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Don’t panic, but a bug in Linux is leaving 80% of all Android users open to hacks

Christian de Looper
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Image used with permission by copyright holder
Another month, another large-scale Android vulnerability. A massive 80 percent of Android users have been left open to hacks that could result in hackers being able to gather information such as usernames and passwords.

The recently discovered vulnerability basically allows hackers to end connections, and if those connections aren’t encrypted, they can inject malicious code into communications between the two users, according to security firm Lookout.

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According to Ars Technica, the flaw was originally found in Linux 3.6, which was introduced way back in 2012. That version of Linux was introduced into Android 4.4 KitKat, and is present in all versions of Android after KitKat, including Android Nougat, the latest version of Android. That means that a hefty 80 percent of users, or around 1.4 billion users, are open to the hack. As Ars Technica notes, a way that hackers could take advantage of the flaw is to insert code into internet traffic that displays a message saying that you have been logged out of an account and prompting you to log in again. Once you’ve inputted your username and password, the hackers can use that information for themselves.

“The issue should be concerning to Android users as attackers are able to execute this spying without traditional ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks through which they must compromise the network in order to intercept the traffic,” said Andrew Blaich in a blog post for Lookout.

It’s important to note that the flaw goes beyond Android — it was introduced in the Linux kernel, which means that any software based on Linux could be open to it.

According to Google, engineers are aware of the flaw and are working on a way to patch it — so while it does appear in the latest version of Android, Android 7.0 Nougat, it’s likely we’ll see a patched version of the operating system once it’s finally released to the public.

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Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper
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