New update warning for millions of Samsung Galaxy users
Samsung’s Galaxy updates (or lack thereof) have been a hot topic throughout October, with frustrating delays for One UI 7 and Android 15 confirmed at SDC. Google also warned that an attack exploited a vulnerability in Samsung chipsets and urged users to apply the October security update.
But while Samsung was quick to update risks regarding its Exynos processors in October, the key question for Galaxy users is whether the impending November monthly security release will patch another vulnerability currently being exploited. I wonder if it will be applied.
The warning affects multiple Qualcomm chipsets, with the manufacturer advising that “there are indications from the Google Threat Analysis Group that CVE-2024-43047 may be undergoing limited and targeted exploitation.” I’m doing it. The company said it provided fixes to device OEMs in September and encouraged them to deploy those patches “to released devices as soon as possible.” Amnesty International has also considered this, suggesting targeted attacks against journalists, dissidents and activists.
Due to this active exploitation, the U.S. Cybersecurity Agency added CVE-2024-43047 to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities and mandated that all federal employees update their devices. “Several Qualcomm chipsets contain a use-after-free vulnerability due to memory corruption in the DSP service when maintaining memory maps for HLOS memory,” CISA warned. This type of memory threat occurs when pointers to dynamic device memory are not cleared properly, leaving them open for manipulation by malicious code that accesses that memory.
This vulnerability was not patched in the October release of Android or Samsung, but it is likely to be released in the November Android update. Interestingly, this means that all users will miss the October 29 CISA renewal deadline.
The risk for Samsung users is that Qualcomm’s recent update was only made available to Galaxy users a month after it was posted in the Android Security Bulletin, leaving their Galaxy devices vulnerable until December. Samsung warns that “some patches you receive from chipset vendors may not be included in this month’s security update package.” These will be included in future security update packages once patches are ready for distribution. ” I asked Samsung for confirmation if this particular update would be included in November.
Once that update is released, you should check for CVE-2024-43047 in the list of fixes and make sure your device is included in your monthly update schedule. If this is not the case, and you have reason to be concerned about spyware or other cell phone security breaches, you should take particular action considering the warnings from Google and Amnesty International.
Affected chipsets
The above list of affected chipsets is extensive, but most notably various generations of Snapdragon, including Snapdragon 8 (Gen 1), which affects several Samsung devices. You can check if yours is on that list here.
