By Rhonda Wickham
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Google has released an over-the-air fix for a serious security flaw found on the Android operating system.
Security experts from the Baltimore, Md.-based Independent Security Evaluators reported the flaw last week. According to its Website, “A user of an Android phone who uses the Web browser to surf the Internet may be exploited if they visit a malicious page. Upon visiting the malicious site, the attacker can run any code they wish with the privileges of the Web browser application.”
The security company said the impact of the flaw was limited because of Android's architecture. For example, an attacker could have access to elements such as cookies and saved passwords but would not be able to access other functions.
Google said the update, which includes some other minor changes, should be rolled out to all G1 users soon.