Kernel: Version 4.14.117 Android
Maintenance releases like 4.14.117 focus on stability and security rather than new features: ChangeLog-4.14.117 - The Linux Kernel Archives
Patch level 117 corresponds roughly to the security bulletin. This means the kernel includes fixes for critical CVEs such as:
Linux kernel version 4.14.117 represents a highly stable, secure, and optimized milestone for the Android operating system. By bridging vital innovations like Energy Aware Scheduling and Project Treble with upstream security enhancements, it ensures that devices remain smooth and protected against modern digital threats. For everyday users, it operates silently in the background to maintain battery and security; for the developer community, it acts as a robust canvas for pushing the boundaries of device longevity and custom performance.
Understanding kernel version 4.14.117 requires looking at its upstream fixes, its specific implementation within the Android Common Kernels (ACK) framework, and why it remains a point of interest for legacy device maintenance, custom ROM development, and cybersecurity forensics. The Role of the 4.14 Kernel Branch in Android kernel version 4.14.117 android
WireGuard VPN protocol support integrated directly into the kernel subsystem. Overclocking or undervolting profiles for the CPU and GPU. Advanced sound control drivers and custom wake gestures. How to Check Your Android Device's Kernel Version
: As an LTS-based release, 4.14.117 received backported security patches to protect against known vulnerabilities like Spectre and Meltdown variants.
While 4.14.117 specifically focuses on stability, the 4.14 series introduced several major enhancements used by Android OEMs: Memory Efficiency Maintenance releases like 4
The Binder driver is the core of Android's Inter-Process Communication (IPC). Vulnerabilities in the Binder driver frequently allow for local privilege escalation (LPE). Version 4.14.117 includes critical upstream patches to prevent memory leaks and use-after-free vulnerabilities within the Android Binder framework.
If you want to check if your Android smartphone or tablet runs kernel version 4.14.117, follow these steps: Open your device's app.
If you want to verify whether your Android device runs kernel 4.14.117, follow these steps: For everyday users, it operates silently in the
The 4.14.117 confirms the kernel base. The extra string ( -g12345678 ) indicates a specific vendor build hash.
Third, . Google has been working to decouple the kernel from the rest of the OS via Project Treble and Generic Kernel Images (GKI). Kernel 4.14 was a transitional workhorse. It was the first version where Treble became truly widespread, allowing the kernel to be updated more independently of the vendor implementation. Yet, 4.14.117 sits in a grey zone: it is old enough to lack the full GKI benefits of kernel 5.10+, but young enough that many devices still running it today (as of 2024-2025) are dangerously outdated.
Kernel 4.14 was the final version that seamlessly supported both 32-bit (ARMv7) and 64-bit (ARMv8) architectures without significant performance penalties. Many low-end and mid-range Android devices released between 2018 and 2020 shipped with 4.14.x kernels. By the time 4.14.117 rolled out, it had matured into a "goldilocks" kernel—stable enough for production, yet modern enough to support new hardware features like:
The Linux kernel serves as the core foundation of the Android operating system. It acts as the software bridge between your device's physical hardware and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) framework. Among the various Long-Term Support (LTS) kernels deployed by Google and device manufacturers, represents a critical milestone in stability, security patching, and hardware support for millions of mid-generation Android devices. The Role of Linux Kernel 4.14 in Android
The kernel version you're referring to is:
