Qualcomm aware of 'QuadRooter' since February; Sony Mobile, BlackBerry release statements

Yesterday it was reported that over 900 million Android devices running Qualcomm chipsets were at risk because of a potentially serious security flaw. However, it seems that Qualcomm has been aware of this for months, and has been on the case as well.

Cyber-security company Check Point said that the "QuadRooter" risk is "a set of four vulnerabilities that gives attackers complete control of your Android" device.

In response to queries from Khaleej Times, Qualcomm provided the following statement:

"Providing technologies that support robust security and privacy is a priority for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc (QTI). We were notified by the researcher about these vulnerabilities between February and April of this year, and made patches available for all four vulnerabilities to customers, partners, and the open source community between April and July. The patches were also posted on CodeAurora. QTI continues to work proactively both internally as well as with security researchers to identify and address potential security vulnerabilities."

Meanwhile, Sony Mobile also responded to Khaleej Times' request for comment on the QuadRooter issue.

"Sony Mobile takes the security and privacy of customer data very seriously. We are aware of the 'Quadrooter' vulnerability and are working to make the security patches available within normal and regular software maintenance, both directly to open-market devices and via our carrier partners, so timings can vary by region and/or operator. Consumers are recommended to continuously upgrade their phone software in order to optimise performance of their Xperia smartphone. Users can take steps to protect themselves by only downloading trusted applications from reputable application stores."

UPDATE: BlackBerry has sent this statement to Khaleej Times regarding the matter, pledging immediate action:

"BlackBerry is aware of the Quadrooter flaws and the vulnerabilities that affects the majority of Android devices. A fix for BlackBerry's Android devices was integrated and tested in our labs immediately after the report was received and we will expedite it to customers as soon as possible."

"BlackBerry is not aware of any exploits for this vulnerability in the wild and does not believe that any customers are currently at risk from this issue. More importantly, this issue shows how 'secure' is not a target, it is a continuum. ?The complex nature of software makes it prone to exposures and vulnerabilities. That means to achieve BlackBerry's standard of being the most secure, we must practice and enable these tenets: security by design; continual and fast security updates; and total control and visibility of your privacy and security."

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