The Computer Emergency Response Team under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued a critical warning for older Android devices, specifically Android versions 13 and older. CERT has highlighted multiple vulnerabilities in the Android operating system that could pose significant risks to users. It has also labelled the vulnerabilities found in the Android OS as 'CRITICAL'.
The government further warns that if these vulnerabilities are exploited, they will open the door for attackers to carry out a range of malicious actions. This will include cyber criminals executing their own code on the device, gaining elevated privileges, accessing sensitive user information, and even causing a denial of service (DoS) situation where the device becomes inoperable.
In simple terms, these security flaws can allow hackers to take control of your Android device, steal your data, or render it unusable.
According to CERT, the vulnerabilities that have been highlighted primarily affect Android devices running older versions of the operating system, specifically Android versions 11, 12, 12L, and 13.
Fortunately, Google has already released the update for Android OS which addresses the issues. Therefore, users are asked to promptly update their devices and take necessary security measures to safeguard their devices and phone.
What's concerning is that these vulnerabilities are not confined to a single component; instead, they are found in various parts of the Android system. This includes critical components like the Framework, System, Google Play system updates, as well as components associated with different hardware manufacturers, such as Arm, MediaTek, Unisoc, Qualcomm, and even Qualcomm's closed-source components.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.