April 26, 2013 at 11:31Viber vulnerability allows bypassing Android smartphone lock
An interesting vulnerability in Viber was discovered by researchers from Bkav Internet Security. Using it, an attacker can very easily bypass the blocking of an Android phone, and for this you do not need any special skills or equipment - you need to know the person’s number and just a couple of messages.
In fact, Viber initially, upon installation, asks for permission to turn off the lock screen, without which it just won’t install. This, and, frankly speaking, the ill-conceived security system of the application itself, leads to the situation shown in the video:
Viber has over 50 million downloads on Android, it is one of the most popular VoIP clients and instant messengers on the platform.
The developers are notified of the problem and have already released a fix . In addition, if an update is not yet available, Viber users can simply turn off notifications.
In fact, Viber initially, upon installation, asks for permission to turn off the lock screen, without which it just won’t install. This, and, frankly speaking, the ill-conceived security system of the application itself, leads to the situation shown in the video:
Viber has over 50 million downloads on Android, it is one of the most popular VoIP clients and instant messengers on the platform.
The developers are notified of the problem and have already released a fix . In addition, if an update is not yet available, Viber users can simply turn off notifications.