A nonprofit security group issued an alert this week telling Google Android smartphone users to update their systems as soon as possible due to “multiple vulnerabilities” that could allow for an attacker to remotely install programs or delete data.
A report from 9to5Google says that Samsung rolled out its March updates for the most recent Galaxy S smartphones starting Tuesday, March 7. The first one to receive the updates is the Galaxy S23 series, which was released earlier in 2023. Patches were also rolled out for the Samsung Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy S20 models.
“The most severe of these issues is a critical security vulnerability in the System component that could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed,” an Android bulletin states. “User interaction is not needed for exploitation.”
‘HIGH’ Risk
The Center for Internet Security, a nonprofit founded in October 2000, said Wednesday that the aforementioned “multiple vulnerabilities” recently detected in Android’s operating system “could allow for remote code execution,” meaning “an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full rights” on a person’s device.For government entities and businesses, these two vulnerabilities present a “HIGH” risk, the nonprofit warned. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, has not yet issued an alert for the reported vulnerabilities.
But the Center for Internet Security said that users of phones with Google Android’s operating system should “apply appropriate patches provided by Google to vulnerable systems, immediately after appropriate testing.”
While some devices have updates automatically implemented, users should manually check to see if their phone is updated. The file size is more 350 MB in size, meaning that it is recommended that users remain connected to WiFi while the update installs.