Google Launches Security Patch to Make your Android Devices Immune to Third Party Attackers

When Perception Point and Red Hat, two reputed security research firms, pointed out a serious issue with Android's security, which could make their devices vulnerable to the attacks of third party applications, Google wasted no time in firing back through an update they posted on Google Plus. According to the claims, third party applications could easily exploit the Android devices by evading the security provided, and take over the other operations of the device. This vulnerability starts attacking from the roots, thus posing a serious threat. Google had apparently been unaware of this issue and after careful investigation said -

"We believe that no Nexus devices are vulnerable to exploitation by 3rd party applications. Further, devices with Android 5.0 and above are protected, as the Android SELinux policy prevents 3rd party applications from reaching the affected code..."

Moreover, in the same update, they promised to come up with a security patch on March 1, to make the devices more secure than ever. After that, Google took the necessary steps to right this terrible wrong by releasing a monthly Android Security Update from the month of February itself.
Now the question arises, if Google truly believed that it was a minor security threat, that while not entirely baseless, was not too serious either, why did they launch a security update before the given timeframe? If it was indeed minor, would rolling out this security update have been the search giant's top priority?

Google announced that this update would be available for Nexus devices, and would apparently fix a few "minor bugs". The Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow based MMB29Q build would be available for Nexus 6P, 5X, 5, 6 and 7. It would also be available with MXB48T, MMB29R, MMB29U for Pixel C, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player respectively. The update for Android Lollipop 5.1 also brings about the Security Patch Level of February 1. The Nexus Security Bulletin by Google declared that the update affects Mediaserver, to prevent remote code execution on affected devices through web browsing, MMS, or email while processing a medial file. It was also said to improve the privilege of Qualcomm Wi-Fi driver and prevent external apps from activating the "debugging" feature in smartphones, which can severely compromise the safety of the devices.

No matter how much Google tries to keep it under wraps, it has to be admitted that this security issue which has existed since 2012, caught the attention of millions worldwide, thereby forcing Google to launch an update as soon as possible.