Recently, checkpoint cyber security researchers warned us of a serious security flaw inherent to Qualcomm's modems, embedded in its Snapdragon chips. This problem was related in part to the interaction between the API of these modems and the debugging system, and a sufficiently experienced hacker can use it to gain deep access to the bowels of an affected smartphone, until they access calls or text messages and thus spy on you without your knowledge.

The problem is that, according to checkpoint, this loophole is so widespread that it affects almost 40% of Android devices in circulation around the world, which represents a huge number of smartphones. Fortunately, some manufacturers reacted at short notice, as is the case with Samsung.

"while a number of Samsung devices had already been patched as early as January 2021, most of the Samsung devices that applied the Android Security Patch level of May 1, 2021 or later will be considered protected against this vulnerability," the brand explains. This means that if you haven't updated your brand smartphone since May 1st, you can't be too much advised to take a quick look at your settings to install it as quickly as possible.

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What about smartphones from other brands?

While Samsung has communicated about the solution of the problem, this is not (yet) the case of other popular brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo or even Google. This is the reason why checkpoint researchers do not explain in detail how to take advantage of this fault, as this one still concerns a large fleet of Android devices.

Qualcomm confirmed the existence of this fault with Threatpost and pointed out that several manufacturers have already made their patch available. However, the smelter does not give a name. "we Don't know who patched or not. In our experience, the implementation of these patches takes time, so many phones are probably still subject to the threat, "Qualcomm warns.

If you are using an Android smartphone, be aware that this risk is still high. The patch should probably soon be deployed on the devices of most manufacturers, so keep an eye out for the latest security patches and install them as soon as possible.