Research Finds 11 High-Impact Security Flaws on Galaxy S6 Edge

• By Sydny Shepard
• Nov 04, 2015

A team at Google tasked with discovering and exploiting severe bugs and exploits in Android recently turned their attention to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone. The team found “11 high-impact security issues” with the phone.

In just a week of research, the team attempted to find security flaws that could allow them access to contacts, photos, geolocation and other personal data, as well as the ability to remotely wipe the device. In total, they found 11 separate vulnerabilities. In particular, issues with Samsung’s own email client and gallery app created new security risks, in addition to security risks that were already inherent in the underlying Android operating system.

In other words, Android OEM software is adding security risks as well as unnecessary clutter and update delays to Android phones.

Fortunately, the biggest of the 11 flaws were able to be fixed within 90 days of their discovery and the three remaining pose lesser risks and will also be fixed in November. While the team has resolved the issues on the Galaxy S6 Edge, there’s no way they can achieve the same kind of research for the many thousands of other Android devices on the market.

For now, Google has committed to pushing out monthly Android security patches and if it finds the necessary cooperation from mobile carriers, it could make some progress on having a more security strategy.