Tech

Samsung issues update warning for Galaxy smartphones, Google identifies new threat

Samsung's July security update: a disappointing delay

It was updated on July 3rd with news of Google's latest Pixel update.

Samsung has once again come out ahead of the Pixel when it comes to revealing details of this month's security release, but this update is actually bad news for Galaxy devices. The worry isn't what's fixed, but what's missing.

Google has confirmed that Samsung and other Android devices are vulnerable to the same security risk behind the June Pixel zero-day warning. While Pixels have been patched, Samsung devices have not, and it wasn't addressed at all in the July update. Given that the threat was serious enough to trigger a US government warning, you should be very careful about exposing yourself to this risk.

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Samsung's update includes four other critical Android security warnings, three of which fix Qualcomm vulnerabilities that were delayed from Android's June update. Samsung has warned users that component updates can lag behind software and firmware patches, but the Pixel has been able to release these more quickly.

At the very least, Samsung's other significant Android updates for July were up to date and released quickly. Google is warning that CVE-2024-31320 affects Android's underlying framework and could lead to local privilege escalation with no additional execution privileges needed, which in itself is a warning to update now.

Alongside the broader Android patches, Samsung is also including the usual list of its own fixes, including a critical update to address input validation risks, which Samsung warns could allow a remote attacker to compromise secure control data on the device and execute arbitrary code. Triggering the vulnerability requires user interaction – some form of UI message that the user must interact with – although this can be hidden in a variety of ways.

But the bigger issue is the lack of a zero-day fix for the Pixel.

Last month, Google warned Pixel users that CVE-2024-32896 may be subject to limited, targeted exploitation, after which the U.S. government mandated that federal employees update their Pixel devices by July 4 or stop using the products.

The Pixel patch is the second part of a fix from April, and GrapheneOS, who made the disclosure, warned that it addressed two vulnerabilities, according to a GrapheneOS post, neither of which have been fixed outside of the Pixel yet.

Google confirmed this and said that its Android Security division is aware of the issue and after further investigation, it has concluded that the issue affects the Android platform, Pixel devices that have installed the latest security update are protected, and that they are prioritizing applicable fixes to other Android OEM partners and will roll them out as soon as they are available.

Google asserts that additional exploits are needed to compromise the device, but it is this chain of vulnerabilities that GrapheneOS is warning about. There are currently no fixes for non-Pixel devices, and it could be months before a fix is available.

GrapheneOS warns that another vulnerability, CVE-2024-29745, remains a threat to Samsung and other Android devices, and that it has only been patched on the Pixel. CVE-2024-29745 is a more serious issue, and while it was fully fixed on the Pixel in April, we've heard that other devices still don't have protection. Because it's a firmware issue, it needs to be patched by each OEM, which takes time.

This is starting to become a pattern of risks where the Pixel is patched but other models are not, and that's not good news for anyone spending over $1,000 on a new flagship device and expecting to be fully protected. Following confirmation from Google, we've reached out to Samsung for comment on these vulnerabilities.

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In recent months, Google has lagged behind Samsung when it comes to Pixel update bulletins. This month, however, it's not far behind. Pixel users now have details of the July release. Unlike Samsung's July fix, this month's Pixel-specific updates are relatively light. But there are also broader Android updates, which are more extensive and include important software and hardware updates that Google says are all included in the Pixel update.

And that in itself is a problem for Samsung users, because they aren't getting the same timely fixes. Setting aside the Pixel's zero-day vulnerabilities, which are still present in Samsung devices and will remain vulnerable until patched — not to mention CVE-2024-29745 — the Pixel is becoming more and more like the iPhone in that it combines hardware and software into a unified product. While the Pixel still relies on carriers to provide the software, it offers a more cohesive product.

Samsung is in a tough spot. Google is coming into its own with the Pixel, and it's no longer a bet. With Google quickly adding its own AI to Pixel devices, which are obviously optimized for its software, we can expect much stiffer competition in the coming years. While the Pixel and (especially) the Galaxy are both taking aim at the iPhone, the Pixel's more immediate target is Samsung and the hundreds of millions of devices it has already sold to users addicted to the Google-controlled Android ecosystem.

On the security and privacy side of AI, earlier this year it seemed like Google was going to push cloud-based AI hard, giving Samsung's hybrid AI some market room, but now things have changed. The market is increasingly focusing on the privacy benefits of device-only AI, and Google is responding. Google's control over Android's core AI products and Pixel hardware is a clear advantage.

For now, none of this seems serious, with Samsung's flagship products selling like hotcakes, but this is a fickle market, and will become even more fickle with AI-driven generational shifts, and we will see a lot of brand and platform switching users.

The Pixel prioritizes software over hardware, which sets it apart from Samsung and Apple, but AI has changed the equation for users, and when it comes to security, the integrated hardware and software ecosystem that Google controls gives it the ability to match Apple's approach in ways that Samsung has clearly shown it can't.

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Samsung continues to dominate the premium Android market, but Google is focused on catching up and has a big advantage. This has been especially evident in recent months, as Samsung users have seen delays in component updates, especially from Qualcomms, in contrast to the Pixel releasing fixes for them more quickly. This new warning is a belated admission that the Pixel zero-day is not a Pixel-only issue, and is ultimately a big blunder that needs to be addressed immediately.

The release of Android 15 isn't far away, and the release will hopefully add a host of new security updates and improved user protections while also ironing out some outstanding issues. But it's a long time to wait. In the meantime, Samsung users should update this month's update as soon as it's available for your model, region, and carrier.

Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2024/07/03/samsung-s24-ultra-s23-free-update-warning-for-galaxy-android-users/

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