translated from Spanish: The whatsApp hoax that allows a hacker to get hold of your Android phone (and what you can do to protect yourself)

WhatsApp installed on Android phones has a serious error: an open door for any hacker to take control of the phone.
This is alerted this week by the Spanish National Cybersecurity Institute (Incibe) in a statement, in which it mentions that the vulnerability is hiding in images with “maliciously manipulated” GIF extension that arrive or are used in the application.
These gifs or moving images install malicious code with which the attacker could gain access to the victim’s personal information.
The hacker, the agency warns, could even execute functionalities such as recording video or audio, reading our messages or stealing files from our cell phone.
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The bug was discovered by a security analyst known as Awakened who demonstrated on his blog how the error worked.
“The security flaw works well for Android 8.1 and 9.0, but it doesn’t work for Android 8.0 or its lower versions,” he said.
How to fix it
We recommend that you upgrade your application to versions later than 2.19.244.
To do this, access through the Play Store or the official WhatsApp website, to download the latest version available.
1.- From the Play Store app, search for the already installed app and then tap on the “Update” button.
This is the simplest option.
This updates the app from the Google Store.2.- From the website, you must access the “Download” option that you will find in the main menu of the website.
Once there select your device, in this case Android.
Then click on the “Download Now” button and run the .apk file, to start the installation.
Whatsapp can also be updated from the web. Facebook, owner of WhatsApp since 2016, replied in a note that “we have no reason to believe that users were affected by this bug. We are always working on better ways to deliver security updates.”
The social network has released a security patch that fixes the bug.
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Even though whatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted, meaning they should only appear on the sender’s or recipient’s device, the app remains vulnerable.
That’s why it’s a good idea to keep up with all the app updates, as they often include security settings, experts recommend.

Original source in Spanish