April 2022 Android security update now officially available

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April 2022 Android security update now available, rolling out to Pixel phones

By Corbin Davenport

Published Apr 4, 2022

Google has released the April 2022 Android security update, and it's already starting to roll out to Pixel phones and third-party devices.

Google releases a batch of security patches and bug fixes for the Android operating system on a monthly basis, usually on the first Monday of each month. Sure enough, it's the first Monday of April, and now a new security update is starting to roll out to Google Pixel phones and a few third-party devices.

April 2022 Android Security Update Bulletin

The April 2022 security update is split across two different patch levels — 2022-04-01, with fixes for security problems that apply to most Android devices, and 2022-04-05, with patches that only apply to certain phones and tablets. The 2022-04-01 security level contains seven security patches for the Android Framework, all of which are labelled as High Severity. There are also two patches for the Media Framework and three for the System, as well as two fixes for Project Mainline components.

Notably, the update seemingly doesn't contain a fix for the 'Dirty Pipe' security vulnerability, which allows software to overwrite data in read-only files. The vulnerability has already been exploited for temporary root access on the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Google Pixel 6.

Pixel Update Bulletin/Functional Update

Google has also included a few security patches that specifically affect Pixel devices, with fixes for the Android kernel, camera, bootloader, and wireless connectivity. The main kernel fix is for security vulnerability CVE-2021-34866, which allows applications to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code on specific versions of the Linux Kernel.

There are also a handful of bug fixes for Pixel phones, which are listed below. Google didn't mention any new features in this update, but considering last month's update was Android 12L/12.1, that makes sense.

Google Pixel Update for April 2022 Changelog

Battery & Power

Additional improvements for wireless charging performance with certain accessories *[2].

Camera

Fix for issue causing front-facing camera preview in certain apps to appear zoomed in *[2].
Fix for issue occasionally causing green screen to appear in camera preview *[2].

User Interface

Fix for crash in System UI while using apps in Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode in certain conditions *[1].
Fix for issue causing error message to display when setting up certain live wallpapers *[1].
Fix for issue causing notification shade and Quick Settings to appear invisible after changing wallpaper in certain conditions *[1].
Fix for issue occasionally causing animation to display incorrectly when canceling a search in the app drawer *[1].
Fix for issue occasionally preventing navigation in overview screen while TalkBack is active *[1].
Fix for issue occasionally preventing recents button to show the overview while using 3-button navigation with third party launchers *[1].

*[1] Included on Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, Pixel 5a (5G), Pixel 6 & Pixel 6 Pro

*[2] Included on Pixel 6 & Pixel 6 Pro

Unlike some recent monthly updates, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro won't have to wait longer than older Pixel phones. Google says the April 2022 update is rolling out to all Pixel devices starting today, and some third-party phones already have it — the Exynos version of the Galaxy S21 just received the April patches with software version G99xBXXS4CVCG.

If you don't want to wait for Google to push the update to your Pixel phone, check out our Android 12L download article for the latest OTA files and factory images.

Source: Pixel Phone Help, Pixel Update Bulletin, Android Security Bulletin