Final month, it was found that an inactive piece of software program that ships on all Google Pixel smartphones introduced a possible safety vulnerability for system house owners. The corporate rapidly stated it might take away “Showcase.apk,” which was created years in the past “for Verizon in-store demo units and is now not getting used.” However on the off probability it have been ever exploited, cybersecurity agency iVerify discovered that the software program may make telephones “accessible to hackers and ripe for man-in-the-middle assaults, code injection, and adware.” The flare-up was sufficient for Palantir to implement a companywide ban on Android units.
On the time, Google informed us that it had “seen no proof of any lively exploitation,” and with immediately’s launch of the month-to-month Pixel software program replace, it’s eliminating Showcase.apk altogether. The discharge notes verify that the September patch features a repair to “take away third-party APK to deal with safety vulnerability.”
Apart from that, it’s a really small replace, with enhancements to Wi-Fi stability and efficiency for Google’s brand-new Pixel 9 portfolio as the one different bullet level. Greater software program upgrades await subsequent month; that’s when Google plans to roll out Android 15 to its units. The main OS replace was launched to the Android Open Supply Challenge (AOSP) immediately, but it surely’ll be just a few extra weeks till it’s prepared for Pixel {hardware}.