Indian govt warns against Android bugs that can steal user data

India governments warns of Android issues: Indian government's cyber-security wing, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), has issued a warning to all Android users in the country cautioning them about several vulnerabilities in Google's mobile operating system that can allow hackers to steal user data. "Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in Android which could be exploited by an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system," CERT-In wrote in its warning.

In its warning, the cyber-security wing of the Indian government has highlighted a total of 26 vulnerabilities affecting various Android OS versions. CERT-In says that these vulnerabilities exist due to issues in various components of Google's mobile OS. " These vulnerabilities exist in Android due to flaws in the Framework, System, Google Play system updates (ART and Wi-Fi subcomponent), Imagination Technologies components, MediaTek components, Qualcomm components and Qualcomm closed source components," CERT-In added in its blog post.

How do these Android vulnerabilities affect users?

According to the details shared by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, cyber criminals can exploit these vulnerabilities to 'execute arbitrary code on the targeted system'. Simply put, hackers can use the bugs to remotely execute a piece of carefully crafted code on the targeted system, which can give them access to a user's device and potentially steal all their data.

Which Android versions are affected by these vulnerabilities?

CERT-In, in its warning said that these vulnerabilities affect smartphones running Android 15, Android 14, Android 13, Android 12 and Android 12L.

How can Android users protect themselves?

Android users can protect themselves by downloading the latest version of Android operating system on their devices. Google on its part has confirmed that Android versions releasing after October 10, 2024, address the issues. "Security patch levels of 2024-10-05 or later address all of these issues," Google confirmed in the Android Security Bulletin October 2024.