2.19.38 inclusive
  3. Confirm Android platform
    Verify the affected application is running on Android; this vulnerability affects only Android versions of WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business
    Affected if The application is running on Android and the version falls within the affected ranges

A user is affected if they have WhatsApp for Android version 2.19.52 or any version from 2.19.54 through 2.19.103, or WhatsApp Business for Android version 2.19.22 through 2.19.38 installed on their device.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.19.103
Interim mitigation

Update WhatsApp for Android to version 2.19.104 or later, and WhatsApp Business for Android to version 2.19.38 or later to receive the vendor patch.

Fix this in Whatsapp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-3566 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data