Your old Samsung phone may be at risk; here’s how to protect your device

Using smartphones for a long time may help you get the most value out of your device, but it’s not always a safe bet. Samsung phones come with long years of software support, but if you are using an old one right now, your device could be at risk. That’s not us saying but Google.

Google’s security researchers have flagged some serious vulnerabilities in some old Samsung phones. These vulnerabilities let hackers get unauthorised access to your device and execute arbitrary codes.

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So, if you are using an old Samsung phone, read on to learn about this security flaw and how you can protect your device.

What’s the security flaw and how you can protect your device?

Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) uncovered a new vulnerability in Samsung phones called the “use-after-free” vulnerability that affects specific Samsung phones. The vulnerability tracked as CVE-2024-44068 affects old Samsung phones with the following Exynos processors: 9820, 9825, 980, 990, and 850.

This means the Samsung Galaxy S10 series, Note 10 series, and a couple of Galaxy A series and M series phones are the ones at risk. Also, third-party phones with these chipsets are also at risk. Additionally, the W920 processor is also affected by this vulnerability, which means the Galaxy Watch 4 users are also under threat.

So, what this use-after-free vulnerability does is that allows hackers to exploit old Samsung devices with the aforesaid processors. Usually on Android, when a task is finished and we know that we do not intend to use the app again, we close it by clearing the RAM.

However, this vulnerability limits the device from clearing the RAM, allowing hackers to gain unauthorised access to your device and execute arbitrary code.

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Once an arbitrary code is executed, hackers may install malware and steal your data, compromising your safety and privacy. But don’t fret as Google recently shared a patch to deal with the vulnerability. Like Google, Samsung also addressed the issue and rolled out some patches ensuring that old Samsung devices are safe.

So, all you need to do to protect your device is to update it to the latest version available. However, those users whose devices no longer support security updates are left with no choice but to upgrade to a new smartphone.