Google releases fixes for 46 Android security flaws — update right now
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Google's May security update for Android has been released, and it contains fixes for 46 security flaws including one that the company says has been actively exploited in the wild.
The vulnerability that Google says has been under limited, targeted exploitation is being tracked as CVE-2025-27363 and has a CVSS score of 8.1 which makes it a high-severity flaw.
This flaw is in the System component and doesn't require any user interaction for exploitation. It is rooted in an open-source font rendering library, and is a type of out-of-bounds write flaw that could cause code execution when TrueType GX or variable font files are being parsed. Because of its location, it could lead to local code execution without the need for any extra privileges. You may like
CVE-2025-27363 was first disclosed by Facebook in March of 2025 but it has now been remediated in FreeType versions higher than 2.13.0. Other flaws in the May Android update include eight vulnerabilities in the Android System and 15 in the Framework module which could be used for privilege escalation, information disclosure or used for denial-of-service or DDoS attacks.
Google has stated in the security update that exploitation of these issues is made more difficult by the enhancements in newer versions of the Android platform, and the company encourages all users to update to the latest version of Android where possible. They also encourage users to use Google Play Protect so they will receive notifications about potentially dangerous apps. More from Tom's Guide
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business of Fashion
26 minutes ago
- Business of Fashion
How to Acquire Customers with Instagram Ads in 2025
Advertisers are starting to get a little more bang for their buck on Instagram. In the years after Apple made it harder to track iPhone users' online activities in 2021, the metrics on social marketing mostly headed in one direction: more expensive, less effective. But recently, the data has started looking better. The number of customers who click on Facebook and Instagram ads grew 14 percent year-over-year in the first five months of 2025, while the cost for each of those clicks dropped 10 percent during the same period, according to marketing agency Belardi Wong. There's no one reason online marketing has suddenly opened up again. In the last year, Meta added more AI tools through a platform called Advantage+, which it launched in 2022, that makes it easier for brands to target the right audiences with specific types of ads they're most likely to engage with. A study the company conducted last year found that brands using Advantage+ have seen a 22 percent higher return on ad spend on average, according to Jackie Pimentel, global lead of ads product marketing for Meta. (The company is reportedly planning to fully automate ad creation and targeting in 2026.) (BoF Team) As ads get cheaper, and more effective, it's creating an opening for a new generation of fashion start-ups. Many new brands have leaned towards building a following through their own social media content because paid ads were too expensive, especially when customers who click on them often fail to return. Now, performance marketing is a bigger part of the mix again. What those ads look like has changed since 2021, however. AI may enhance targeting capabilities, but consumers often recoil if the ad itself looks like it was generated by a machine. Potential customers still want to see great storytelling, whether it's glossy still images or pithy reels that show off a brand's personality. Womenswear brand Damson Madder, for example, 'takes a really bespoke approach to what creative we are servicing at every stage in [the] customer journey,' said Emma Shepherd, the brand's head of marketing. Damson Madder uses more polished campaigns to draw in new customers and product-specific imagery to retarget existing customers. Repurposed user-generated content helps fill in storytelling gaps. In two recent videos repackaged as ads, creators Polly Sayer and Poppy Almond show off different outfits they wore during Copenhagen Fashion Week, providing a deeper look at how specific pieces and looks can be styled for everything from café hopping to meetings. 'If you looked at Instagram a few years ago and just Meta ads in general, it used to be like, how do you figure out your targeting to make sure that you target the right audience,' said Emanuel Cinca, founder and chief executive of the Stacked Marketer newsletter. 'It's changed in the past year or so, where almost 80/20 percent of the performance is given by how good your creatives are.' Polished Campaigns A top-performing Instagram ad from With Nothing Underneath's summer 2025 campaign. (With Nothing Underneath) A still from Damson Madder's top-performing January 2025 campaign. (Damson Madder) A still from Set Active's spring 2025 "Coastal Countryside" campaign. (Set Active) When advertising on Instagram, the biggest challenge is getting people to notice an ad when they're quickly scrolling. Brands need to ensure their personality shines through so audiences can quickly get to know their brand identity and also remember them more easily. With these campaigns, consistency in aesthetic and tone of voice goes a long way. Women's shirting brand With Nothing Underneath produces all of its imagery in the brand's signature film camera style, which can have a soft, diffused look that appears more organic than digital photos. It also helps keep costs down; images from a summer 2025 campaign shoot in the South of France were used for both paid ads and posts on its page. One of those ads, which featured a photo of a woman sunning herself overlaid with with the quote 'To be worn effortlessly, without thought or anything underneath,' had 28 percent lower cost per acquisition than its average ad. 