At a recent convention, a huge vulnerability with MMS on the Android platform was announced publicly. Joshua Drake, from the security company Zimperiem discovered the loophole and reported it to Google in July. The exploit targets an area of Android called Stagefright giving anyone with your phone number the ability to send a multimedia message with a batch of code that could take control of your phone. Here’s a basic description of Stagefright:
Android provides a media playback engine at the native level called Stagefright that comes built-in with software-based codecs for several popular media formats
The good news is there’s a patch for this major weakness and the bad news is it’s taking manufacturers, cellular carriers, and Google some time to get the update delivered to the masses. If you are a Nexus owner the patch has already pushed or is ready to be pushed to your device. Yes, even HTC’s Nexus tablet will get the patch. If you have an HTC One phone expect to see the update as well as the newer Desire models. Google has posted a statement that the following HTC phones will be patched:
- HTC One M7
- HTC One M8
- HTC One M9
HTC’s policy regarding the recent security patch is as follows: Implementing Google’s latest Android patches is one of HTC’s highest priorities. Working with Google, HTC has already begun rolling the fix into our software, and we will deliver these updates first to the HTC One M9 and the newest HTC Desire products.
To read more about the seriousness of the Stagefright vulnerability head over to Zimperium.
