[su_heading size=”18″ margin=”40″]Researchers at security firm Lookout have identified a dangerous vulnerability that affects most of the Android ecosystem, putting more than 1.4 billion devices at risk.[/su_heading]
According to the researchers, the vulnerability, which has been given the identifier CVE-2016-5696, lies in the incorrect implementation of the TCP protocol in the Linux, which also affects 80% of Android. And if you're wondering how these two operating systems are related, know that Android is essentially a modified version of the Linux kernel.
[su_note note_color=”#cce6cf” radius=”7″]The Linux Foundation has already taken all measures to address the vulnerability, having released a corresponding patch for the Linux Kernel on July 11, 2016.[/su_note]
All later versions of Android 4.4, including this one, are affected by the vulnerability.
The security flaw allows an attacker to examine servers or users to detect active connections, without requiring a Man-in-the-Middle attack, and then guess the sequence of packets being exchanged.
This allows an attacker to enter the packet flow between the two parties, intercept unencrypted traffic, or terminate encrypted connections. All versions of the Linux kernel, from version 3.6 to version 4.7, are vulnerable to the vulnerability.
The first vulnerable version of the Linux Kernel was released in 2012 and was used to build Android 4.4 (KitKat).
Since researchers revealed that the Linux security flaw also affects Android just last week, Google has yet to release corresponding security patches.
Although no exploit has yet been discovered that uses this vulnerability for attacks, Lookout recommends that all users encrypt their traffic, which they can achieve through the use of HTTPS connections and encrypted applications or by using a VPN.
