New month, new Android security updates.
Google today published the Android Security Bulletin for March 2017, detailing the Android vulnerabilities that’ve recently been discovered and the patches that fix ‘em. Google says that there will be two security patches this month, one for March 1 and one for March 5, to give its partners the flexibility to quickly patch a set of vulnerabilities that are similar across all Android devices.
There are 21 vulnerabilities that’ve been identified this month, with three of the issues being classified as “Critical.” The good news is that Google hasn’t received any reports of this month’s issues being exploited. All Android partners were notified of the vulnerabilities on February 6 or earlier.
Google will be pushing the March 5 update (which includes the March 1 fixes as well) to Nexus and Pixel devices over the air. If you don’t feel like waiting for your OTA update to arrive and you’re comfortable with manually flashing a factory image, you can find those right here.
Many folks store important personal info on their devices, whether that’s photos, passwords, or whatever else, so it’s important that our phones be as secure as possible. Google is working to keep Android phones safe with its monthly security patches, so if you’ve got a Nexus or Pixel device, be on the lookout for your March update.