First Apps Targeting Android Key Vulnerability Found in the Wild

wiredmikey writes with this tidbit from Security Week: "Earlier this month, researchers from Bluebox Security uncovered a serious vulnerability in Android that allowed for the modification of apps without affecting the cryptographic signature, making it possible for attackers to turn legitimate apps into Trojans. ... Now, Symantec says it has uncovered the first malicious apps making use of the exploit in the wild. Symantec discovered two mobile applications that were infected by an attacker, which are legitimate applications used to help find and make doctor appointments and distributed on Android marketplaces in China. 'An attacker has taken both of these applications and added code to allow them to remotely control devices, steal sensitive data such as IMEI and phone numbers, send premium SMS messages, and disable a few Chinese mobile security software applications by using root commands, if available,' Symantec explained in a blog post. ... Google has fixed the security hole in Android, but it is now in the control of handset manufacturers to produce and release the updates for mobile devices to patch the flaws."

In other words ...

[gstoddart]

Google has fixed the security hole in Android, but it is now in the control of handset manufacturers to produce and release the updates for mobile devices to patch the flaws.

So, in other words, most people are screwed, because most of the manufacturers pretty much never really do updates.

I think that has to be the biggest limitation of the platform -- it is so fragmented, you could easily end up with a device which is never going to see updates.

Re:In other words ...

[CastrTroy]

This is one reason where I think that Apple really has it right. Ensuring that users can easily get software updates for the entire phone ensures that they have a good user experience (for the most part, eg. Apple maps). But Android is such a mess in this respect. Google seems to get this with the nexus line of phones, but the other vendors seem to do a pretty bad job. And even if they release an update, it can sometimes be blocked by the network owner, or the update won't be for the network you happen to be with. It's like if you bought a Dell computer and when Windows came out with a new OS, you could only get the new version if Dell allowed it.

Re:In other words ...

[jeffmeden]

I'm already happy I bought a Google Edition phone then and not having to wait for the damn handset and/or telco assholes to get off their butts to issue a fix.

Except... wait for it...

OEMs (Samsung, LG, HTC, etc) have already patched this, and have already gotten code past the carriers. And Google? Every Nexus device STILL HAS THIS HOLE. Fragmentation is not the issue, mobile security is just fucking hard.

Re:In other words ...

[Rich0]

Really, the way that people spend $400-$500 on a device and think that they are entitled to lifetime support for bugfixes AND updates amazes me.

Microsoft of all companies set the expectation here. Your $500 laptop from 2000 running XP STILL gets security updates every patch Tuesday. And certainly Android can't hold a candle to Wintel when it comes to fragmentation.