Google is issuing a security patch to address the first
reported vulnerability in its open source mobile phone operating
system.
Google is working with T-Mobile - the sole distributor of the
first
G1 Android device - on getting the patch out to users. Google
has not said how many
G1 users there are.
The
open source process is partly to blame for the flaw, said the
researchers who discovered it. They said the open source process
has caused confusion among software engineers as to which secure
component in the OS should be used.
Charlie Miller, Mark Daniel, and Jake Honoroff of Independent
Security Evaluators identified and have exploited the security in
tests.
They said at the time of the flaw being made public, "The first
commercial phones with Android are being shipped with the
vulnerability present and may pose a security risk to their users
until an update becomes available."
Android is based on more than 80 open source packages. The
researchers said, "The vulnerability is due to the fact Google did
not use the most up-to-date versions of all these packages. In
other words, this particular security vulnerability that affects
the G1 phone was known and fixed in the relevant software package,
but Google used an older, still vulnerable version."
They said, "So as not to inform the 'bad guys', we will not
release any further information on the particular vulnerability or
software package until a fix is available."
They would say only that a user of an Android phone who uses the
web browser to surf the internet may be exploited if they visit a
malicious page. Upon visiting the malicious site, the attacker can
run any code they wish with the privileges of the web browser
application.
"We have a very reliable exploit for this issue for
demonstration purposes. This exploit will not be released until a
fix is available."
The same researchers have recently reported security
vulnerabilites in the Apple iPhone.
Video: Android flaw >>