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Abstract
Vulnerabilities have been continually discovered and disclosed within the Android operating system since the initial public release. Such findings are recorded and tracked in Critical Vulnerabilities and Exposures and the National Vulnerability Database. As iterations in the operating system version are developed, vulnerabilities continue to evolve and occasionally reappear. Past flaws, which were mitigated in prior releases, have the potential to reappear as the code base evolves. Such instances may be exploited in the wild, with a likelihood of being re-exploited across numerous releases, including major revisions. Utilizing the metrics of past vulnerabilities and the affected versions, it is possible to demonstrate reoccurrence in a quantifiable method over a multi-year time span. Leveraging well established forecasting algorithms, it is possible to predict a likely continuation in the reoccurrence of vulnerabilities. Additionally, the descriptive statistical analysis method allowed for the use of a large index of data samples for future reoccurrence trend detection on various metrics of the Android OS and attack vectors of the vulnerabilities. Such metrics include the investigation of API and SDK and the correlation with the KEV, as highlighted by CISA utilizing the snowball approach of sampling in anticipation of parametric data with a fixed parameter set. Implications from this data strive to shed light on past mistakes and drive industry to consider lessons learned in order to reduce vulnerability reoccurrence and heighten overall operating system security.
