Android devices are susceptible to a denial-of-service vulnerability known as GhostMap that can force smartphones into a continuous boot loop. The flaw allows a malicious application to crash critical system processes without requiring any user permissions, with further coverage provided by Bleeping Computer.
Discovered by researchers at Bitdefender, the GhostMap vulnerability stems from how Android libraries interpret ZIP compression methods. By creating a malformed Android package file, attackers can bypass size checks and map files into unallocated memory regions. When the system attempts to read these files, it triggers a SIGBUS signal, causing the system_server process to crash repeatedly. Because the system automatically attempts to read the resource upon installation, the device enters an endless reboot cycle. Testing on a Pixel 10 running Android 17 confirmed that the loop persists even in safe mode, rendering the device unusable. While Google initially classified the report as not reproducible, the researchers emphasize that the flaw poses a significant risk. Restoring functionality typically requires a factory reset, which results in total data loss, or manual intervention via Android Debug Bridge if debugging was previously enabled. Third-party security tools may detect the threat during installation but currently lack the permissions to block the malicious package entirely.
Source: Bleeping Computer
