Google's Cost-Cutting Decision Leaves Pixel Users Vulnerable

GrapheneOS, a hardened Android fork used by around 400,000 privacy-conscious users, has announced it can't fully port its operating system to Google's newly launched Pixel 11 series. The reason is that Google removed ARM Memory Tagging Extension (MTE), a hardware security mechanism, from the Tensor G6 chip in these devices.

MTE works by assigning a small random tag to each allocated memory region and checking whether the pointer's tag matches the one stored in hardware-protected tag storage. If they don't match, the chip raises a fault immediately, stopping an exploit before it can execute. This mechanism is particularly important for catching memory corruption vulnerabilities, which account for around 76% of Android vulnerabilities.

GrapheneOS treats MTE as a non-negotiable requirement for any device it will support, and Google's Pixel 8 and later were the first devices to meet this requirement. However, with the Pixel 11 series, Google made a cost-optimization decision and removed MTE from the Tensor G6 chip.

This means that no software patch or firmware update can restore MTE on these devices. GrapheneOS has expressed its disappointment with this decision, stating that it appears to be an attempt to save money. The company will continue to support older Pixel devices but may not do so for future models if Google continues to prioritize cost over security.