Samsung has issued a warning about a high-risk vulnerability that could lead to hacks of Exynos chipsets. Several Galaxy smartphones and smartwatches powered by Exynos are susceptible to this vulnerability. As a result, Samsung has urged users affected by the exploit to update their devices.
List of devices:
As a starting point, the Exynos chipsets that are vulnerable to this exploit include Exynos 9820, Exynos 9825, Exynos 980, Exynos 990, Exynos 850, and Exynos W920.
Samsung Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy Note 20 series, Galaxy S10 series, Galaxy Note 10 series, Galaxy A21, Galaxy A51, Galaxy A71, Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Watch FE, and Galaxy Watch 4 are among the models powered by the said chipsets.
Cause:
Samsung is rolling out security updates to patch the vulnerability almost a month after its first report. It appears the exploit gave foreign actors access to your device and allowed them to run code. Due to its disguise, these were not easily detectable during system scans.
By running foreign code on your phone, hackers can access personal information like bank account details, private conversations, and photos. According to experts at Google, foreign parties have used this exploit in the past to execute code and gain access before.
As of now, neither the scope of the attack nor the identity of the attackers has been revealed. As a result of poor yields, Samsung is reportedly avoiding Exynos chipsets for the Galaxy S25 series.
The Exynos-powered Samsung phones listed above should be updated to the latest version and apps shouldn’t be installed from any unrecognised website or platform.
