Although Google is one of the best software development companies, it sometimes can make mistakes on its phones or operating system. A user discovered the issue with the security of Pixel phones. According to David Schütz, the customer, the bug allows an attacker to unlock and bypass your Pixel phone’s lock screen by using a SIM card. Here are the details about the Pixel November patch.
November security patch brings a lot of bug fixes
Google released a lot of bug fixes with the Pixel November patch, but there is a big reason to immediately update to the November security patch. The patch includes a bug fix for a security issue that can unlock and bypass your Pixel phone’s lock screen. According to Schütz, a locked device with biometrics can be unlocked after several incorrect tries.
Schütz explains, “Since the attacker could just bring his/her own PIN-locked SIM card, nothing other than physical access was required for exploitation. The attacker could just swap the SIM in the victim’s device, and perform the exploit with a SIM card that had a PIN lock and for which the attacker knew the correct PUK code.”
Attackers can use a new SIM card to unlock a Pixel phone without having to be particularly tech-genius. They just need to take out the old SIM and insert the new one, enter the wrong PIN three times, then the phone asks for the PUK code, and done. With this method, all biometric lock screen protections like the PIN code, the fingerprint reader, etc. were disabled.
Google Pixel Update – November 2022
Here is the list of Software versions and bug fixes:
Global
- Pixel 4a: TP1A.221105.002
- Pixel 4a (5G): TP1A.221105.002
- Pixel 5: TP1A.221105.002
- Pixel 5a (5G): TP1A.221105.002
- Pixel 6: TP1A.221105.002
- Pixel 6 Pro: TP1A.221105.002
- Pixel 6a: TP1A.221105.002
- Pixel 7: TD1A.221105.001
- Pixel 7 Pro: TD1A.221105.001
Verizon (US)
Telia (EU)
- Pixel 7: TD1A.221105.001.A1
- Pixel 7 Pro: TD1A.221105.001.A1
Bug fixes & Improvements
Battery & Charging
- Fix for issue causing increased power consumption while certain apps installed
Display & Graphics
- Fix for issue occasionally causing green display flicker in certain conditions
- Optimizations for display power consumption to improve thermal performance in certain conditions *[2]
System
- Fix for issue occasionally causing Photos app to crash when using certain editing features
