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Google Shares Fix For Pixel Phones Hit By Bad System Update
Google has shared a temporary fix for owners of Google Pixel devices that were rendered unusable after installing the January 2024 Google Play system update.
As previously reported by BleepingComputer, after the January 2024 Google Play system updates came out, some owners of various Google Pixel models experienced internal storage access problems, the inability to open apps or the camera, or even take screenshots.
Google acknowledged the problem and told BleepingComputer that they were looking into the issues, and owners who hadn't applied the January 2024 Play system update were advised to hold off.
Today, Google shared a temporary and somewhat complicated fix on the Google Pixel support forums that could help impacted users restore their phones to normal working status.
"We are aware of a storage issue occurring on a small number of Pixel phones that have received the January Google Play system update, causing some devices to behave incorrectly," reads a post by a Google community manager on Pixel's support forums.
"If your device was impacted, you might notice multiple apps crashing, screenshots not saving, and external storage working inconsistently."
Although Google hasn't shared any details regarding the root cause of the issue, it stated it's more prevalent on Pixel devices with multiple user accounts.
The company says they are working on fixing the root cause of the system update issue and will provide further updates when they learn more.
While Google is working on a fix that will be pushed out to all Pixel phones via an update, it has released a fairly complicated temporary solution that requires installation of the Android Platform Tools developer toolkit.
If you are comfortable using the command, then you can follow these steps to fix your Google Pixel device:
The above fix requires having a Windows, Linux, or macOS computer available and a certain level of comfort or familiarity working with developer tools, so it's certainly not ideal for everyone.
Rightfully, some users complained that the fix was far too complicated. Others underlined that Google was too late to share a fix, noting that many impacted users have performed a factory reset by now.
Those still on the November 2023 Play Services update would be better off postponing the installation of the latest update, especially if they use multiple user profiles.
If you're already impacted and need extra help resolving the issue, it is recommended that you ask your questions in Google's support forums.
More Android Apps Riddled With Malware Spotted On Google Play
An Android remote access trojan (RAT) known as VajraSpy was found in 12 malicious applications, six of which were available on Google Play from April 1, 2021, through September 10, 2023.
The malicious apps, which have now been removed from Google Play but remain available on third-party app stores, are disguised as messaging or news apps.
Those installing the apps became infected with VajraSpy, allowing the malware to steal personal data, including contacts and messages, and depending on the granted permissions, even to record their phone calls.
ESET researchers who uncovered the campaign report that its operators are the Patchwork APT group, which has been active since at least late 2015, primarily targeting users in Pakistan.
In 2022, the threat actor unintentionally revealed details of their own campaign when they accidentally infected their infrastructure with the 'Ragnatela' RAT, a tool they were employing at the time. This misstep provided Malwarebytes with a window into the Patchwork's operations.
The link between VajraSpy and the activity cluster that ESET identifies as Patchwork was first established by QiAnXin in 2022 (attributing to APT-Q-43), followed by Meta in March 2023, and Qihoo 360 in November 2023 (attributing to APT-C-52).
ESET researcher Lukas Stefanko found 12 malicious Android applications containing the same VajraSpy RAT code, six of which were uploaded on Google Play, where they were downloaded roughly 1,400 times.
The apps that were available on Google Play are:
VajraSpy apps available outside Google Play are all bogus messaging apps:
Third-party app stores do not report download counts, so the number of people who have installed them through these platforms is unknown.
ESET's telemetry analysis indicates that most victims are located in Pakistan and India and are most likely tricked into installing the fake messaging apps via a romance scam.
VajraSpy is a spyware and RAT that supports various espionage functionalities that mostly revolve around data theft. Its capabilities are summarized as follows:
The power of VajraSpy lies in its modular nature and adaptability, while the extent of its spying capabilities is determined by the level of permissions it obtains on an infected device.
ESET concludes by advising that users should refrain from downloading obscure chat apps recommended by people they don't know, as this is a common and longstanding tactic cybercriminals employ to infiltrate devices.
While Google Play introduces new policies that make it harder for malware to hide in apps, threat actors continue to sneak their malicious apps onto the platform.
Previous attacks performed much better than this VajraSpy spyware campaign, such as an October adware campaign amassing 2 million installs.
More recently, it was discovered that the SpyLoan information-stealing malware was downloaded 12 million times from Google Play in 2023.
Update 2/2 - A Google spokesperson sent BleepingComputer the following comment:
We take security and privacy claims against apps seriously, and if we find that an app has violated our policies, we take appropriate action.
Users are protected by Google Play Protect, which can warn users of apps known to exhibit this malicious behavior on Android devices with Google Play Services, even when those apps come from sources outside of Play.
Google Shares Pixel Phone Fix For Storage Issues After Google Play System Update
The Google Play System update for January has caused some problems on a "small number" of Pixel phones and Google has acknowledged the issue today. Through a community post, Google talks through a storage issue that popped up, saying that they are working on a fix while also providing a method to manually fix should you be willing to fire up the ol' adb machine on your computer.
Google points out that after applying the January Google Play System update, some users were noticing apps crashing, screenshots not saving, and external storage working inconsistently. The likelihood of these issues popping up were more likely for those with multiple user accounts or work profiles on a phone.
Google is working on a fix for this "root system update issue" and plans to let us know as that update or fix arrives. For now, they've provided folks with a couple of commands that can be run in adb that should fix their devices.
There is a full set of instructions listed by Google that start from turning on USB debugging and downloading Android's Platform Tools, before getting into the adb commands. For those new to adb, I'll let you walk through those instructions yourselves. For those not new, it looks like two commands will straighten you out, and those are:
"./adb uninstall com.Google.Android.Media.Swcodec""./adb uninstall com.Google.Android.Media"
Once you've run those, yoiu';ll need to reboot your phone.
Feel free to give that a try if you are experiencing the storage issues described above after applying the January Google Play System update.
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