Home
Mobiles
Mobiles News
Linux Vulnerability Exposes 66 Percent of All Android Devices to Attacks: Report

Linux Vulnerability Exposes 66 Percent of All Android Devices to Attacks: Report 4u4z12

By Manish Singh | Updated: 20 January 2016 18:28 IST

ment

A vulnerability has been found in the Linux kernel that has exposed tens of millions of Android to malicious attacks. The reportedly vulnerability has been around for almost three years. Major Linux distributors are expected to release a patch for the bug this week. 613q15

Dubbed as CVE-2016-0728, the vulnerability is said to affect Linux kernel version 3.8 or later and any operating system that is based on it. The reported flaw, if exploited, allows an attacker to perform kernel code execution and gain root level access on the targeted system.

The vulnerability resides in a component called keyrings that is designed to encrypt and store information, keys, and certificates and push them to applications. The vulnerability was discovered by Israel-based security startup Perception Point, which added that it has seen no incidents of the exploitation of the aforementioned vulnerability.

"As of the date of disclosure, this vulnerability has implications for approximately tens of millions of Linux PCs and servers, and 66 percent of all Android devices (phones/ tablets)," Perception Point wrote in a blog post. "While neither us nor the Kernel security team have observed any exploit targeting this vulnerability in the wild, we recommend that security teams examine potentially affected devices and implement patches as soon as possible."

As mentioned before, the keyring facility allows drivers to retain and cache security data, encryption and authentication keys, and other data in the kernel. These objects can be managed by space programs via available system call interfaces.

The problem is that many of the affected devices - especially Android smartphones - won't ever receive the security patch. LG, and other device manufacturer are unlikely to push the update to their older handsets.

Perception Point hasn't disclosed the exact Android versions that are affected with the aforementioned vulnerability, though it is worth pointing out that at least version Android 4.2.2 or lower aren't affected with the bug as they are based on Linux kernel version 3.4 or lower.

Comments

For the latest reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.