Google has released monthly security updates for the Android operating system to address 46 new software vulnerabilities. Three of these vulnerabilities have been confirmed to be actively exploited in targeted attacks.
One of the vulnerabilities tracked as CVE-2023-26083 is a memory leak flaw affecting Arm Mali GPU drivers for Bifrost, Avalon and Valhall chips. This particular vulnerability was exploited in a previous attack that allowed spyware to enter Samsung devices in December 2022.
The vulnerability was deemed so severe that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a patching order to federal agencies in April 2023.
Another critical vulnerability, identified as CVE-2021-29256, is a high-severity issue affecting certain versions of the Bifrost and Midgard Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers. This flaw allows unauthorized users to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and elevate their privileges to root level.
The third most exploited vulnerability, CVE-2023-2136, is a severity bug discovered in Skia, Google’s open source multi-platform 2D graphics library. Initially disclosed as a Chrome browser zero-day vulnerability, this vulnerability allows a remote attacker who hijacks the renderer process to perform a sandbox escape and implement remote code on Android devices.
In addition to these, Google’s July Android Security Bulletin also revealed another critical vulnerability, CVE-2023-21250, affecting Android system components. This issue can lead to remote code execution without user interaction or additional execute permissions, and is particularly destabilizing.
These security updates are deployed in two patch levels. The first patch level, made available on July 1st, focuses on core Android components and addresses his 22 security flaws in framework and system components.
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The second patch level released on July 5th targets the kernel and closed source components and addresses 20 vulnerabilities in kernel, Arm, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek and Qualcomm components.
The impact of addressed vulnerabilities may extend beyond supported Android versions (11, 12, and 13) and may affect older OS versions that are no longer officially supported. It’s important to note one thing.
Google also released specific security patches for Pixel devices that address 14 vulnerabilities in kernel, Pixel and Qualcomm components. Two of these critical weaknesses could lead to privilege escalation and denial of service attacks.
