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Last month, it was discovered that an inactive piece of software that ships on all Google Pixel smartphones presented a potential security vulnerability<\/a> for device owners. The company quickly said it would remove \u201cShowcase.apk,\u201d which was created years ago \u201cfor Verizon in-store demo devices and is no longer being used.\u201d But on the off chance it were ever exploited, cybersecurity firm iVerify found that the software could make phones \u201caccessible to hackers and ripe for man-in-the-middle attacks, code injection, and spyware.\u201d The flare-up was enough for Palantir to implement a companywide ban on Android devices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the time, Google told us that it had \u201cseen no evidence of any active exploitation,\u201d and with today\u2019s release of the monthly Pixel software update<\/a>, it\u2019s getting rid of Showcase.apk altogether. The release notes confirm that the September patch includes a fix to \u201cremove third-party APK to address security vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other than that, it\u2019s a very small update, with improvements to Wi-Fi stability and performance for Google\u2019s brand-new Pixel 9 portfolio as the only other bullet point. Bigger software upgrades await next month; that\u2019s when Google plans to roll out Android 15 to its devices. The major OS update was released to the\u00a0Android Open Source Project\u00a0(AOSP) today, but it\u2019ll be a few more weeks until it\u2019s ready for Pixel hardware. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n