'When they get hit with an ad, it would be so weird for them to be hit with something that was not from the same shoot, with a different tone of voice and super corporate copy when they're used to our tone of voice,' said Pip Durell, With Nothing Underneath's founder. 'Our tone of voice is very British … It's a little tongue in cheek. It's not that serious.' Damson Madder uses campaign imagery that tells a story and leans into its playful, quirky style to draw new shoppers in. In January, for instance, it released one of its top-performing campaign carousel ads of 2025 featuring models faced with the slightly surreal chaos of returning to the office after the holiday season. 'Stuff that has some storytelling and intrigue, but is also really beautiful, slick, inspirational fashion campaign imagery and video … is what really draws customers in at the top of the funnel,' said Shepherd. User-Generated Content A UGC video posted during Copenhagen Fashion Week, which Damson Madder repurposed as an ad. (Damson Madder) One of Lisa Says Gah's UGC-style ads produced in-house. (Lisa Says Gah) A college ambassador video Set Active repurposed as an ad. (Set Active) Many brands have turned to repurposing user-generated content to create ads that feel less pushy. The original videos are mostly non-sponsored posts made by influencers walking viewers through a product's functionality or offering styling tips, although some brands are creating in-house versions starring team members. To grow that strategy, brands are getting more strategic about how they work with creators to re-use product content they post. Instead of overloading on gifting, as consumers get better at sniffing out inauthentic sponsored posts, brands are developing longer-lasting partnerships with creators who can choose to post about a product if they wish, and repurposing styling or educational videos that emphasise a product's utility. 'We've done that in the past … where 1,000 people would post the same thing on the same day,' said Vicky Boudreau, founder of micro-influencer platform Heylist. 'Now if you do a campaign asking everybody to post the same messaging within the same format, it looks super staged.' Set Active sees user-generated videos working 'because consumers can see how it moves, how it flows, how it fits into a daily life,' said Johnson, and the brand has recently scaled this content to make up 25 percent of its ads, up from 15 percent. The brand directly collects videos created by its community, and then requests usage rights. Some brands have even taken to producing content in-house that mimics what users might create. One of Lisa Says Gah's top five performing campaigns in the past year, for example, featured the brand's creative producer modelling the Jenny dress, and generated a $6 return — while its typical return on ad spend has been $5 for the year thus far. Product-Focused Imagery A Damson Madder ad highlighting some of its accessories. (Damson Madder) A Lisa Says Gah ad highlighting pieces from its summer collection. A Set Active video ad featuring pieces from the brand's core collection. (Set Active) Brands are learning when to push product-specific imagery — whether flat-lay product images or e-commerce product shots — which were once known to clog users' feeds but can be effective at converting shoppers who are already familiar with a brand. While Spanish womenswear brand Hand Over primarily focuses on campaigns and creator content, it uses product shots 'when we feel people need to just add it to the cart, maybe on Black Friday or a day after a drop,' said Lucia Mac Lean, the brand's creative lead. Product-focused visuals can be similarly effective in a video format. One of Set Active's top-performing ads is an 11-second video overlaid with the caption 'pov: your summer 2025 capsule wardrobe has arrived,' which showcases how a variety of pieces from their most recent collection can be styled. Whether a brand is producing polished campaigns, repurposing user content or drilling down to product-specific imagery, it needs to ensure its ads are reaching consumers at the right point in their shopping journey. New AI tools are helping brands quickly put an ad in front of a group of customers and see how they respond to it before pushing the ad out to a larger pool of users, said Cinca from Stacked Marketer. 'The biggest benefit is just the ease of testing,' he added. The tools are also helping brands reach larger audiences on Instagram, Meta's Pimentel said. 'Instead of like 100 people, where we look to see who among these 100 people are right for your ad, for your business? Who might convert? We actually can do that at a much larger scale,' she said. While many brands are still figuring out how much AI targeting they want to use, especially around tools that tailor the content of ads to specific customers, it's important to continue prioritising the quality of their content. 'It's reached a point where, really, the creatives are what matter the most,' said Cinca.
