Millions of Samsung owners warned of ‘critical’ security flaw: Find out if your phone is affected

Samsung is advising its customers to check for the latest software update immediatelyif they own a phone from the popular Galaxy range. The Korean tech giant generally rolls out a firmware updatemonthly and this one is definitely not one you want to miss.

The latest update repairs 55 different flaws in the Android OS, four of which have been given a ‘critical’ rating due to their severity. Many of the others are also deemed high priority so users should update without delay.

Update your Samsung phone immediately

In addition to fixing all the flaws aforementioned, another reason to update your software as soon as possible is that it addresses the Samsung Exynos modem vulnerability which was exposed late last year by Google’s security team Project Zero.

The full extent of the vulnerability was revealed last month as it was announced that some Samsung phones had a flaw which meant that cybercriminals could remotely control a user’s phone using the built-in modem.

Project Zero found four critical issues on that occasion, which allowed a hacker to remotely compromise a phone at the modem level only by knowing the phone number. It was considered so serious at the time that Galaxy users were being urged to switch off their Wi-Fi until it was fixed.

Tim Willis, head of Google's Project Zero, explained, as per Android Police:

With limited additional research and development, we believe that skilled attackers would be able to quickly create an operational exploit to compromise affected devices silently and remotely.

Read more:

⋙ Millions of Samsung users urged to check their phone as serious security problem revealed

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Which Samsung phones are affected?

These devices are all believed to be affected by the security flaws, as per The Mirror:

Samsung Galaxy S22, Galaxy M33, Galaxy M13, Galaxy M12, Galaxy A71, Galaxy A53, Galaxy A33, Galaxy A21, Galaxy A13, Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A04 series phones.

Even if your phone is not mentioned above it’s still recommended you download the latest update as it will make your phone more stable, secure and efficient as this new release fixes many critical issues.

The steps to check for software updates on your device will differ depending on the device you're using and its current operating system. Software updates are also released at different times depending on your location and mobile carrier so keep checking to make sure you are up to date.

To download the latest patch follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings - tap Software update.
2. Tap Download and install.
3. If new software is available, you can choose Install now, Schedule install or Later.

Read more: Charging your phone in the car: Here's why it won't help with low battery

Sources used:

- The Mirror 'Samsung Galaxy owners urged to check their phones now as critcial update released'

- Android Police 'Insecure Exynos modems put dozens of Samsung devices, and other Android phones, at risk'

- Sammobile 'Galaxy A33 5G gets update to fix some serious Exynos security flaws'