Google’s Newest Update Brings Critical Security Fixes To Your Pixel
Last month’s Pixel update was the final Feature Drop for Android 15, as the March 2025 firmware ushered in upgrades for Gemini, Gboard, and more. With the next quarterly release set to bring us Android 16, we’re not expecting a ton of changes with the security patches in the interim. But this month’s Android Security Bulletin outlines fixes for two zero-day exploits, so the April 2025 update for Google Pixels is nonetheless an important one.
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One of the two zero-days patched in this release (CVE-2024-53197) was exploited in the wild to target the phone of a student activist in Serbia, reportedly using tools from the phone data extraction company Cellebrite. The underlying vulnerability affected a core Android USB function, potentially impacting billions of devices before today’s update.
Google indicated that a second vulnerability under limited, yet active exploitation was also patched in this release (CVE-2024-53150), but did not divulge any information about the circumstances around the exploit. The company did, however, mention that the patch for this vulnerability applies to USB components in the upstream kernel.
Both were deemed to be of high severity in the April 2025 Android Security Bulletin, one notch below the highest designation Google gives to CVEs. Interestingly, there were four vulnerabilities that Google classified as being even more severe with a “Critical” rating (CVE-2025-22429, CVE-2025-26416, CVE-2025-22423, and CVE-2024-45551), but there is no indication that any of these have been actively exploited.
Today’s update isn’t only about security
The April 2025 security update also squashes a few bugs on your Google Pixel. The release notes mention issues with the fingerprint scanner not working in certain situations and elements overlapping on the lock screen being resolved. There was a problem with the camera when zooming in and out, and a bug with the Pixel Launcher when creating new user accounts, but Google says both have been fixed. Lastly, a screen brightness glitch that appeared in certain video apps should now be a thing of the past.
What’s included
The April 2025 update includes bug fixes and improvements for Pixel users – see below for details
Biometrics
- Fix for issues with fingerprint recognition and response under certain conditions.*[1]
Camera
- Fix for improvements in camera stability when zooming in/out under certain conditions.*[2]
Display & Graphics
- Fix for issue with screen brightness flickering when using video streaming apps under certain conditions.*[1]
User Interface
- Fix for issue with overlapping views on lockscreen weather clock under certain conditions.*[1]
- Fix for issue with Pixel Launcher when creating a new user or switching users under certain conditions.*[1]
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Device Applicability
Fixes are available for all supported Pixel devices unless otherwise indicated below. Some fixes may be carrier/region specific.
*[1] Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8a, Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 9a
*[2] Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold
The update is being made available to all of Google’s phones, tablets, and foldables, from the Pixel 6 all the way through the brand-new Pixel 9a. It’s unclear if this will add Modes to Google’s newest model, along with other Android 15 QPR2 features that we noticed were missing on our Pixel 9a review unit.
Google says the rollout will start today and continue over the next week, but it may take longer than that depending on your device and carrier. To see if the new firmware is available, head to Settings → System → Software updates → System update and tap the Check for updates button.
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