October Android Security Updates Released

The Android team has released the Android security update patches for October today.  The patches, two this month instead of three, have been released for all supported Nexus devices as well as the Pixel C.  As is the norm, the updates have been released as Factory Images and OTA images for those who want to flash their devices immediately.  If you don’t, the OTA update should be coming to your devices over the course of the next week or so.  For those who have Nexus 6 phones, the news is really great for you as Android Nougat has finally been released for your phone and includes this October update.

Google has been splitting up their patches the last few months and October is no exception.  Unlike the last couple of months however, there are only two this month.  The first patch is the 2016-10–1 patch and it is the one for all devices and manufactures.  It contains 12 high priority security patches, mostly around elevation of privileges and denial of service threats.  The second patch, 2016-10-05, is primarily aimed at Nexus devices and contains 5 critical patches focused on remote code execution.  If you have a Nexus device, you will see the October 5th update which is inclusive of the fixes in the October 1st update.

You can read all about the changes and fixes in these patches in the Android Security Bulletin.  Perhaps the biggest news in all of this is that Nougat has finally been released for the Nexus 6.  While

Android Nougat

Android Nougat on the Nexus 6P

all the other devices in the Nexus lineup saw the update last month, the 6 was left out with various rumors pointing to some compatibility issues.  Those issues, which were never disclosed by Google, seem to be resolved.

As for when non-Nexus devices will see the October update, that’s always the million dollar question.  Given that most manufactures still are rolling out the August update, it could be several months before you see this update on your device.

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