The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has found multiple security vulnerabilities in four versions of Google's Android operating system — 10, 11, 12 and 12L.
While the first three are mobile operating systems, 12L was designed for tablets and foldable smartphones.
In a vulnerability advisory, CERT-In — the cybersecurity watchdog under the Union Ministery of Electronics and Information Technology — warned that devices running these operating systems stand the risk of being "exploited by an attacker to execute arbitrary code, gain elevated privileges, gain access to sensitive information and cause a denial of services (DoS)".
DoS is akin to a ransomware attack wherein access is denied to the owner/user of the system.
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The CERT-in advisory noted that these vulnerabilities were caused by flawed execution of code at the system level and problems with components supplied by semiconductor companies MediaTek and Qualcomm.
Google has since rolled out security patches to fix these vulnerabilities and has advised users to check and update their smartphones.
How to check and update your Android version
1. Open your phone's Settings app
2. Near the bottom, tap 'About phone' -> 'Android version'
3. Here, you will see your 'Android version', 'Android security update', and 'Build number'
4. To update, under 'Settings', tap on 'Security'
5. To check if a security update is available, tap Google Security checkup'
It must be noted here that not every smartphone would have received the security updates the moment Google rolled them out, as the release schedule varies between smartphone manufacturers.
You will get a system alert when you have an update ready to download.
First Published: Jun 14, 2022 3:07 PM IST
