Whatever software or hardware you use to stream content at home, it seems that WannaCry wasn’t the only thing to be concerned about. It was recently revealed that the popular media management software, Kodi 17 Krypton is also vulnerable to attack by hackers. Fortunately, its developers have acted quickly, and a new Kodi 17.2 is now available for download. Here’s what you need to know about the reasons for a rushed release.
Kodi 17.2 Available Now
Yesterday, a security flaw was discovered by researchers working for Check Point Software. This flaw made it possible for a hacker to gain control of a Kodi 17 installation, and other media players by inserting malicious code. This code once installed on a device would then take control of the subtitles, which isn’t an obvious route of attack, but could result in loss of control. However, Check Point proved that once the malicious code was in place, it could affect a users ability to use the affected device.
As for the subtitles, the vast majority of them in your Kodi installation right now, are legitimate. However, it appears that certain individuals want to make Kodi and other media players like it, tools, in a yet unknown illegal venture.
How serious is this issue? The downloading of subtitles is automatic in Kodi. So, any vulnerability of this process was needed to be fixed asap. As we mentioned earlier, Kodi 17.2 is now available with the fix and a group of other fixes.
What’s Included In The Fixes?
- Fix selection after channel group switching in PVR guide window
- Fix handling of gaps that caused erratic behavior in EPG grid
- Allow backing out of fullscreen pictures by mapping long-press gestures
- Quick fix for wake up command not being called in PVR power management
- Use alternative method to check if platform updates have been installed on Windows
- Set the minimum version, in the code which is currently OSX 10.8
- Fix possible security flaw which could be abused .zip files which try to traverse to a parent directory
- Use the correct the TTC font from the video file for subtitles on Windows
- Detect and delete zero-byte database files which cause crashes
For Your Security
It’s well known that security flaws in software exist, and as such hackers are always looking to exploit them. As for this particular security flaw, it has affected media players that are far more popular than Kodi. However, the most important thing is that with Kodi 17.2, there’s now a fix available right now. And according to Kodi and its user forums, no damage was done at all,
The problem now for users is that since the media have now reported this flaw. Hackers will step up their attempts to circumvent its security once more. As such if you’re running the media software you should update it now!!
In fact, Team Kodi Highly Encourages you to upgrade from older version too. Meaning, that if you’re still running 16.1 Jarvis or below, upgrade now!! Not only will Kodi 17.2 provide you with additional security but also improved HTTPS technology not supported by older versions.
Where to Get Kodi 17.2 Fixes
If you decide to take the advice of Team Kodi and install Kodi 17.2 today. You can get it via the its website downloads page here. Once there, all you have to do is select your device platform, followed by the release build. After which you can install Kodi 17.2 on top of your current build, there’s no need to do a clean install.
The team insists that this process will not stop skins and add-ons from working, so fix it now and protect yourself.
