Although it is a problem that has appeared a few years ago, Google has just announced how dangerous it is and has sent a notice to the owners of a Google Pixel. The company has discovered Two critical vulnerabilities in the Google Pixel 6 that allowed hackers and cybercriminals to take control of your device with just one call, without the need to install apps, viruses or anything else.
Although the company has corrected these vulnerabilities with a patch, it has recommended that the owners of this mobile phone disable the 2G connection on their phones. This error was in the modem batterywhich allowed hackers to compromise wireless connections via the 2G standard and gain with control of these phones.
These are the errors discovered by Google
These were detailed by Google’s Android Red Team at a security conference earlier this week, showing how is it possible to gain control of the phones with just one call and a very cheap home phone base station. Cybercriminals take advantage of any opportunity to gain control of our phones and get hold of our data, files or infect them for their benefit.
The errors are the following:
- CVE-2022-20170OTA remote code execution bug patched with June 2022 security update for Pixel devices
- CVE-2022-20405elevation of privilege (EoP) flaw, fixed in August 2022 and considered a moderate vulnerability at the time
Both went subsequently considered critically, and although there is no evidence that attackers are exploiting them now or have done so before, it does not mean that they will not be able to do so in the future. In addition, that there is no record of it does not mean that it has not happened. This shows the clear need to be extremely careful when using your mobile and update your phone as soon as a new version is available.
Disable 2G networks to keep your mobile safe
This vulnerability has to do with the weaknesses of 2G networks, that have not yet disappeared despite the fact that there are more powerful connections such as 5G. In fact, they are still present in the modem chips of many devices so that they can have Internet even in areas where 5G does not work. This is the case of the Google Pixel 6.
The problem we find ourselves with is that they are very insecure connections with few security measuresand therefore are more vulnerable to attacks of all kinds.
For this reason, Google has advised users of the Google Pixel 6 disable 2G connectivity on their phones, also on other models that have it for their own safety. It is possible to do it from the telephone configuration, in network settings. In any case, 2G will continue to be enabled for emergency calls. If you want to use it again because you do not have the highest Internet speed wherever you go, you just have to reactivate it from time to time, even if it is not recommended.
Besides that, update your mobile as soon as possible as soon as you find a new update available to take advantage of all its news and security patches.