BlackBerry first to patch QuadRooter; Priv and DTEK50 are no longer vulnerable

Last week, we told you about the QuadRooter vulnerability that was said to affect one billion Android powered devices. Four flaws were discovered, and three of them were patched, leaving one vulnerable. This was going to be taken care of in Google's September security update. QuadRooter can allow a hacker to gains root access to a phone's camera, microphone, data and more.

How deadly is QuadRooter? Consider that the phone called by its manufacturer as "the most secure Android phone in the world," the BlackBerry DTEK50, was affected by it. Note how we wrote that in past tense. That is because BlackBerry has successfully patched the BlackBerry Priv and the BlackBerry DTEK50 against QuadRooter. These are BlackBerry's two Android powered handsets.

Being pushed out today is an update for the Priv and one for the DTEK50 that protects the two models from Qualcomm's vulnerability. Some of you might wonder why BlackBerry would rush out a fix for something that will be covered on the next monthly security update. BlackBerry Chief Security Officer, David Kleidermacher has the perfect reply. He said, "Some critical Android vulnerabilities – for example, one that can be easily and remotely exploited with a publicly disclosed method to execute 'root' privileged malware – simply can't wait for a monthly update cycle."

Priv and DTEK50 models purchased directly from BlackBerry will receive the update starting today. Those updates earmarked for carrier-sold models will start to arrive later this week.


source: Crackberry