Google Pixel Emergency Update Issued After Critical Threat — Millions Urged To Act

Following an emergency 'critical' update earlier this month, Google rolled out yet another update for Pixel smartphones, the second this month, on 17 December 2025.

Its initial update was released on 3 December 2025 (Android 16 QPR2) and made available to all supported Pixel devices running Android 16. According to Google's official statement, the update was released in phases over the course of a few weeks.

The official statement from Google read, 'We have started to roll out the monthly software update for December 2025.'

It continued, 'All supported Pixel devices running Android 16 will receive these software updates starting today, and the rollout will continue over the next week in phases, depending on carrier and device. You will receive a notification once the system update is available for your device. We encourage you to check your Android version and update to receive the latest software.'

In a Forbes report, the previous update came after Google issued a warning that Android was 'under attack,' prompting the US cyber defence agency to mandate that all federal employees stop using their phones altogether unless they can update them.

Further in the report, Google said there were 'indications' that CVE-2025-48633 and CVE-2025-48572 'may be under limited, targeted exploitation,' which prompted an emergency update only 2 weeks thereafter.

Rushed 'Emergency' Update?

The early December update may have been rushed, but the recent activity suggests how quickly Google is addressing newly identified security vulnerabilities affecting devices running Android 16. Considering how swift Google's response was, the threat may have been deemed significant.

Android Authority covers this recent update, confirming that it arrived on 17 December, when Pixel owners posted about it on Reddit. This was later verified by Android Authority, suggesting that it was likely a critical issue fix and nothing more, although Google has yet to confirm what the update fixes.

At the same time the update rolled out, Verizon posted an announcement about the software update, including release notes for software version BP4A.251205.006.E1, which addressed problems with faster battery depletion, intermittent touch issues on Pixel 10, and the inability to access cached content after the update from Android 14 to Android 16.

Android Security Bulletin

The December 2025 Android Security Bulletin updates reveal that Google patched over 100 Android vulnerabilities. This was covered by Cyberscoop early this month, highlighting two severe defects in the Android framework that jeopardise security, particularly giving attackers access to information.

September marked the highest number of patches this year, with 120 vulnerabilities fixed. December's 100 comes in second. The update has been added to the December Android Security Bulletin as of writing.

Why Updates Shouldn't Be Ignored

Android updates are generally rolled out every month to protect Android users from vulnerabilities to cyberattacks, as crucial as unauthorised access to sensitive data by patching these bugs with security fixes.

Since these software updates happen behind Google's hosting, Pixel phones receive update notifications. It is imperative that Pixel phone users immediately install these updates to protect against a variety of threats.

These emergency updates have been handled well by Google, promptly addressing security concerns- with multiple patches in December alone- which underscores how seriously the tech giant is taking security threats and protecting its users from attacks.