Google’s July security update is rolling out to Pixels with a critical vulnerability fix

After June’s Pixel Feature Drop added fun new functionality like DisplayPort output and Gemini Nano on more devices, Android 15 hit a major milestone in its beta development with its Platform Stability release. Google even came back with another Android 15 beta release, but now it’s turning its focus to the stable channel with July’s security update for Android 14.

Google announced the update on its product forums today, noting that it has a build number of AP2A.240705.004 on most devices. All Pixel phones from 2021’s Pixel 5a and onwards will receive this update as long as they’re not enrolled in the Android Beta Program.

The main point of this update is to get the patches outlined in July 2024’s Android Security Bulletin out to phones. For Pixels, these will bring fixes for eight Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) in the July 1 set, including one marked as Critical severity. A second set of patches dated July 5 covers an additional 19 CVEs, but these are vendor-specific, so not all of them will apply to Pixel devices.

In its description of the patches for the Critical severity vulnerability (CVE-2024-31320), Google explains that under certain conditions, third-party (“3p”) apps could bypass user prompts before today’s update:

Fix a security issue that allow 3p apps to skip prompt by setSkipPrompt

Some non-critical bugs were fixed as well

Google’s release notes for this version mention a handful of bug fixes, including a back gesture bug that was affecting all Pixel models that will receive this update. The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro get a fix for camera issues, and those two models plus the Pixel 8a get a separate fix for system stability problems.

The July 2024 update includes bug fixes and improvements for Pixel users – see below for details.

• General improvements for camera stability under certain conditions *[2]

• General improvements for system stability and performance in certain conditions *[3]

• Fix for back gesture navigation not working in certain conditions *[1]

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Fixes are available for all supported Pixel devices unless otherwise indicated below. Some fixes may be carrier/region specific.

*[1] Pixel 5a (5G), Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet

*[2] Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8

*[3] Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8, Pixel 8a

Google says this update will start hitting devices today, though the rollout could take as long as a week depending on your carrier. However, last month’s update took roughly two weeks to reach T-Mobile users and over a week to hit Pixels on Verizon’s network.

You can check to see if the July 2024 security update is ready for your Pixel by heading to Settings → System → Software updates → System update and tapping Check for update. If it’s not there yet, you can always try the manual method of flashing the factory image files Google just published with Fastboot or Android Flash Tool.