CVE-2020-1903
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 · uneditedAn issue when unzipping docx, pptx, and xlsx documents in WhatsApp for iOS prior to v2.20.61 and WhatsApp Business for iOS prior to v2.20.61 could have resulted in an out-of-memory denial of service. This issue would have required the receiver to explicitly open the attachment if it was received from a number not in the receiver's WhatsApp contacts.
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 confidenceA memory exhaustion vulnerability exists in WhatsApp for iOS and WhatsApp Business for iOS when processing ZIP archives within office document attachments (docx, pptx, xlsx). Specifically, the unzipping functionality does not properly constrain memory allocation, allowing specially crafted documents to trigger an out-of-memory condition resulting in denial of service.
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< 2.20.61< 2.20.61CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed WhatsApp for iOSOpen iPhone Settings, scroll to WhatsApp in the list of installed apps, or check via MDM/Apple Configurator if managedAffected if WhatsApp for iOS is present on the device
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Determine WhatsApp for iOS versionOpen WhatsApp for iOS, tap Settings, then tap Account, then tap Help, then tap App Info to view the version numberAffected if Version shown is lower than 2.20.61
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Identify installed WhatsApp Business for iOSOpen iPhone Settings, scroll to WhatsApp Business in the list of installed apps, or check via MDM/Apple Configurator if managedAffected if WhatsApp Business for iOS is present on the device
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Determine WhatsApp Business for iOS versionOpen WhatsApp Business for iOS, tap Settings, then tap Help, then tap App Info to view the version numberAffected if Version shown is lower than 2.20.61
If either WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business for iOS is installed with a version below 2.20.61, the device is vulnerable to memory exhaustion when processing specially crafted ZIP archives in document attachments.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data2.20.61
Update WhatsApp for iOS and WhatsApp Business for iOS to version 2.20.61 or later. Additionally, users should avoid opening document attachments from unknown contacts to reduce exposure to malicious files.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-1903 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-1903 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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