The security flaws They can affect all types of devices, systems and applications. In this case we echo important vulnerabilities that affect the Samsung Exynos chips, which are widely used. An attacker could remotely exploit these vulnerabilities and gain control of a phone. The worst thing is that it does not need the interaction of the victim. That is, he does not need the person who has that vulnerable motive to have to do something. We are going to explain what it consists of and what to do to avoid this problem.
Thousands of phones and other devices at risk
The Google security team, Project Zero, has discovered no less than 18 vulnerabilities affecting Samsung Exynos. They are zero-day vulnerabilities, which means that there are no patches to fix them yet. But of all those failures, the ones that really worry are 4.
Those 4 most serious vulnerabilities allow an attacker to take control of an Android phone from different brands like Samsung or Vivo. But it also affects other devices that use chips Exynos W920 and even vehicles that have chips Exynos Auto T5123. Without a doubt, we are facing something serious that can affect many people.
As reported by the head of Project Zero, Tim Willis, for an attacker to exploit these 4 vulnerabilities, he only needs know the phone number of the victim. From there, he could have access to all kinds of information that the victim exchanges through her mobile.
Of course, to be able exploit these vulnerabilities It is necessary to have some computer knowledge. It is not something that is available to everyone. However, they ensure that any expert attacker could easily design an exploit and exploit these devices affected by these vulnerabilities. In addition, everything would be done remotely and without the victim knowing.
The 14 remaining failures, beyond those 4 that worry the most, are not so serious. Although they can allow an attacker to take control of the mobile, he would need to have local access to the device or an insider. It is, therefore, more complex to carry out but they are also vulnerabilities to take into account.
What to do to avoid being attacked
What they recommend from Project Zero is to disable calls over Wi-Fi and voLTE in the device settings. This eliminates the risk that they may exploit those security flaws. For now, it is the only sure thing you can do so that a hypothetical attacker does not take control of your phone.
It is expected that soon the affected mobiles and devices will launch security patches. It is essential that you have them updated, since this corrects vulnerabilities of this type and also many others that can affect you. Keep in mind that there are methods to hack a mobile remotely, and something common is that they take advantage of failures like this.
The Pixel 6 and 7 phones have already received a fix with the March updates. Therefore, it is normal that in the coming days and weeks this solution will also reach other devices.
In short, as you can see there are a series of important vulnerabilities that affect the Samsung Exynos chips, which are widely used. In the event that an attacker exploits these flaws, he could take control of the devices. It is essential to keep the devices up to date and correct the problem as soon as possible.