Google Shares March Android Security Bulletin, But Pixel Updates Are Running Mysteriously Late
© Courtesy of Android PoliceAlmost like clockwork, Google releases security patches for Android and Pixel phones after 10am on the first Monday of every month. The most anticipated update this month for Pixel owners is the QPR2 Pixel Feature Drop, where Google adds cool new features to your devices. The problem is that 10:00 Pacific has been going back and forth for a few hours, and no updates are visible, but at least there is movement now.
Google released its March Android Security Bulletin at 10:27 a.m. PT, detailing all the patches it has submitted to the Android Open Source Project to address security vulnerabilities. Thus, the latest Android security patch level will be updated by March 5, 2023, although Google says it may take 48 hours for all code changes to be pushed to the AOSP repository.
This bulletin includes two security patches: March 1, 2023 and March 5, 2023. The March 1 update addressed 18 system vulnerabilities and 8 infrastructure vulnerabilities, and 5 more vulnerabilities will be addressed through updates from the Google Play system. . The March 5 update mainly includes fixes for vendor-specific vulnerabilities: 21 for Qualcomm, 4 for Unisoc and 3 for MediaTek, although there is also a CVE patch in the Android kernel.
Google warned that the most serious issue it has addressed is a critical vulnerability in Android that could allow remote code execution. Most of the vulnerabilities are listed as very serious, but only four of them are rated as critical: CVE-2023-20951 and CVE-2023-20954 on Android, as well as CVE-2022-33213 and CVE-2022-33256. At the Qualcomm shutdown. - Original ingredient.
While it's nice to see security fixes added to AOSP, the delayed Pixel update makes all the changes Google made in the QPR2 beta particularly disappointing. In Beta 1, among other things, the quick settings panel has been redesigned with a new animation and a larger clock in the media player. Beta 2 had the ability to set a theme for all icons on the home screen, and Beta 3 brought customizable lock screen shortcuts, so there's something to look forward to.
A reliable place to learn about Pixel updates as they are released is the Google Pixel Community. If you check your history of Pixel update posts on this forum, you'll see that all updates for the past month have been announced no later than 10:08am. The only exception was the January 3rd update, which didn't go live until Tuesday at 1:19pm PT, but since it was the first post-holiday update, that was expected.
Hopefully we'll see QPR2 tomorrow, but at this point Pixel fans should be tired of asking for updates.
