Bug affecting Android version of WhatsApp causes it to crash when a certain message is received

The Android version of popular messaging app WhatsApp is crashing whenever someone sends a specific message to a subscriber via the app. On Twitter, security researcher PandyaMayur (@pandyaMayur11) wrote that the specific message is http://w.me/settings. In other words, if you were to send that precise message in a chat to a WhatsApp contact who uses the Android version of the app, it will cause that app to crash. This appears to be affecting users with version 2.23.10.77 of WhatsApp.

The message will cause WhatsApp to continually crash whenever the specific chat containing it is opened. So if someone sends you a chat containing the message as a prank or just to get you upset, after you restart the app, avoiding the malicious chat will keep your WhatsApp app running. While http://w.me/settings would normally allow you to access the settings on the app, for some reason only the Android version of the WhatsApp app is carrying the bug that is causing it to crash when a chat containing that message is opened. 

If someone does send the message to you, the only thing you can do besides avoiding that specific chat is to open WhatsApp via your desktop or laptop computer and delete it. Once you've deleted the message on your computer, you can return to your Android phone and resume the chat.

Don't send this message(https://t.co/wKuoDv7bMr) to anyone chat.otherwise it will Crash WhatsApp(happened only in Android)if already send it than use WhatsApp web or desktop application to delete this.@WhatsApp@Meta#whatsappcrash#wamesettings#meta#bugpic.twitter.com/y0QATSWHiO

— PandyaMayur (@pandyaMayur11) May 25, 2023

As of the latest data available, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world with 2 billion monthly active users worldwide. WeChat is second with 1.2 billion monthly active users followed by WhatsApp's stablemate Facebook Messenger with 988 million monthly active users.

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