Google publishes a new Android security bulletin every first Monday of the month, highlighting all of the security vulnerabilities patched with the latest security update. With a few delays, Google has kept to this schedule for the past few years, so it’s no surprise that the company has published the Android Security Bulletin for December 2022 and rolled out a new security update for supported Pixel devices.
December 2022 Android Security Update Bulletin
In the latest Android security bulletin, Google revealed several security vulnerabilities affecting the Android Runtime, Framework, Media Framework, System, and Google Play system update components. The company has patched these vulnerabilities with the security patch level 2022-12-1. In addition, Google has disclosed a number of vulnerabilities in components from closed-source vendors that have been addressed with the 2022-12-5 security patch level.
Pixel Update Bulleting/Functional Update
In addition to patching the vulnerabilities that affect all Android devices, the December 2022 Android Security Update also fixes several Pixel-exclusive issues. Check out the full changelog in the section below for the fixes included in the latest update:
- Applications
- Fixed an issue that caused text input in certain fields in the Phone app to appear in a darker color
- Fixed an issue that caused intermittent playback errors when browsing video content in certain apps
- Resolved an issue where sometimes text messages could not be recovered from cloud backups during device setup
- General background performance improvements in certain Google apps
- Audio
- General improvements for USB audio support for various cables or accessories
- General improvements to support different audio codecs with certain devices or accessories
- Charge battery
- Battery usage in Settings displays information since last full charge (up to 7 days)
- Fixed an issue where the device would turn off intermittently while Battery Share was running
- Resolved an issue that occasionally caused increased battery consumption when playing media with certain apps
- Fixed an issue where adaptive charging would sometimes not work under certain conditions
- Fixed an issue where wireless charging sometimes did not work with certain accessories
- General improvements for charging, battery usage, or thermal performance under certain conditions
- Biometrics
- Fixed an issue where the sound would skip intermittently when playing through certain Bluetooth devices or accessories
- Fixed an issue that occasionally slowed down when the fingerprint icon was displayed on the lock screen
- Fixed an issue where the fingerprint sensor would occasionally detect touch while the always-on display was active
- Resolved an issue where fingerprint registration could intermittently exhibit visual glitches under certain circumstances
- Improvements for unlock lock screen helper text to be displayed under certain circumstances
- bluetooth
- Resolves an issue where music playback continued without audible sound after ending a call while using certain Bluetooth accessories
- Fixed an issue where the sound would skip intermittently when playing through certain Bluetooth devices or accessories
- Resolved an issue that occasionally prevented audio switching between connected Bluetooth devices under certain circumstances
- Resolved an issue where Bluetooth Low Energy devices could occasionally display a device name while pairing
- Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented connection to car stereos with older Bluetooth versions
- Resolved an issue that occasionally prevented the discovery of certain Bluetooth devices or accessories
- Resolved an issue where previously paired Bluetooth devices sometimes failed to reconnect
- General improvements for Bluetooth stability and performance under certain conditions
- Camera
- Fixed an issue where the Camera app crashed intermittently when zooming in or switching between modes
- Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the viewfinder preview to display a blank screen
- Fixed an issue where video recorded while switching between camera modes would intermittently have gaps during playback
- General improvements for camera stability and performance under certain conditions
- Display and images
- Fixed the screen flickering intermittently when waking up from the always-on display
- Fixed an issue that caused intermittent visual artifacts or glitches when using certain apps or games
- Frame
- Fixed an issue where notifications would occasionally appear in a different color theme than the system
- Fixed an issue where sometimes the wrong character was displayed after a newline in certain apps or UI elements
- Fixed an issue where notifications from the Work Profile app were intermittent even when Work Profile is paused
- Fixed an issue where certain apps occasionally rotated to landscape orientation
- Fixed an issue where the keyboard would sometimes not close while using certain apps
- Sensors
- Fix for “tap to wake” or “lift to wake” intermittently not working under certain circumstances
- Fixed an issue where adaptive brightness would occasionally fail to activate under certain conditions
- Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented Quick Tap from activating app or system shortcuts under certain circumstances
- Fix to improve adaptive brightness transitions during phone calls under certain circumstances
- General improvements to proximity sensor performance under certain lighting conditions
- System
- General improvements for system stability and performance under certain conditions
- General improvements to optimize the thermal performance of devices in certain conditions or use cases
- Telephony
- Resolved an issue that caused reduced network or call stability under certain circumstances
- Resolved an issue where network SIM cards would intermittently fail to activate under certain circumstances
- General improvements for network connection stability and performance under certain conditions
- General network connectivity improvements after turning off Airplane Mode
- General improvements for switching between 3G and 4G on certain carriers
- General improvements for the stability and performance of VPN connections on mobile networks under certain conditions
- General improvements to the stability and performance of Wi-Fi calling for certain carriers or networks
- Improve dual SIM network connectivity under certain circumstances
- Improve the stability of RCS messages under certain circumstances
- Touch
- General improvements for touch sensitivity and performance under certain conditions
- User environment
- Change for the behavior of the search bar on the home screen to open the Google app when you tap the G logo
- Fix for the issue that occasionally caused the “Pause work apps” button to appear above the app drawer or in the wrong position
- Resolved an issue where certain Settings switches would sometimes appear disabled or set to the wrong state
- Resolved an issue where the device color theme would sometimes change unexpectedly
- Fixed an issue where app icons on the home screen would occasionally appear duplicated after adjusting the grid size
- Fixed an issue that sometimes caused widgets or icons on the home screen to appear small or resized under certain circumstances
- Fixed an issue that occasionally caused media player controls to appear invisible or hidden in the notification panel
- Fix for the issue that occasionally caused notification overflow point to overlap app icons on the lock screen
- Fixed an issue where notifications would occasionally disappear or become invisible in the notification panel
- Fixed the issue where screenshot capture would occasionally fail in certain circumstances
- Fixed an issue where suggested apps in Search sometimes overlapped or show results
- Fixed an issue where text would sometimes be cropped or truncated incorrectly at different font sizes
- Fixed an issue where the UI would occasionally reset after adjusting the screen resolution
- Fixed the issue where the wallpaper sometimes appears black or blank under certain circumstances
- Fixes an issue where intermittent touch interaction was possible during the lock screen transition after the screen is off
- Fixed an issue where the media player’s cover art sometimes doesn’t update when content changes
- Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented media player controls from appearing on the lock screen
- Fixed an issue where the screen would occasionally appear blank or frozen after launching certain apps
- Fixed an issue where incoming notifications would occasionally appear above others in the notification panel
- Fix to improve the responsiveness of the At A Glance home and lock screen widget for certain conditions or use cases
- Fix to improve spacing for certain UI modalities in device settings and settings
- General performance improvements in certain UI transitions and animations
- Wi-Fi
- Resolved an issue where hotspot would occasionally fail to turn on under certain circumstances
- General improvements to the stability and performance of Wi-Fi network connections under certain conditions
The December 2022 Android Security Update is rolling out to the Pixel 4a series, the Pixel 5, the Pixel 5a, the Pixel 6 series, the Pixel 6a and the Pixel 7 series. If you don’t want to wait for the update, you can visit our Android 13 download message for the latest OTA files and factory images for your Pixel phone.
The December 2022 Android security update comes with the first stable release of Android 13 QPR1, which brings several new features to Google Pixel phones. You read more about it our previous coverage.
For more information on how Android security patch updates work, visit our extensive explanation on the subject.
Source: Android security bulletin, Pixel Update Bulletin, Google Pixel Phone Help Community
