News > Phones 40 40 people found this article helpful Google Patches Android Security Risk, Update Now The latest fix addresses three critical flaws By Rob LeFebvre Rob LeFebvre Facebook Twitter Associate Editorial Director, News UCLA California State University, Northridge Rob LeFebvre is the Associate Editorial Director, News for Lifewire. He has been a technology writer for more than 12 years with articles appearing in 148Apps, Cult of Mac, Engadget, and more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 5, 2020 01:06PM EST Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Phones Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Tech Leaders Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Women in Gaming Why This Matters This isn't a typical security patch, but one that includes several flaws classified as critical. Update your Android device to the latest version immediately. Wikimedia Make sure you update your Android device to the latest security patch as soon as possible. There are three critical bugs it addresses (and four more less critical ones, as well). The details: The security flaw that's getting the most attention is known as MediaTek-su by Android developers and CVE-2020-00069 by Google. The bug itself lets attackers gain root access to your Android device without having to unlock the bootloader, reports Sophos' Naked Security blog. While MediaTek itself says it patched the vulnerability in May 2019, the Android developer group XDA notes there are millions of Android devices in the wild that haven't received the fix from the company, and they may never. Even more: Other serious bugs in the update include ones in the media framework, which handles camera, audio, and video. These allow remote attackers access to your device's media codecs. Other bugs include vulnerabilities in what's called "privilege elevation," which could allow a user that isn't you higher access in the operating system than they should be allowed. The Bottom Line: If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times: keep your devices updated with the latest updates. That includes iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and all of your smart home devices. There's no reason not to do it. Via: Forbes Become an Expert on Android Security The 11 Best Privacy and Security Apps for Android Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit