A new flaw called QuadRooter has been identified by researchers at security firm Check Point revealing a set of four vulnerabilities on Qualcomm-powered handsets. It’s been reported that over 900 million Android phones are affected including BlackBerry’s DTEK50 which claimed to be the most secure Android smartphone.
Apart from DTEK50, Google’s Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, and Nexus 6P are also affected as well as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge — even my personal LG V10 is also at risk.
Once exploited, this flaw grants attackers full access to the phone (or tablet) including the camera and microphone and could get expose private information. Google has released a QuadRooter Scanner app to know if these vulnerabilities exist on your device but it doesn’t really do anything to prevent it.
However, all is not lost when you find out that your device is affected by this flaw. For attackers to fully take control of your handset, they must still trick you, the user, to install a malicious app that wouldn’t require any special permissions.
This means that you have to be careful with the apps that you install and give permission to access your phone.
So far, a fix is available by updating your system software from manufacturers since Qualcomm has already issued patches for the three out of four flaws — with the last one coming this September.
The bottom line is that we have to stay vigilant and keep an eye out for suspicious programs asking for permission to gain access to the contents of our devices.
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