There is also a private ASB that is sent to phone manufacturers and companies that supply chips to them. The latter is distributed 30 days before the public bulletin is sent out so that the manufacturers and chip suppliers can test the patches before they are announced.
Google changes how it releases the monthly Android Security Bulletin
Google now releases only information about “high-risk” vulnerabilities monthly. As a result, the majority of software fixes will be received on a quarterly basis. So what does Google consider a high-risk vulnerability to be? The company defines these as crucial issues that need to be addressed immediately, including ones that are being actively exploited or are part of an exploit chain. The latter is a series of multiple vulnerabilities linked together by an attacker to help him achieve a larger goal, something like taking control over the full system of a phone.
Calling a software flaw “high risk” in this manner is different than the “critical” or “high-severity” vulnerabilities that appear in the ASBs.
Manufacturers will benefit from Google’s new security bulletin release plan
The July Android Security Bulletin contained no security patches. | Image credit-Google
With the new plan, we should expect to see some monthly bulletins, like the one for the Pixel this July, released with no vulnerabilities to list, although two functional patches were included with that update. Functional patches exterminate bugs that prevent a feature from working correctly. A security patch eliminates a flaw that creates a security hazard when exploited.
While Pixel users had no security patches to deal with according to the July bulletin, Samsung’s monthly July report said that Samsung Mobile patched 17 Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE), along with a couple of issues that were patched by Samsung Semiconductor.
What you should know about this
Actually, most phone owners probably don’t think twice about the monthly security releases. Pixel enthusiasts are much more interested in the quarterly Pixel Feature Drop than the monthly security release. Functional patches are also more eagerly awaited than security patches because they exterminate a bug that prevents you from doing something with your phone. While security patches are obviously very important, installing them doesn’t result in a change to the software that you can notice.
Even so, whenever you receive a monthly, quarterly, or even a semi-annual security update, you should install it right away. The faster you have these updates installed, the sooner your Android phone is protected from attackers looking to break into your device.
“Iconic Phones” is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we’ve been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we’re thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.