#Android 4.4.4 #Kitkat unexpectedly arrives with #OpenSSL fix

Google has unexpectedly released Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, an update that includes mostly security fixes, just two weeks after it released Android 4.4.3.

Android 4.4.4 Kitkat is rolling out to Google's own Nexus devices now, including the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, WiFi-only Nexus 7 models and the Nexus 10. It's unclear when the update will be coming to 3G and 4G Nexus 7 models.

Still, Android 4.4.4 Kitkat isn't likely to get many people excited, as it appears to deliver little more than a handful of security updates. While no changelog has surfaced yet, an unofficial list reveals that the update fixes an OpenSSL hijacking vulnerability.

Sascha Prüeter, an Android program manager at Google, shed some more light on the changes in the new version when answering a question received from a user on his Google+ page too, saying that the Android 4.4.4 update is "primarily addressing CVE-2014-0224", which documented a flaw that could be exploited by a man-in-the-middle attacker.

Prüter added the update addresses "some other (not quite as severe) security issues" that affect the the Android Compatibility Test Suite and Framework Classes and Services and the Chrome browser.

The unexpected release of Android 4.4.4 Kitkat comes almost a month ahead of Google I/O developer conference, where the firm is widely expected to unveil Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Not much is known about the next iteration of Android yet, although speculation claims it will boast a "flatter" iOS 7-like design, Android Wear compatibility, support for 64-bit chips and Google Fit, the firm's answer to Apple's Healthbook app.

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