Time Magazine
30 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Why Waymo's Self-Driving Cars Became a Target of Protesters in Los Angeles
As protesters and police clash across Los Angeles and beyond, a striking image from the mayhem has been that of graffiti-strewn white cars engulfed in flames. But these aren't ordinary cars. They've got sensors protruding from the top and sides—and, critically, they've got no drivers. Waymo, a robotaxi company, found itself at the center of the demonstrations against the Trump Administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids after a group of protesters over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times, approached a parked row of the autonomous vehicles and smashed their windows, slashed their tires, spray-painted them with anti-ICE slogans, and set them on fire. While eye-catching, the trend is also extremely dangerous. Electric vehicles, like those in Waymo's fleet, have lithium-ion batteries, and in a post on X, the L.A. Police Department warned: 'Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby.' According to Scientific American, first responders exposed to the fumes of burnt lithium-ion batteries without protection historically 'have developed throat burns and breathing difficulties upon arriving,' and, depending on the hydrogen fluoride levels, individuals can start coughing up blood within minutes of exposure. At least six Waymo vehicles across the county have reportedly been the target of vandalism, resulting in the company temporarily suspending operations in the area 'out of an abundance of caution.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have condemned the violence and destruction, which Newsom attributed to 'insurgent groups' and 'anarchists' who have infiltrated otherwise peaceful protests. President Donald Trump, who mobilized the National Guard to respond to the situation, has called the demonstrators ' troublemakers ' and ' paid insurrectionists.' Here's what to know. What is Waymo? Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company, and grew out of the Google Self-Driving Car project that began in 2009. It launched its robotaxi business in 2020 in limited markets, which grew to include Los Angeles in 2024. While the company says its mission 'is to be the world's most trusted driver,' a national survey earlier this year found that '6 in 10 U.S. drivers still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle' while the proportion of people enthusiastic about the development of the technology has actually decreased from 18% in 2022 to 13% in 2025. Waymo vehicles were involved in 696 accidents across the U.S. between 2021 and 2024, or about one accident every other day. MKP Law Group, a Los-Angeles based firm that represents clients involved in accidents, acknowledged in a blog post that this statistic 'is not necessarily indicative of Waymo causing those accidents, as some may have been the fault of the other involved drivers.' Studies show that self-driving technology is likely safer than most human drivers. Waymo has also reportedly annoyed some people, including those who find self-driving vehicles to be an eyesore as well as locals where the vehicles routinely get stuck. Neighbors near a Waymo charging station in Santa Monica have complained about noise pollution caused by the driverless vehicles honking at each other in the parking lot. Waymo vehicles as well as other self-driving cars have previously been the target of vandals, particularly in California, where Waymo is headquartered. In January, a Waymo car was torn apart in Los Angeles. In February 2024, another Waymo car was smashed and set ablaze in San Francisco. And in July 2024, a man was charged with slashing the tires of 17 Waymo cars in San Francisco. Why is Waymo being targeted in the L.A. protests? Several potential explanations have emerged for why Waymo vehicles were targeted during the protests in Los Angeles. The Wall Street Journal reported that part of the reason the cars were vandalized was to obstruct traffic—a traditional, albeit controversial, protest tactic. Some social media users have suggested that self-driving vehicles in particular have become a new target because they are seen by protesters as ' part of the police surveillance state.' Waymo's cars are equipped with cameras that provide a 360-degree view of their surroundings, a tool that has been tapped by law enforcement, according to reports. Independent tech news site 404 Media reported in April that the Los Angeles Police Department obtained footage from a Waymo driverless car to use as part of an investigation into an unrelated hit-and-run. And Bloomberg reported in 2023 that police have increasingly relied on self-driving cars and their cameras for video evidence. Chris Gilliard, a fellow at the Social Science Research Council, told Bloomberg that self-driving vehicles are 'essentially surveillance cameras on wheels,' adding: 'We're supposed to be able to go about our business in our day-to-day lives without being surveilled unless we are suspected of a crime, and each little bit of this technology strips away that ability.' Waymo told Bloomberg at the time that it 'carefully' reviews every request from police 'to make sure it satisfies applicable laws and has a valid legal process.' Some activists have also suggested that the burning of Waymo vehicles should garner less sympathy from onlookers. 'There are people on here saying it's violent and domestic terrorism to set a Waymo car on fire,' racial justice organizer Samuel Sinyangwe posted on X. 'A robot car? Are you going to demand justice for the robot dogs next? But not the human beings repeatedly shot with rubber bullets in the street? What kind of politics is this?' 'There is no human element to Waymo,' climate and labor organizer Elise Joshi similarly posted on X. 'It's expensive and bought-out politicians are using it as an excuse to defund public transit. I pray on Waymo's downfall.'
