TikTok Android App Has a ‘One-Click’ Exploit says Microsoft—Now Sees Fix

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 31 August 2022, 10:08 pm

Microsoft discovered a significant vulnerability for TikTok's Android application, claiming that its security research team found a "one-click exploit" that endangers millions of users on the platform. Here, the said security vulnerability is already fixed in the present, with Microsoft sharing the said issue to TikTok, with the Chinese social media promptly providing a fix.

Microsoft Reports TikTok Android's Security Vulnerability

(Photo : KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
This picture taken in Moscow on October 12, 2021 shows the Chinese social networking service TikTok's logo on a smartphone screen.

According to a recent blog post by Microsoft, it previously discovered a security vulnerability on the TikTok Android application that left users vulnerable to significant access to their accounts. The 365 Defender Research Team immediately made this known to TikTok, and the company rolled out a patch that protected its systems before anything happened.

The Android apps are the only ones with a security problem from Microsoft's discovery. After its swift actions, TikTok was able to save millions of accounts that hackers would have accessed through the vulnerability that may have taken personal information and sensitive data that may cause harm to its users.

TikTok's One-Click Exploit

According to The Verge, the initial issue may have allowed threat actors to post videos, send messages, and edit account information and details, something that may compromise their online presence. Microsoft said that this is a one-click exploit, a sophisticated vulnerability to gain access to user accounts without much effort from the data thief.

The vulnerability saw an immediate patch from TikTok that prevented the exploit from accessing the data of more than millions using the Android version of the app.

TikTok's Security Issues

Like any other social media platform, TikTok is a company that holds a significant user base on its platform and is the target of many threat actors and hackers to gather information. There was once a security vulnerability on the in-app browser of TikTok, with claims that it can track everything a user types while using it.

There was also one dispute with TikTok's data as the company discovered that its Chinese counterpart, which supposedly turned over its control of the app for the western region, still has access to data. It was a significant dispute against TikTok, with the company already working on transferring its data to Oracle, its American operation rights holder.

TikTok is also facing several security issues from different threat actors, and one of the most recent is what Microsoft revealed earlier this day, claiming that its Android app faces a problem that endangers all users. Nevertheless, a quick response from TikTok to patch the vulnerability prevented any access through this exploit, as a result, maintaining its safe environment.

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Written by Isaiah Richard