Android is not just taking on Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s iOS in terms of users, but is also leading the race with the most number of vulnerabilities. The open source platform has been surfaced with over 500 vulnerabilities in 2016.
According to the latest data by Mitre’s Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE), Android had the most reported vulnerabilities in 2016. The figures show that the operating system surpassed the vulnerability count of Debian and Ubuntu with over 523 issues reported just in the last year.
The latest numbers reveal that Android is about two times vulnerable than Adobe Flash, which was fourth on the list and had 266 vulnerabilities.
In the last 12-month span, Google pushed some significant security updates to Android platform to fix some vulnerabilities. The search giant tweaked the Linux kernel behind Android to enhance security and even recently patched the wicked ‘Dirty Cow’ vulnerability.
However, instances of some alarming issues emerged in the recent months. Apps like AirDrop had exposed millions of Android devices, while malware such as DressCode was spotted attacking hundreds of apps available even on Google Play store.
Adobe leads list of vendors supplying vulnerable solutions
While Google’s Android is leading the list of top 50 vulnerable models, Google itself is at number three with 695 vulnerabilities. It was Adobe that solely brought 1,383 vulnerabilities and had topped the list for 2016.
Followed by Adobe, Microsoft, Apple, Google and Red Hat emerged as the top four vendors in terms of most number of vulnerabilities.
