There was a Samsung’s Exynos Modem vulnerability that affected a handful of Exynos modems – speaking of Exynos Modem 5123, Exynos Modem 5300, Exynos 980, Exynos 1080, and Exynos Auto T5123. Samsung’s Exynos Modem vulnerability involved attackers accessing your device via just the targeted device’s number.
Further details on Samsung’s Exynos Modem vulnerability
We know that Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 models were influenced, but the imperfection has been fixed on these phones with the March security upgrade which has presently been discharged for the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro. Other phones influenced are incorporated Exynos-powered phones within the Samsung Galaxy S22 line. These models were sold within the U.K. and Europe. Other Samsung phones with the blemish incorporate models within the mid-range A and M lines – some of which are Galaxy A71, Galaxy A53, Galaxy A33, Galaxy A21s, A13, and others.
Some X and S series from vivo were also affected. According to a post on the Samsung U.S. community site by a Samsung community manager, five of the six vulnerabilities discovered in the aforementioned Exynos modems were patched in March, and the last issue will be addressed next month. Surprisingly, Samsung initially concluded that the flaws were not serious.
“Hello, We understand the concern of vulnerabilities. Samsung takes the safety of our customers very seriously. After determining 6 vulnerabilities may potentially impact select Galaxy devices, of which none were ‘severe’, Samsung released security patches for 5 of these in March. Another security patch will be released in April to address the remaining vulnerability. As always, we recommend that all users keep their devices updated with the latest software to ensure the highest level of protection possible.” The community manager wrote.
The above-mentioned Samsung and possibly Vivo handsets are at risk of being compromised at the baseband level until Samsung’s Exynos Modem vulnerability is fixed in April. Therefore, Google’s Project Zero research team suggests that users of phones that are still vulnerable disable Voice-over-LTE (VOLTE) and Wi-Fi calling.