Tom's Guide
41 minutes ago
- Tom's Guide
I'm stoked about iOS 26 Call Screening, but it proves Apple Intelligence is still playing catch up — here's why
Apple had a lot to share with its announcement of iOS 26 during its WWDC 2025 keynote yesterday (June 9). Not only will the iPhone software get a dramatic makeover when it's released later this fall with Apple's new Liquid Glass design, but there were several new features introduced that are coming to the iPhone's core apps. In particular, I'm excited that Apple's making it easier for iPhones to reduce the amount of spam calls thanks to a new feature called Call Screening. But after watching the Call Screening demo in action, it's nowhere as thorough as what some of Google's Pixel phones can do when it comes to the same task. I know this because I religiously lean on Call Screen with my Pixel 9 Pro XL to take phone calls on my behalf, relying on Google Assistant to help me make actionable decisions. What sets Google's version apart is how it can come up with contextual responses — whereas Apple's implementation simply screens calls to see if they're spam or not. Without contextual awareness actions, it proves how Apple Intelligence is still playing catch up to what other AI leaders like Google provide. The nice thing about Call Screening is that you might actually end up dealing with fewer spam calls in your life, which is always a good thing. This iOS 26 feature will automatically take calls from unknown numbers silently in the background,; if they're actual humans and share their responses, your iPhone will proceed to ring — complete with what appears to be a transcription of their message. This is a good first step because I like how Call Screening won't ring your iPhone unless it determines it's not a telemarketer or spam message, so that saves you from having to deal with them. In the current iteration, the phone call appears on your iPhone with the notification that it's a possible spam call, but it requires your intervention to take the call to find out what it is. At least with Call Screening, you don't have to make that interaction. Call Screen makes me feel like I have an actual assistant taking them for me While we just found about Call Screening in iOS 26, Google's Call Screen feature still feels superior from my point of view — mainly for how the Google feature does more than to field the phone call. Google Assistant not only screens a phone call, but listens to the responses from people as to why they're calling. That gives you contextual actions for responding, showing off the strength of Google's AI. Those contextual responses come in the form of quick replies that pop up in the app, where you make the call on which action to take. For example, if the call is about a package delivery, you'll get responses that can the caller to drop off the package by the door, come back another time, or something else. I've used Call Screen on the Pixel for other things too, like a friend asking about a move date I've committed to. Google Assistant is smart enough to discern what they're asking and gives me relevant responses to choose, like telling them that I'll be there on time or perhaps to reschedule it. I can't tell you enough about how Call Screen has been such a godsend ever since I started using it first with the Pixel 8 Pro. When I'm stuck in a meeting where I physically can't take a call, or simply don't want to speak with whoever's on the other end of the line, Call Screen makes me feel like I have an actual assistant taking calls on my behalf. That'll be tough for Apple to match. While Apple's Call Screening seeming lacks the actionable responses that Google offers, I'm still hopeful that there's more to come with this feature. There wasn't a full deep dive into Apple Intelligence this week as there was at last year's event, with Apple hinting that more will be shared around this in the coming year, Call Screening could ultimately get the same contextual awareness as Google's version. Perhaps Apple is saving a later event to introduce proper Apple Intelligence features with iOS 26? I hope so because so far this proves exactly how Apple is still trailing its rivals when it comes to offering robust AI capabilities. Siri definitely has a big role to fill with Call Screening if it's going to do more than just be the in-between person for phone calls, as I suspect that it needs to be intelligent to not only transcribe the conversation accurately — but to also be smart enough to take action.
