Govt warns Samsung users of 'high risk', tells them to urgently update operating system

Indian authorities have asked users to urgently update the operating system or firmware of Samsung phones, saying they posed high risk.

The December 13 warning is specifically meant for Samsung Galaxy phones.

The advisory from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) highlights multiple vulnerabilities impacting millions of Samsung Galaxy phones, spanning both older and newer models.

"Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in Samsung products that could allow an attacker to bypass implemented security restrictions, access sensitive information, and execute arbitrary code on the targeted system," CERT said.

The susceptible software to this threat includes Samsung Mobile Android versions 11, 12, 13 and 14.

According to the note, the vulnerabilities are the weak spots in the device's security walls. If a cyber attacker finds these openings, they could cause many problems.

Multiple dangers

The attackers could steal the phone’s secret code (SIM PIN), shout loud commands to phone (broadcast with elevated privilege), peek into private AR Emoji files, change the clock on the castle gate (Knox Guard lock), snoop around phone's files (access arbitrary files), steal important information (sensitive information), control the phone like a puppet (execute arbitrary code) and take over the whole phone (compromise the targeted system).

CERT has told users of Samsung Galaxy phones to promptly update their device's operating system (OS) and firmware.

Those who do not do so could render their Samsung models vulnerable to potential threats from hackers.

Neglecting system updates might provide hackers with an opportunity to circumvent device security and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data.

As Samsung has released a fix to these threats, CERT has told users to get it as soon as possible.