Lemdro.id

0 points

7 months ago

Pixel 5 is end-of-life and shouldn’t be used anymore due to lack of security patches for firmware and drivers.

I understand if your friend is on a budget and simply can’t afford a non EOL phone but, they should really consider a 6th gen Pixel or better if they care at all about their data security.

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Possibly linux@lemmy.zip

2 points

7 months ago

Has there been a successful exploit against a phone with old firmware but modern Android security patches?

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1 point

7 months ago

I am not sure if there is an example of that specific situation as it would be pretty odd for a phone to be receiving security patches but not firmware updates.

Anyway its not super relevant as the Pixel 5 does not receive firmware or security patches anymore.

OP also seems to be inferring he suggested to his friend to use a very specific security / privacy OS that does not recommend using that model phone anymore for the exact reasons I mentioned. Plus the model is only receiving partial support as a stop gap for users to have time to get a newer model and won’t be supported much longer anyway.

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Possibly linux@lemmy.zip

2 points

7 months ago

Custom ROMs will receive upstream Android security patches but not patches from proprietary components (firmware). For instance, my Moto g7 power has Android security patches from May but the latest vendor security patch level is 2021. (I’m running Lineage OS) I’m curious to know if the older firmware is a problem. I don’t think it is easily exploitable outside of government backdoors. Not that it matters much as I plan on keeping my phone until it dies.

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1 point

7 months ago

Not sure where your getting your information but the Pixel 5 has not gotten Android updates or security updates in over 7 months.

There are tons of examples of exploits being used to target EOL phones as its common for people to not care about these updates, or be misinformed, so they are easy targets.

If OP or anyone else wants to use an EOL phone that’s fine but, don’t pretend its a smart security practice. Although even if I were to use an EOL phone, LineageOS doesn’t have the greatest background and isn’t really degoogled

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Possibly linux@lemmy.zip

2 points

7 months ago

You are still missing my point. All phones actively supported by Lineage OS get Android security patches. Those aren’t vendor patches but they do patch the OS and sometimes the kernel.

For instance, the Pixel 5 was last updated June 28. https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/panther/

Not to say that you should still buy it. However, if it cheap it might be worth it.

Also from the article you linked:

Although the incident forced LineageOS to take offline all its service, it did not impact the signing keys that authenticate distributions because they are stored on hosts separate from the main infrastructure.

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https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm

0 points

7 months ago

Those are partial security patches (its not in the same ballpark as a non EOL phone).

Even non EOL phones are usually updated dangerously slow when it comes to LineageOS.

Some more sources, not sure why I’m even adding them as you seem hell bent to believe LineageOS is secure regardless of the facts.

https://www.kuketz-blog.de/lineageos-weder-sicher-noch-datenschutzfreundlich-custom-roms-teil4/

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1 point

7 months ago

I think lineage is a good operating system for a limited exposure use cases. Like a project phone on a safe network, or as a webcam, or is like a embedded hardware controller. But not on the raw internet, not processing raw internet data, not with open Wi-Fi, not with open Bluetooth.

Even with all of that, it should still be segmented from the rest of the network

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