Google starts rolling out fix for Android Wi-Fi security flaw

Google is rolling out a fix for an Android security flaw which could leave sensitive user information accessible to hackers when devices are connected to an open Wi-Fi network.

The company said in a statement sent to V3.co.uk that a patch is being rolled out, but played down the risks associated with the flaw.

"Today we're starting to roll out a fix which addresses a potential security flaw that could, under certain circumstances, allow a third party access to data available in calendar and contacts," said the statement.

"This fix requires no action from users and will roll out globally over the next few days."

Researchers at Germany's Ulm University discovered the Android security flaw on 13 May, stating that "the attack is not limited to Google Calendar and Contacts, but is theoretically feasible with all Google services using the ClientLogin authentication protocol".

Phone numbers, home addresses and email addresses were also said to be at risk when connected to an open Wi-Fi network.

The issue was found to affect Android smartphones with 2.3.3 or below, as well as tablets running anything other than Honeycomb 3.0.

Android users were advised to upgrade to Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread as soon as possible and to avoid using open Wi-Fi networks.

However, not all devices are able to upgrade to Gingerbread and, with over 65 per cent of users still on Android 2.2, it was important that Google released a fix.