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Nick Kralevich8b9aa872013-10-28 10:36:32 -07001page.title=Security Enhancements in Android 4.4
2@jd:body
3
4<p>
5Every Android release includes dozens of security enhancements to protect
6users. The following are some of the security enhancements available
7in Android 4.4:
8</p>
9
10<ul>
11 <li><strong>Android sandbox reinforced with SELinux.</strong>
12 Android now uses SELinux in enforcing mode. SELinux is a mandatory
13 access control (MAC) system in the Linux kernel used to augment the
14 existing discretionary access control (DAC) based security model.
15 This provides additional protection against potential security
16 vulnerabilities.</li>
17
18 <li><strong>Per User VPN.</strong>
19 On multi-user devices, VPNs are now applied per user.
20 This can allow a user to route all network traffic through a VPN
21 without affecting other users on the device.</li>
22
23 <li><strong>ECDSA Provider support in AndroidKeyStore.</strong>
24 Android now has a keystore provider that allows use of ECDSA and
25 DSA algorithms.</li>
26
27 <li><strong>Device Monitoring Warnings.</strong>
28 Android provides users with a warning if any certificate has been
29 added to the device certificate store that could allow monitoring of
30 encrypted network traffic.</li>
31
32 <li><strong>FORTIFY_SOURCE.</strong>
33 Android now supports FORTIFY_SOURCE level 2, and all code is compiled
34 with these protections. FORTIFY_SOURCE has been enhanced to work with
35 clang.</li>
36
37 <li><strong>Certificate Pinning.</strong>
38 Android 4.4 detects and prevents the use of fraudulent Google
39 certificates used in secure SSL/TLS communications.</li>
40
41 <li><strong>Security Fixes.</strong>
42 Android 4.4 also includes fixes for Android-specific vulnerabilities.
43 Information about these vulnerabilities has been provided to Open
44 Handset Alliance members and fixes are available in Android Open Source
45 Project. To improve security, some devices with earlier versions of
46 Android may also include these fixes.</li>
47
48</ul>