Researchers find Android flaw that can trap a phone in a crash loop
Key points
- Researchers have found an Android flaw called GhostMap that can send a phone into a crash loop.
- PCMag says the crash loop can start before any apps are opened.
- PhoneArena says the findings come from researchers at Bitdefender.
- Android Authority and Android Headlines say installing a malicious app is enough to trigger the problem.
- Android Headlines says the bug can brick a phone, meaning it stops working properly.
- PhoneArena describes the result as a boot loop, where the phone keeps restarting and never finishes starting up.
Researchers have found a flaw in Android, called GhostMap, that can leave a phone stuck in a crash loop. PCMag says the loop can begin before the phone opens any apps. PhoneArena says the researchers who found it work at Bitdefender, a security company.
The attack appears to need very little from the user. Android Authority says installing one app is enough to wreck a phone. Android Headlines says you do not even have to open the app, and that the bug can brick a device, which means the phone stops working properly. PhoneArena describes the end result as a boot loop: the phone restarts over and over and never finishes starting up.
In practice, the risk is installing an app from a source you do not trust. An app that carries the exploit could, once installed, push a phone into this state.
