Google has warned that Android device makers failed to roll out a major update made available this summer, putting user data at risk.
The firm’s experts have singled out Google itself as one of the manufacturers that has been too slow to sort it out.
The company’s Project Zero team that tracks down bugs also called Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo.
A series of problems have been found in a technology in some smartphones called Mali GPU.
Arm, the company that makes the driver, solved the problem in the summer.
It is then up to the device brands themselves to implement the repair in the software updates made available to users.
This means that phones with the Mali GPU are still vulnerable to hackers, even if patches are available.
“Just as users are recommended to fix as soon as possible once a release containing security updates is available, so are vendors and enterprises,” Project Zero said.
“Companies should remain vigilant, follow upstream sources closely, and do their best to deliver full fixes to users as soon as possible.”
All five vulnerabilities are classified as medium severity, but they could still be used by a hacker to gain full system access and allow “broad access” to user data.
Devices with a Snapdragon chipset are not affected.
Google Pixel 7, Xiaomi 12 Pro, Oppo Find X5 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S10, S9, A51 and A71 handsets are among the list of products using Mali GPU, according to Lowyat.net.
Hopefully the warning will prompt manufacturers to roll out an update to fix the issue.
So keep an eye out for patches reaching you – and have automatic updates to receive the patch as soon as it’s available.
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