A zero-day flaw is one that is immediately open to possible attacks. Because it’s been announced publicly, the authors of the product it affects have zero days to address and fix it. The Linux community is currently experiencing this with a vulnerability that was announced this week relating to the Linux kernel on which millions of servers run as well as several versions of the Android operating system (OS). It could be used to gain root level access and steal information that is stored on the device.
The flaw is found in a security feature, ironically, involving a memory leak and the keyring facility of the kernel. It is believed that this affects at least 66% of Android devices and tens of millions of Linux servers. It affects the Linux kernel version 3.8 for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems.
Users of Android should consider updating their devices to run on a version of the operating system that is currently supported. Over a year ago, Google announced it would not issue a fix for the WebView vulnerability on versions prior to 4.4. That one was four versions ago. Systems that are not supported or updated regularly, run a higher risk of being hit with malware or exploits because the vendors will no longer issue patches for them, or don’t do so in a timely manner. Windows XP users have been struggling with this for nearly two years now, since Microsoft stopped support for it.
It is also important to install anti-malware on all devices and keep it updated as well. While it is not a guarantee everything will be fine and dandy, it is still important because it will catch the known malware before it can do damage.
To lower the risk of this being exploited until it is repaired, those with 4.3 and above can activate the SELinux function on Android. Unfortunately, this is not available prior to 4.3. For Linux servers, activating the SMEP and SMAP will lower the risk, though not eliminate it.
Even though there isn’t much one can do about a zero-day vulnerability until patches are released, it is important to avoid other exploits by keeping systems updated with the latest ones that have been issued. In this case, a patch for Linux is packaged and ready to go. Google has not stated when it will be fixed on their systems. However, since Android is open source, once a patch is available, it is largely up to the device service providers and the operating system developers to issue it to their customers.
It is estimated that 27% of those using the Android OS are using a version prior to 4.3. If that is you, seriously consider an upgrade to a newer device. This flaw has been assigned the reference CVE-2016-0728. When a patch is available, apply it right away.
There is no evidence that this is being exploited yet; but it’s likely that now that the hackers know about it, someone will be staying up late trying to figure out how to do something bad with it.
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