If you own a Pixel, make sure it’s up to date right now. Google just quietly announced patches for as many as 50 different software vulnerabilities in its Pixel line, many of which are listed as being “critical” or “high” in severity. The company said that there are indications that at least one of the bugs “may be under limited, targeted exploitation.”
The software flaws are in various different software and firmware components of the phone. The high-severity vulnerability that is thought to have seen exploitation is listed as CVE-2024-32896, which is said to be a privilege elevation flaw—meaning it could allow a hacker to penetrate deeper into a device’s system. Forbes writes that while the issues raised by the bugs are “unlikely to open the door to a remote attack on their own,” they “could potentially be leveraged in a chain attack, linked with other exploits to destabilize or exfiltrate sensitive data and credentials.” Information about the full list of bugs can be read on Android’s Pixel update bulletin webpage.
“All supported Google devices will receive an update to the 2024-06-05 patch level. We encourage all customers to accept these updates to their devices,” the company said.
Gizmodo reached out to Google for more details about the vulnerabilities and will update this story if it responds.
Some bugs are obviously worse than others, although this many bugs on the same device make it critical that users make sure that their software is up to date and protected. A list of supported Pixel devices can be found on Google’s website. To install the patches for your Pixel, make sure to go to Settings > Security & Privacy > System & Updates > Security Update, and then hit Install. After that, restart your phone, which will ensure that the updates are complete.
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