Android GhostMap: installing a crafted app can trap a phone in a crash loop, and Google won't ship a security fix
Published Sources: pwn.watch
What is affected, what to do
Bitdefender Labs disclosed GhostMap, an unpatched Android flaw in how the OS reads ZIP entries inside an APK. libziparchive only checks an entry's declared uncompressed size when the entry is marked stored, while libandroidfw maps any entry that is not marked deflated at that declared size. An entry with a third compression-method value passes both, so Android maps far more memory than the file has, and the first read past the real end of the file kills the reading process with a SIGBUS.
The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.
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Metrics
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Priority
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CVSS v3
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EPSS score
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Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 30.00 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
Bitdefender Labs disclosed GhostMap, an unpatched Android flaw in how the OS reads ZIP entries inside an APK. libziparchive only checks an entry's declared uncompressed size when the entry is marked stored, while libandroidfw maps any entry that is not marked deflated at that declared size. An entry with a third compression-method value passes both, so Android maps far more memory than the file has, and the first read past the real end of the file kills the reading process with a SIGBUS. If the malformed file is a resource that system_server reads, installing the app (no permissions, no code, never opened) leaves the phone in a boot crash loop that continues in safe mode; recovery takes a factory reset, or ADB only if USB debugging was already on. The same trick can crash the installer, the launcher and Settings screens used to uninstall an app, or security scanners. Bitdefender reproduced it on a Pixel 10 running Android 17 with the August 5, 2026 patch and says Android 10 and later are affected. Google closed the first report as Won't Fix (Not Reproducible) and called the second, with a working PoC, outside the scope of a security fix, passing it to a feature team. There is no CVE, and Bitdefender has not seen it used in the wild; the investigation began with a packed banking dropper that only crashed the installer.
Source: pwn.watch