VCRs (Video Cassette Recorders) were once used to record and watch videos at home before digital video storage became more readily available. VCRs used small plastic containers which held two reels and a long strip of magnetic recording tape. What was recorded after a show usually ended would remain at the end of the reel, and viewers would often end up watching the tail-end of a previous recording. The same thing can occur with image editing tools on Google’s Pixel phones. The bug, known as the “aCropalypse” bug, can leave behind data from the previous version of the image and attackers can use this to access previously-deleted content. Google has patched the Markup program in the March 2023 security update of Android. To avoid this, users can delete images they have already shared, or replace them with re-edited images created with the patched version, and use image manipulation tools such as ImageMagick or GraphicsMagick to convert edited images into formats where you control the content precisely.
Key Points:
• VCRs used small plastic containers which held two reels and a long strip of magnetic recording tape.
• Viewers would often end up watching the tail-end of a previous recording.
• The “aCropalypse” bug on Google’s Pixel phones can leave behind data from the previous version of an image.
• Google has patched the Markup program in the March 2023 security update of Android.
• Users can delete images they have already shared, or replace them with re-edited images created with the patched version.
• Image manipulation tools such as ImageMagick or GraphicsMagick can be used to convert edited images into formats where you control the content precisely.