Stagefright 2: who is in danger from new Android bug?

Nearly a billion Android phones are said to be in danger of a remote hack because of a new bug. The fresh crisis comes just months after Stagefright accessed handsets via a simple text message. What are the details of the latest threat, and can you avoid it?

What is it?

Stagefright 2 is a bug that exploits a weakness in one of the pieces of code in the operating system of Android phones. Hackers can gain access to a device simply by luring the user into opening a link to an innocent-looking audio or video file. It is the successor to Stagefright, which emerged in July, under which Android phones could be hacked with a text that did not even need to be opened.

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What happens?

A successful attack allows the hacker to seize remote control of the 'mediaserver' process – the part of Android that deals with multimedia files such as photos, video and audio, leaving users' privacy at risk. "Additionally, the attacker gains a foothold, from which they could conduct further local privilege escalation attacks and take complete control of the device," mobile security firm Zimperium, which discovered the hack, told Forbes.

Who is in danger from it?

Any android phone can be hit by this bug – so more than 950 million people are theoretically in peril. Zimperium said it is currently not possible to be sure how many have been hit by it.

Can it be prevented?

Some say the bug is likely to be fixed by an update created last week. However, it may take some time for your phone to receive the relevant update, as Android updates must first be approved by phone companies, a process which can take several weeks.