A vulnerability labeled as high risk has made many Exynos-powered Galaxy smartphones and watches susceptible to being hacked, Samsung has warned. The company is also urging users of the affected devices to update to the latest security patches immediately and is working to resolve the exploit.
Affected Exynos processors include:
9820
9825
980
990
850
W920
And if that all sounds like gibberish, you’re not alone. What you really need to know is that the devices vulnerable to this exploit include:
Galaxy S20 phones
Galaxy Note 20 phones
Galaxy S10 phones
Galaxy Note 10 phones
Galaxy A21
Galaxy A51
Galaxy A71
Galaxy Watch 5
Galaxy Watch FE
And Galaxy Watch 4
That is quite the list. Thankfully, after almost a month since its first report, Samsung is rolling out security updates that should hopefully patch the vulnerability.
The Galaxy S20 lineup is vulnerable. | Image credit — PhoneArena
So, what’s so high risk about this security flaw? This exploit, according to Google’s threat analysis experts, allows foreign actors to gain system privileges and run code on your device. It was also apparently being disguised as a Samsung process so it couldn’t be easily found during system scans.
Of course, having foreign code running on your phone with enhanced privileges means a whole host of trouble. Hackers can access personal information like bank account details and can also snoop through your private conversations and images.
Google’s experts claim they’ve seen instances of foreign parties using this exploit to execute code on unsuspecting consumers’ devices. The extent of these attacks, their nature or even the identity of the attackers has not been revealed.
If you’re rocking an older Galaxy phone it’s probably part of the affected devices listed above. I’d highly recommend updating your system as soon as possible and limiting compromising activity. Common sense goes a long way in preventing your phone from being hacked so no downloads from big flashy buttons.
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Abdullah is an ardent believer in the future of VR, and can't wait to see what more it brings to the table as technology improves. He enjoys covering new software releases in the XR industry, as well as major news about hardware and companies focused on VR.
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