Android Security Patch for October 2019 Rolls Out to Fix 28 Vulnerabilities

Google has released the Android Security Patch for October 2019 to address the latest security vulnerabilities and issue affecting its supported Pixel devices.

Consisting of the 2019-10-01 and 2019-10-05 security patch levels, the Android Security Patch for October 2019 is here to fix a total of 28 security vulnerabilities discovered in various components, such as Android framework, Media framework, Android system, Linux kernel, and Qualcomm components, including closed-source ones.

The most critical issue fixed in the Android Security Patch for October 2019 was discovered in the Media framework and it could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code using a specially crafted file. Other severe vulnerabilities addressed in the Android Security Patch for October 2019 could allow locally installed malicious apps to bypass user interaction requirements to gain access to additional permissions.

“The most severe of these issues is a critical security vulnerability in the Media framework component that could enable a remote attacker using a specially crafted file to execute arbitrary code within the context of a privileged process. The severity assessment is based on the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would possibly have on an affected device,” reads the security bulletin.

Improvements for Pixel phones

The Android Security Patch for October 2019 comes accompanied by the Pixel Update, which contains fixed for three security vulnerabilities affecting the Android framework and Qualcomm components, as well as a bunch of functional patches for all supported Pixel phones, including Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL.

These functional patches include Wi-Fi stability improvements, sensor calibration improvements, a fix for a memory drain in the UI (User Interface), gesture navigation stability improvements, a fix for a bootloop issue in certain device locale modes, system stability improvements, as well as a fix for missing heads-up notifications.

All users are urged to install the Android Security Patch for October 2019 on their devices as soon as possible. According to Google, Pixel 1 and Pixel 2 devices will also receive a patch for the CVE-2019-2215 issue as part of the October update.