Facebook WhatsApp Messenger before 2.16.323 for Android uses the SD card for cleartext storage of files (Audio, Documents, Images, Video, and Voice Notes) associated with a chat, even after that chat is deleted
Published May 18, 2017
4.6
MEDIUMCVSS 3.1
EPSS 0.21%
Description
Facebook WhatsApp Messenger before 2.16.323 for Android uses the SD card for cleartext storage of files (Audio, Documents, Images, Video, and Voice Notes) associated with a chat, even after that chat is deleted. There may be users who expect file deletion to occur upon chat deletion, or who expect encryption (consistent with the application's use of an encrypted database to store chat text). NOTE: the vendor reportedly indicates that they do not "consider these to be security issues" because a user may legitimately want to preserve any file for use "in other apps like the Google Photos gallery" regardless of whether its associated chat is deleted
Affected products
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
Table of values (9 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.21% (0.00206) | 9.60th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 0.21% (0.00206) | 11.07th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jul 20, 2024 | 0.07% (0.00067) | 29.83th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 12, 2024 | 0.07% (0.00067) | 29.30th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.07% (0.00067) | 27.27th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 0.89% (0.00885) | 27.89th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 0.89% (0.00885) | 10.50th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 0.62% (0.00624) | 17.80th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 0.62% (0.00624) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (2)
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/100906 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://wwws.nightwatchcybersecurity.com/2017/05/17/advisory-whatsapp-for-android-privacy-issues-with-handling-of-media-files-cve-2017-8769/ x_refsource_MISCExploitMitigationThird Party Advisory
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/100906 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://wwws.nightwatchcybersecurity.com/2017/05/17/advisory-whatsapp-for-android-privacy-issues-with-handling-of-media-files-cve-2017-8769/ | x_refsource_MISCExploitMitigationThird Party Advisory |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.