Android: A major vulnerability affects Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S22

Recently, the security of the Android operating system has become a high priority for Google. Various security patches and especially Google Play Protect thus protecting users from malicious apps. game store. These have significantly increased the security of our smartphones and devices, but unfortunately there is no zero risk to Google. For example, zero-day flaws are one of the biggest threats available, and the tech giant detected 58 of them in 2021 alone.

More recently, a new vulnerability of this type was discovered that affects the Android operating system. This was discovered by Zhenpeng Lin, a security researcher and PhD student at Northwestern University. The man in question demonstrated the vulnerability in his Pixel 6 caused by this flaw. Also, since the flaw is mainly related to the Linux kernel and version 5.10 in particular, many new generation Android smartphones can be found among the possible victims.

A security breach can affect your Samsung Galaxy S22 or Pixel 6

Without going into overly technical terms and details, the flaw allows a cybercriminal to gain authorization to disable SELinux, the security module of the Linux kernel. Simply put, a cybercriminal who can exploit this flaw can gain full access to the operating system with the possibility of stealing personal data and causing various damages. As Zhenpeng Lin points out, the flaw affects all smartphones running Linux kernel version 5.10, and specifically Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series and Google’s Pixel 6 series.

The security researcher has yet to reveal the details of the vulnerability and says users can rest assured while they wait for Google to release an update to fix the issue.

Google is indeed aware of the situation and the flaw will be fixed quickly. Probably in September when Google announced new security patches. By the way, it is recommended not to install applications from untrusted sources, this is to minimize risks.