Samsung, Android Phones Exposed to Hackers Due to Qualcomm Chip Bugs: Updates, Fixes and More
Qualcomm chips, primarily seen on Android devices like Samsung, are reported to be vulnerable to hackers. As a result, phone calls and text messages could be stolen from your device.
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Qualcomm chips, one of the highest manufactured chipsets sold for smartphone devices, are reported to be vulnerable to hackers. As a result, phone calls and text messages could be stolen from your device. Luckily, the company has developed a quick fix to the problem.
Qualcomm remains one of the top manufacturers for semiconductors, services, and software related to wireless technology. Among its merchandise, some of its popular products in the market are Snapdragon 865+ 5G, Snapdragon 765G, and the recently released Snapdragon 888 5G featuring Elite Gaming user experience. Their technology powers up 30 percent of the world s smartphone devices and all these users are in d
According to research published by Check Point, nearly 40 percent of the world’s Android devices currently have a vulnerability that could grant hackers access to SMS messages and phone conversations.
Check Point found the flaw in Qualcomm’s Mobile Station Modem (MSM) and in Android’s ability to communicate with the MSM through the Qualcomm MSM Interface (QMI). Qualcomm’s MSM is a series of chips used to connect to 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G systems.
Attackers could use Android itself to inject malicious code, while apps could use the vulnerability to hide their activity within the modem and effectively make it invisible to security features Android uses to detect malicious activity.
Severe security issue found in Qualcomm mobile chip modems
Due to the CVE-2020-11292 vulnerability that Check Point Research discovered in Qualcomm SoC modems, attackers can quietly and without any action gain access to confidential information. In particular, they can listen to conversations and view SMS, as well as study the call history. According to experts, about 30% of all smartphones with Qualcomm platforms are vulnerable to vulnerabilities. We are talking about tens of millions of devices.
“This means an attacker could have used this vulnerability to inject malicious code into the modem from Android, giving them access to the device user’s call history and SMS, as well as the ability to listen to the device user’s conversations,” the researchers wrote. “A hacker can also exploit the vulnerability to unlock the device’s SIM, thereby overcoming the limitations imposed by service providers on it.”
Flaw in Qualcomm modems enables backdoor for hackers to record your phone calls
According to a new report by security firm
Check Point Research, Qualcomm’s Mobile Station Modem (MSM) can be exploited by hackers and used to record phone calls and more. MSM dates back to the early 1990s and used in 2G/3G/4G and even 5G devices and presents a serious vulnerability that can be hacked remotely as easily as sending an SMS message.
From there the wrongdoers gain the ability to listen in on your calls, read through your text messages, and can even unlock your SIM card in order to bypass any limitations imposed by carriers. According to reports nearly 30% of all smartphones use Qualcomm chipsets and are thus potential targets of the exploit. The only thing that users can do at the moment is to keep their devices with the most up to date security patch.
The researchers discovered a flaw that can be used to control the modem and patch it to a device s application processor. Through this, an attacker could inject malicious code into the modem from the operating system and theoretically gain access to a user s call and SMS history, while also providing a way to listen to live conversations.
Checkpoint has so far decided against publishing the full technical details of the exploit until mobile vendors have had the opportunity to release fixes, although the company said it is working with relevant government officials and mobile vendors to assist with this process.