Zimperium notified the Android Security team on August 15, and Google will issue a fix for the first vulnerability (libutils) next week. What is Google and other manufacturers doing? Finally, an attacker could manipulate your device by using common traffic interception techniques (MITM) if they are on the same network. An attacker could also use third party apps that would automatically install and possibly play a malicious media file. This can be done via a Web browser in that the victim is duped to visit a URL that is controlled by the attacker. Since hackers can no longer use Google Hangouts or other Messenger apps, they have to use other methods to get a media file with Stagefright 2.0 code on your device. Patches have been issued for a number of devices, but users who don’t have a patched phone also have the ability to defend themselves by setting their apps to not download such media files automatically.

The original Stagefright hack involved sending an MMS message of the malicious video file that Google Hangouts or other third-party Messenger apps would receive and automatically download. The process of merely previewing the song or video would set the malicious code in motion. The hacker would need to get an MP3 audio or MP4 video containing the malicious code on your device. The second one resides in libstagefright and can be used on devices running Android 5.0 and higher. The first one resides in libutils and affects almost every Android device since 2008. There are two vulnerabilities of Stagefright 2.0. This playback engine is where the vulnerability resides, which Stagefright 2.0 can take full advantage of.

The name Stagefright comes from the media playback engine in Android that has the same name. Just like the original, hackers would have access to all your data, and even be able to access the microphone and camera once the malicious code is executed. In the case of Stagefright 1.0, it dealt with MP4 video files, but Stagefright 2.0 code can be executed from both MP4 video and MP3 audio files. Stagefright 2.0 is actually very similar to the original in that it deals with a media file containing malicious code that once executed, will give a hacker control of your device. Even worse, it doesn’t matter if your device received a patch for the original Stagefright hack because this is a completely new vulnerability.

According to Google’s latest stats, that’s about 1.4 billion devices worldwide. Unfortunately, the really bad news is that Stagefright 2.0 affects almost every Android device ever released. This new strain was discovered by Zimperium zLabs, the same folks who found the original vulnerability. Shutterstock / Ser BorakovskyyThe scare that the original Stagefright hack caused is back in a reboot called Stagefright 2.0.

What is stagefright vulnerability