Published November 5, 2018
The Pixel / Nexus Security Bulletin contains details of security vulnerabilities and functional improvements affecting supported Google Pixel and Nexus devices (Google devices). For Google devices, security patch levels of 2018-11-05 or later address all issues in this bulletin and all issues in the November 2018 Android Security Bulletin. To learn how to check a device's security patch level, see Check & update your Android version.
All supported Google devices will receive an update to the 2018-11-05 patch level. We encourage all customers to accept these updates to their devices.
Note: The Google device firmware images are available on the Google Developer site.
Announcements
In addition to the security vulnerabilities described in the November 2018 Android Security Bulletin, Google devices also contain patches for the security vulnerabilities described below.
Security patches
Vulnerabilities are grouped under the component they affect. There is a description of the issue and a table with the CVE, associated references, type of vulnerability, severity, and updated Android Open Source Project (AOSP) versions (where applicable). When available, we link the public change that addressed the issue to the bug ID, such as the AOSP change list. When multiple changes relate to a single bug, additional references are linked to numbers following the bug ID.
Framework
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Updated AOSP versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2018-9526 | A-112159033 [2] [3] | ID | High | 9 |
HTC components
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2018-9580 | A-76222002* | EoP | Moderate | Bootloader |
Qualcomm components
| CVE | References | Type | Severity | Component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2017-14888 | A-70237718 QC-CR#2119729 |
N/A | Moderate | WLAN Host |
| CVE-2017-15835 | A-72957155 QC-CR#2125781 |
N/A | Moderate | WLAN Host |
Functional patches
All Pixel devices running Android 9 will receive an Android 9 update as part of the November OTA. This quarterly release contains many functional updates and improvements to various parts of the Android platform and supported Pixel devices.
This release also contains the following fixes, which will be mandatory for Android device manufacturers.
| References | Category | Improvements | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-111401911 | Display | Improved performance for devices using picture-in-picture | Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL |
| A-109769728 | Framework | Improved Strongbox symmetric key generation requests | Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL |
| A-112198479 | Display | Improved performance for apps using picture-in-picture | Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL |
| A-112714177 | Notifications | Improved stability for notifications | Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL |
Common questions and answers
This section answers common questions that may occur after reading this bulletin.
1. How do I determine if my device is updated to address these issues?
Security patch levels of 2018-11-05 or later address all issues associated with the 2018-11-05 security patch level and all previous patch levels. To learn how to check a device's security patch level, read the instructions on the Pixel and Nexus update schedule.
2. What do the entries in the Type column mean?
Entries in the Type column of the vulnerability details table reference the classification of the security vulnerability.
| Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| RCE | Remote code execution |
| EoP | Elevation of privilege |
| ID | Information disclosure |
| DoS | Denial of service |
| N/A | Classification not available |
3. What do the entries in the References column mean?
Entries under the References column of the vulnerability details table may contain a prefix identifying the organization to which the reference value belongs.
| Prefix | Reference |
|---|---|
| A- | Android bug ID |
| QC- | Qualcomm reference number |
| M- | MediaTek reference number |
| N- | NVIDIA reference number |
| B- | Broadcom reference number |
4. What does a * next to the Android bug ID in the References column mean?
Issues that are not publicly available have a * next to the Android bug ID in the References column. The update for that issue is generally contained in the latest binary drivers for Pixel / Nexus devices available from the Google Developer site.
5. Why are security vulnerabilities split between this bulletin and the Android Security Bulletins?
Security vulnerabilities that are documented in the Android Security Bulletins are required to declare the latest security patch level on Android devices. Additional security vulnerabilities, such as those documented in this bulletin are not required for declaring a security patch level.
Versions
| Version | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | November 5, 2018 | Bulletin published. |