Samsung and Verizon, both previously notorious for less than perfect timing with updates, have both been improving recently. While previous Droid owners may have done a fair bit of complaining about not getting updates in a timely manner, owners of Samsung’s premium Galaxy Tab S2 on Verizon are now starting to get the February security update for their devices. The update, dubbed version LMY47X.T817VVRS2APB2, brings the latest security fixes to owners of Samsung’s flagship tablet. According to the update page, there are some under the hood fixes as well, but nothing else in particular was announced.
The February security update for Android, which Nexus devices received at the beginning of the month, pushed some fixes downstream from the Android Open Source Project and also patched a large number of security vulnerabilities, some of which were potentially quite serious. Vulnerabilities that Verizon Galaxy Tab S2 owners will no longer be vulnerable to from the list include, but may not be limited to a vulnerability that allowed remote code execution through the device’s mediaserver, another possible vulnerability in the Wi-Fi drivers, an information disclosure vulnerability in libmediaplayerservice and a smattering of privilege elevation vulnerabilities scattered around the various bits and pieces of Android. Any of these bugs, if exploited in the right way, could have resulted in an inoperable or compromised device, as well as hackers getting their hands on personal information. With so much possible trouble that these exploits are able to cause, it’s good to see carriers and OEMs, despite custom skins, regulatory checks and all the other red tape involved in an Android update, getting these security fixes pushed out as quickly as possible.
The update is being pushed out in stages and may not be available for your device just yet. Once it’s ready, it will be obtainable from the software update option in the device’s settings menu. If no updates are showing as available, waiting a while or rebooting the device may do the trick. The security update doesn’t bring much to the table aside from key security fixes, so don’t expect a drastic change. If you’re so inclined, hit up the source link to see the official announcement and update details from Verizon themselves.