There's a new hack going around known as StageFright, and from what we have come to understand, it has managed to affect over 255 million Android smartphones since its inception.

We understand the hack was demonstrated by Israeli company, NorthBit. According to the developer, it was very much possible for hackers to gain access to vulnerable devices after the users access malicious websites. As stated, the vulnerability is in the form of Stagefrignt, an Android code that deals with media formats.

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The hack was caught back in 2015, however Google has failed to fix the issue for many Android devices, so now NorthBit is coming forward with hopes that the search giant will do something before it gets too late.

"They've proven that it's possible to use an information leak to bypass ASLR," Joshua Drake, Zimperium's vice president for platform research and exploitation, told ArsTechnica. "Whereas all my exploits were exploiting it with a brute force, theirs isn't making a blind guess. Theirs actually leaks address info from the media server that will allow them to craft an exploit for whoever is using the device."

Here's the thing, the hack works best on Android devices powered by version 4.1 of the operating system. Those who have been upgraded to version 5.1 are safe, if only Google could increase the uptake because only 19 percent of all Android users have updated to 5.1.

NorthBit also went on to say that the hack works best on the Google Nexus 5 than any other device, so it seems it was tailored to work best on a single Android hardware, which means it is not as powerful as previously thought. Still, it is dangerous and could cause a lot of problems.

We should point out that it also seems to work on the HTC One, LG G3, and Samsung S5.

Those who want to protect themselves should install the latest version of Android. If they can't, purchase a new handset with the latest version or one that is upgradable. For now, these options are the only way to stay safe from StageFright, but we hav to wonder how long before hackers manage to break the security barriers.

There's also a new hack that affects the MediaServer component of Android, and it can render devices useless. It can also send an Android smartphone into a phase of constant reboot until the battery gives way. Furthermore, this hack can cause for a permanent rooting of an Android smartphone, says TrendLabs in a blog post.

"Google already released a patch to address this last March 16, 2016 and moved to block any rooting apps that may leverage the said vulnerability," according to TrendLabs.