Security is a top priority for Google’s Pixel line of smartphones and is promoted as one of its most important features. These are the first Android smartphones in the world to receive the latest features and security updates. However, a new report has some worrying news for owners of the Pixel devices, especially when it comes to security.

According to a report by WIRED, all Pixel phones sold in the last few years come with an app called Showcase. The pre-installed app left a worrying security flaw in the Pixel smartphones. However, Google has now reportedly acknowledged the security problem. The company will soon remove the Showcase app from the Pixel phones.

Showcase is a system-level app that leaves a major security hole in Pixel

The report mentions that researchers from mobile security firm iVerify found this particular vulnerability on the Pixels. The issue affects a software package called “Showcase.apk.” The pre-installed app runs at the system level and is invisible to users. The app was developed by enterprise software company Smith Micro for Verizon. It allowed Pixel phones to be put into a demo mode for retail stores.

Although Verizon no longer uses the Showcase app, it is still pre-installed in “every version of Android for Pixel,” WIRED reports. The report suggests that the problematic software package has been present in every version of Pixel since September 2017. The app exposes Pixel devices to tampering and takeover.

The Showcase app has extensive system permissions. These include remote code execution and remote app installation. The app’s extensive permissions could open the Pixel devices to control by malicious third parties. In addition, the app is designed to download a configuration file over an unencrypted HTTP web connection. This puts the Pixel phones at much greater risk as it allows an attacker to take control of the entire victim device.

Google will remove the problematic Showcase app from Pixel devices

According to the report, iVerify shared its findings with Google in early May of this year. So far, the search giant has not released a fix for the security issue. However, a Google spokesperson told WIRED that Verizon’s Showcase is “no longer in use.” Android will remove this software package from all supported Pixel products via a software update. There is no tentative timeline for the update’s rollout, but it should arrive “in the coming weeks.”