#Flaws zoom keybase app kept from software
#Flaws zoom keybase app kept from windows

However, it could put their security, privacy and safety at risk, especially for users living under authoritarian regimes in which apps like Keybase and Signal are increasingly relied on as a way to conduct conversations out of earshot of law enforcement or security services. The flaw was discovered by researchers from the group Sakura Samurai as part of a bug bounty program offered by Zoom, which acquired Keybase in May, 2020.

#Flaws zoom keybase app kept from software

Zoom said it has fixed the flaw in the latest versions of its software for Windows, macOS and Linux. Deleted…but not goneĪccording to researcher John Jackson of Sakura Samurai, the Keybase flaw manifested itself in two ways. First: Jackson discovered that images that were copy and pasted into Keybase chats were not reliably deleted from a temporary folder, /uploadtemps, associated with the client application.

“In general, when you would copy and paste in a Keybase chat, the folder would appear in (the uploadtemps) folder and then immediately get deleted,” Jackson told Security Ledger in a phone interview. Clearly there was some kind of software error – a collision of sorts – where the images were not getting cleared.”Įxploitable Flaw in NPM Private IP App Lurks Everywhere, Anywhereĭiscovering that flaw put Sakura Samurai researchers on the hunt for more and they soon struck pay dirt again.

Sakura Samurai members Aubrey Cottle ( Robert Willis ( and Jackson Henry ( discovered an unencrypted directory, /Cache, associated with the Keybase client that contained a comprehensive record of images from encrypted chat sessions. In a statement, a Zoom spokesman said that the company appreciates the work of the researchers and takes privacy and security “very seriously.” The application used a custom extension to name the files, but they were easily viewable directly or simply by changing the custom file extension to the PNG image format, Jackson said.

#Flaws zoom keybase app kept from windows

“We addressed the issue identified by the Sakura Samurai researchers on our Keybase platform in version 5.6.0 for Windows and macOS and version 5.6.1 for Linux. Users can help keep themselves secure by applying current updates or downloading the latest Keybase software with all current security updates,” the spokesman said. Podcast Episode 141: Massive Data Breaches Just Keep Happening. In most cases, the failure to remove files from cache after they were deleted would count as a “low priority” security flaw. However, in the context of an end-to-end encrypted communications application like Keybase, the failure takes on added weight, Jackson wrote. The flaw takes on even more weight given the recent flight of millions of Internet users to end-to-end encrypted messaging applications like Keybase, Signal and Telegram.Ī user, believing that they are sending photos that can be cleared later, may not realize that sent photos are not cleared from the cache and may send photos of PII or other sensitive data to friends or colleagues.” Messaging app flaws take on new importance “An attacker that gains access to a victim machine can potentially obtain sensitive data through gathered photos, especially if the user utilizes Keybase frequently. Those users were responding to onerous data sharing policies, such as those recently introduced on Facebook’s WhatsApp chat. In countries with oppressive, authoritarian governments, end to end encrypted messaging apps are a lifeline for political dissidents and human rights advocates.Īs Cybercrooks Specialize, More Snooping, Less Smash and GrabĪs a result of the flaw, however, adversaries who gained access to the laptop or desktop on which the Keybase application was installed could view any images contained in Keybase encrypted chats. The implications of that are clear enough. For example, recent reports say that North Korean state hackers have targeted security researchers via phishing attacks sent via Keybase, Signal and other encrypted applications. The flaws in Keybase do not affect the Zoom application, Jackson said.