What is StageFright?
"Stagefright" is the nickname given to a potential exploit that lives fairly deep inside the Android operating system itself. The gist is that a video sent via MMS (text message) could be theoretically used as an avenue of attack through the libStageFright mechanism (thus the "Stagefright" name), which helps Android process video files. Many text messaging apps — Google's Hangouts app was specifically mentioned — automatically process that video so it's ready for viewing as soon as you open the message, and so the attack theoretically could happen without you even knowing it.
Because libStageFright dates back to Android 2.2, hundreds of millions of phones contain this flawed library.
Should we worry about it?
The good news is that the researcher who discovered this flaw in Stagefright "does not believe that hackers out in the wild are exploiting it." So it's a very bad thing that apparently nobody's actually using against anyone, at least according to this one person. And, again, Google says if you're using Android 4.0 or above, you're probably going to be OK.
That doesn't mean it's not a bad potential exploit. It is. And it further highlights the difficulties of getting updates pushed out through the manufacturer and carrier ecosystem. On the other hand, it's a potential avenue for exploit that apparently has been around since Android 2.2 — or basically the past five years. That either makes you a ticking time bomb, or a benign cyst, depending on your point of view.
How to fix it manually?
- By the use of following apps:
Lookout Mobile Stagefright Detector
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