Google publishes October 2026 Android security bulletin, with Pixel updates at the 2026-10-05 patch level

Google has published its Android Security Bulletin for October 2026. The bulletin says the most severe issue is a critical vulnerability in the System component that could lead to local escalation of privilege (an app or attacker gaining more access than it should) with no additional execution privileges and no user interaction needed. Several of the critical System issues are in modules such as Bluetooth and NFC.

Google’s bulletin doesn’t mark any of the October issues as exploited.

Who it affects

Android phones and tablets. Google says security patch levels of 2026-10-01 or later address all the issues in the bulletin. For devices on Android 10 or later, the bulletin notes that some fixes can also arrive through Google Play system updates.

For Google’s own phones, the separate Pixel Update Bulletin says all supported Pixel devices will receive an update to the 2026-10-05 patch level, and Google says it encourages all customers to accept these updates.

What the source says to do

The bulletin points readers to Google’s “Check and update your Android version” help page to see a device’s current security patch level and install available updates.

Our Android security basics guide explains how Android updates work and where the update settings are, based on Google’s instructions.