Bluetooth Flaw Allows Hacking Android Smartphones (But Don't Panic)

A bug made it possible to use the Bluetooth of an Android smartphone to install malware. But it is already fixed, and was, in any case, relatively difficult to set up.

This is a critical flaw! Which also allows you to spread malware on your Android smartphone! Even though both of these alerts are true, don't worry. As usual in the cybersecurity information circuit, the flaw was discovered and repaired before it was even made public. You just need to keep your smartphone up to date to protect yourself from it.

That's not all: the cybersecurity researchers who discovered it have not made public their method of exploiting it. There is therefore no indication that thugs know how to take advantage of this flaw. And even if it allows for highly developed attacks, it is actually complicated to set up.

A POWERFUL ATTACK ...

Thanks to this flaw, a hacker can go through the Bluetooth of an Android smartphone to install malware, remotely, and discreetly. He does not need any action from his victim for his attack to be successful. According to Jan Ruge, quoted by the Bleeping Computer, attackers can then spread their malware from one device to another on the same network.

To perform the manipulation, the hacker only needs one piece of data: the Bluetooth MAC address of the target's device. This is an identifier stored on your phone, linked to its network card. The researchers point out that this address is relatively easy to find. For some devices, it is even sufficient to deduce it from the MAC address of the Wi-Fi router, visible to all. In the event that a target is connected to the Wi-Fi of a Starbucks for example, the MAC of its Bluetooth could be accessible by the hacker.

... ULTIMATELY VERY LIMITED

But even though the vulnerability is classified as critical, it is easy to avoid. First, it only concerns smartphones that operate on Android Oreo (8 and 8.1) and Android Pie (9.0). On the most recent version of Google's operating system, Android 10, exploiting the flaw only crashes the Bluetooth. A relatively limited threat, therefore.

Then, the exploitation of the flaw goes through Bluetooth, a network which has a range of about ten meters. The hacker can work remotely, but he will not be far away: it is an additional risk-taking for him.

UPDATE YOUR SMARTPHONE

As usual, this the vulnerability was fixed before being made public. If you regularly update your operating system, then you are not affected. The February security patch  also fixes 22 other software bugs, take advantage.

However, ERNW researchers refrained from posting technical details about the vulnerability in case malicious third parties use it. They have not published the proof of concept of their manoeuvre, and thus they protect the less informed, users.

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