# CVE-2017-8769: Information disclosure in n/a

> Deleted chat files remain accessible in cleartext on the SD card, allowing attackers with device access to recover sensitive media.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 May 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hfjp-gqm3-83qg

## What is CVE-2017-8769?

CVE-2017-8769 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 18 May 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official 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

Weakness: CWE-311 (Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-8769?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Whatsapp Whatsapp.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-8769?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-8769 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-8769 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-8769 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-3568](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3568/): WhatsApp VOIP Stack Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-18426](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-18426/): WhatsApp Cross-Site Scripting (high 8.2, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-55177](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-55177/): Meta Platforms WhatsApp Incorrect Authorization (medium 5.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-36934](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-36934/): Integer overflow in WhatsApp Business for Android (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-24042](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24042/): Memory corruption in WhatsApp Business for Android (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-8769 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-8769 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 18 May 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-8769 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8769/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8769/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-8769
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-8769
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-8769

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8769/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.