Colstan
Site Champ
- Posts
- 822
- Reaction score
- 1,124
Google's security researchers have disclosed a remote code execution vulnerability within many recent Android smartphones. A vulnerability like this is especially concerning because compromises at the baseband level can give root privileges to a bad actor.
The vulnerable chipsets are the Exynos Modem 5123, Exynos Modem 5300, Exynos 980, Exynos 1080, Exynos Auto T5123 manufactured by Samsung. The impacted devices include the Pixel 6 and 7, international versions of the Samsung Galaxy S22, various mid-range Samsung phones, the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5, and cars with the Exynos Auto T5123 chip.
According to Google researcher Tim Willis: "Tests conducted by Project Zero confirm that those four vulnerabilities allow an attacker to remotely compromise a phone at the baseband level with no user interaction, and require only that the attacker know the victim's phone number. 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."
Thus far, Google has released patches for the Pixel 7, but the fixes for the Pixel 6 have yet to be delivered. Samsung has a partial patch for one of the four critical vulnerabilities, but has yet to deliver it to end-users. Samsung has not developed a patch for the other three vulnerabilities.
Willis' advice for users to protect themselves: "Until security updates are available, users who wish to protect themselves from the baseband remote code execution vulnerabilities in Samsung's Exynos chipsets can turn off Wi-Fi calling and Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) in their device settings. Turning off these settings will remove the exploitation risk of these vulnerabilities."
The main takeaway is that, until these devices are fully patched, the voice communications capabilities should be disabled, making these expensive smartphones functionally little more than simple tablet computers.
For further information, see Google's Project Zero's notice on the issue:
googleprojectzero.blogspot.com
Or this Ars Technica article:
arstechnica.com
The vulnerable chipsets are the Exynos Modem 5123, Exynos Modem 5300, Exynos 980, Exynos 1080, Exynos Auto T5123 manufactured by Samsung. The impacted devices include the Pixel 6 and 7, international versions of the Samsung Galaxy S22, various mid-range Samsung phones, the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5, and cars with the Exynos Auto T5123 chip.
According to Google researcher Tim Willis: "Tests conducted by Project Zero confirm that those four vulnerabilities allow an attacker to remotely compromise a phone at the baseband level with no user interaction, and require only that the attacker know the victim's phone number. 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."
Thus far, Google has released patches for the Pixel 7, but the fixes for the Pixel 6 have yet to be delivered. Samsung has a partial patch for one of the four critical vulnerabilities, but has yet to deliver it to end-users. Samsung has not developed a patch for the other three vulnerabilities.
Willis' advice for users to protect themselves: "Until security updates are available, users who wish to protect themselves from the baseband remote code execution vulnerabilities in Samsung's Exynos chipsets can turn off Wi-Fi calling and Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) in their device settings. Turning off these settings will remove the exploitation risk of these vulnerabilities."
The main takeaway is that, until these devices are fully patched, the voice communications capabilities should be disabled, making these expensive smartphones functionally little more than simple tablet computers.
For further information, see Google's Project Zero's notice on the issue:
Multiple Internet to Baseband Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities in Exynos Modems
Posted by Tim Willis, Project Zero Note: Until security updates are available, users who wish to protect themselves from the baseband ...
googleprojectzero.blogspot.com
Or this Ars Technica article:
Google tells users of some Android phones: Nuke voice calling to avoid infection
If your device runs Exynos chips, be very, very concerned.
arstechnica.com