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Google Project Zero Researcher Uncovers Zero-Click Exploit Targeting Samsung Devices

Geetansh -

Latest News on Samsung Zero-Click Exploit CVE-2024-49415

Overview

A high-severity vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-49415, has been discovered affecting Samsung devices running Android versions 12, 13, and 14. Here are the key details:

Affected Devices and Software

  • The vulnerability impacts Samsung devices running Android versions 12, 13, and 1423.
  • Specifically, it affects the Samsung S24 model, among others, when Google Messages is configured for Rich Communication Services (RCS), which is the default configuration on these devices3.

Nature of the Vulnerability

  • CVE-2024-49415 is described as an "out-of-bounds write" vulnerability in the APE (Audio Processing Engine) decoder. This is a critical component of the audio processing system in Samsung devices23.
  • The vulnerability allows for a fully-remote (zero-click) exploit, meaning that an attacker can exploit it without any user interaction3.

Severity and Impact

  • The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score for this vulnerability is 8.1, indicating a high severity level2.
  • The exploit could potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device, leading to significant security breaches and data compromises23.

Discovery and Reporting

  • The vulnerability was uncovered by a researcher from Google Project Zero, a team dedicated to finding and reporting zero-day vulnerabilities2.
  • The details of the vulnerability are documented in the Google Project Zero issue tracker, highlighting the technical specifics of the out-of-bounds write in the libsaped.so library3.

Mitigation and Updates

  • Samsung has included a fix for this vulnerability in the SMR (Security Maintenance Release) December 2024 Release 1. Users are advised to update their devices to this release or later to patch the vulnerability4.

Additional Resources

  • For more technical details, the Google Project Zero issue tracker provides a comprehensive analysis of the vulnerability3.
  • The Hacker News has detailed articles on the vulnerability, including its implications and the steps taken by Samsung to address it12.

In summary, the CVE-2024-49415 vulnerability is a critical security flaw in the APE decoder of Samsung devices, allowing for zero-click exploits. It is essential for users of affected devices to update their software to the latest security release to mitigate this risk.