GhostMap Android Flaw Can Trap Phones in a Endless Reboot Loop

How the flaw was found

The discovery began in August, when a malicious banking app crashed the emulators Bitdefender's labs use to analyze suspicious software. The investigation showed the app itself was not the cause. The real problem is how Android handles ZIP compression data inside apps.

A purpose-built app can exploit this to crash a core system service. The service restarts automatically, then crashes again each time the phone tries to finish booting. Because Android can detect the faulty files while scanning installed apps, the trouble can start without the user ever launching the app.

The researchers say the phone can stay stuck in the loop with no message explaining the cause or naming the responsible app, which makes recovery harder. The flaw can also be hidden inside apps that look legitimate, making it difficult to spot.

Google's response

Bitdefender's first report to Google was closed because the security team could not reproduce the issue. A second report included a proof-of-concept app. Google reportedly declined to treat it as something fixable through a conventional security update and referred it to the relevant team for review. No patch has been announced.

What users can do

Until a fix arrives, the advice is to avoid apps from unknown sources and links shared in messages, download from Google Play where possible, check the developer's identity before installing, and not trust an app because it looks polished or has many ratings. Users should also keep installing Android and manufacturer security updates.

The case shows that smartphone threats now go beyond data theft and spying: a flaw in how the system processes apps can disable a device entirely, which puts fast patching high on the industry's agenda.