Warning to Samsung phone users over 'critical' Android security update

A warning has been issued to Samsung users to update their phone sharpish after a 'critical' issue was patched by the Android phone manufacturer.

The likes of Samsung and Apple consistently provide updates to their devices with criminals consistently targeting our devices for financial gain.

As well as targeting the operating systems used by both phones - iOS and Android - they will also try and get through our security systems via third party apps like WhatsApp.

Samsung has now revealed its April security patch for its flagship Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 got the patch earlier, arriving in March for those who own its more expensive model.

Revealing the update, Samsung has detailed exactly what vulnerabilities have been fixed for those using the Android OS phone.

In total, 27 issues have been fixed via Google, with one such issue marked as 'critical' by the manufacturer after being flagged as 'Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures' (CVE) items. A further 17 issues have also been flagged as Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE) items.

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Releasing the patch, Samsung says: "Along with Google patches, Samsung Mobile provides 17 Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE) items described below, in order to improve our customer’s confidence on security of Samsung Mobile devices.

"Samsung security index (SSI), found in “Security software version”, SMR Apr-2024 Release 1 includes all patches from Samsung and Google. Some of the SVE items may not be included in this package, in case these items were already included in a previous maintenance release."

Of the Samsung patches, four have been dubbed high-risk. And while not detailed, the risk with these issues would only be accessible via direct access to your device rather than via remote malware.

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According to reports, the patches stop vulnerabilities to end users who use Samsung Pay.

Unless the update is downloaded and synced with your device, it can leave Samsung users open to attack from hackers and able to gain their personal information.

Little information is available on the 'critical' issue highlighted by Samsung and patched by Google, with it dubbed CVE-2023-28578 by the manufacturer.

Fear not if the update isn't quite ready to be downloaded on your Samsung Galaxy device. It's being slowly rolled out by Samsung, with newer models of phone at the front of the queue.

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But it's bad news if you now own a Samsung Galaxy S20 model, with your security updates now going from monthly to quarterly. So that might also be the reason the update isn't quite ready yet.

You just have to wait your turn if your model is a little older.

LADbible contacted Samsung for comment on the 'critical' security update.