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WhatsappApplication

CVE-2020-1901

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.20.91.4 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
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
Receiving a large text message containing URLs in WhatsApp for iOS prior to v2.20.91.4 could have caused the application to freeze while processing the message.

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 · moderate confidence

A denial-of-service vulnerability in WhatsApp for iOS allows remote attackers to cause the application to freeze by sending specially crafted large text messages containing URLs. The vulnerability affects versions prior to v2.20.91.4.

MitigationUpdate WhatsApp for iOS to version v2.20.91.4 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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:< 2.20.91.4

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

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

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. Confirm WhatsApp for iOS is installed
    Check the iOS device for WhatsApp application in the app library or home screen. Verify the app icon matches WhatsApp for iOS.
    Affected if WhatsApp for iOS is present on the device
  2. Locate the installed WhatsApp version number
    Open the WhatsApp app, go to Settings > Help > App Info. The version number is displayed at the top of the screen.
    Affected if Version number cannot be retrieved from WhatsApp settings
  3. Compare installed version against the vulnerable range
    Take the version shown in App Info (format typically shows as two numbers like X.X.X) and compare it numerically to 2.20.91.4. Any version lower than 2.20.91.4 is vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is less than 2.20.91.4

User is affected if WhatsApp for iOS is installed and the version is below 2.20.91.4.

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 2.20.91.4 or later
Fixed in 2.20.91.4
Interim mitigation

Update WhatsApp for iOS to version v2.20.91.4 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Fix this in Whatsapp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-1901 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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