Meta Platforms · WhatsApp · Meta Platforms WhatsApp Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability
Verdict
Patch on your normal cycle · actively exploited, not reachable unauthenticated from the internet, and in the top 10% of CVEs by near-term exploitation probability
Added to CISA KEV 2025-09-02 · exploited in the wild for 390 days
CVSS 5.4 MEDIUM. The score is a summary; these three components are the part that decides whether something scanning the internet can use it.
| Attack vector | networkreachable over the network, with no local access needed |
|---|---|
| Privileges required | lowneeds some credentials, so a fully anonymous attacker cannot reach it directly |
| User interaction | nonecan be triggered with nobody interacting with the page or request |
| Base vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N |
| Weakness | CWE-863 |
This describes the vulnerability. It says nothing about whether your systems run it.
EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.0430, which places it in the top 10% of all tracked CVEs. The percentile is the more useful half: 0.18 in absolute terms sounds low until you know most of the internet-facing software in the world scores under that.
| EPSS probability | 0.0430 |
|---|---|
| Percentile | 0.908 — top 10% |
| Added to KEV | 2025-09-02 |
|---|---|
| Days exploited | 390 |
| Federal remediation due | not set |
| Ransomware use | no known ransomware campaign use |
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Incomplete authorization of linked device synchronization messages in WhatsApp for iOS prior to v2.25.21.73, WhatsApp Business for iOS v2.25.21.78, and WhatsApp for Mac v2.25.21.78 could have allowed an unrelated user to trigger processing of content from an arbitrary URL on a target’s device. We assess that this vulnerability, in combination with an OS-level vulnerability on Apple platforms (CVE-2025-43300), may have been exploited in a sophisticated attack against specific targeted users.