Samsung has published its updated monthly security bulletin detailing the content of the August patch for Galaxy devices. This month, the company is pushing 50 vulnerability patches to its Android-powered smartphones and tablets. The update has yet to be released for any device but the floodgates may open soon.
August update for Galaxy devices addresses 50 security flaws
As usual, the August security update for Galaxy devices, aka Security Maintenance Release (SMR), combines patches from Google, partner vendors, and Samsung. Google’s Android Security Bulletin for August 2024 addresses 35 vulnerabilities across the Galaxy family. 34 of those are high-severity issues, while one is a critical security flaw.
The remaining 15 patches come directly from Samsung — one from its semiconductor division and 14 from the mobile division. The semiconductor division patched a high-severity flaw in some chips powering Galaxy devices. The 14 Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE) items include a critical flaw that allowed remote attackers to execute arbitrary code.
While the vulnerability required user interaction to trigger, it allowed system privilege to attackers, potentially causing serious damage. The August update patches the flaw in all affected Galaxy phones and tablets. Samsung also addressed three high-severity issues that let local attackers execute arbitrary code or start privileged services.
The rest of the disclosed SVEs are all moderate vulnerabilities. Samsung doesn’t disclose every vulnerability it patches due to potential security issues. Attackers could devise an exploit before users could install the new security update. Speaking of which, Samsung has yet to begin the August SMR rollout. It may release the update to some eligible devices soon.
The company is also preparing to roll out the One UI 6.1.1 update to its older foldables and tablets, and a new One UI 6.1 feature update to flagship smartphones and select mid-range models. These updates will bring new Galaxy AI features to compatible models and other improvements. The August SMR may come bundled with the new feature updates for some devices.
