Android hole could be used to disable antivirus apps

L33tdawg: Further details of Riley's talk is here and the finalized conference agenda (PDF) is also available for download 

Researchers say they have uncovered vulnerabilities in a "popular" component of Android that is used by antivirus and other apps that could be exploited to do things like disable the apps. A malicious app could be created to turn off the antivirus so an attacker could infect the phone with malware and in some cases the same weakness could be used to compromise the antivirus app itself, said Riley Hassell, founder of Privateer Labs, in a recent briefing.

Privateer co-founder Shane Macaulay uncovered the vulnerabilities but had not found any attacks exploiting them in the wild. Hassell declined to reveal details about the vulnerabilities. "We're working with top (antivirus) vendors to come up with a solution," Hassell said. "There's a way for them to...accomplish the same task without them having to utilize this component."

Google representatives did not respond to e-mails seeking comment. Hassell and Macaulay are scheduled to present their findings, including a potential workaround, at the Hack in the Box Security Conference in Malaysia next week.