Manufacturers and network operators have pushed hard 5G technology, even throughout the pandemic which forced several industries to pause. However, it seems, that one of the most critical hardware that allows technology for users might place them at risk too. The 5G Qualcomm modem is reported to have a very severe defect that can be exploited through Android, places potentially hundreds of thousands of risky users.
Weaknesses, according to research check points, can be found in the Qualcomm mobile station modem, a technology that has been around since 1990. It is responsible for many modems related to 4G LTE and, then, 5G too. That means that almost every cellphone that uses a 5G Qualcomm processor has the potential to be influenced by this vulnerability but there is another element that makes it worse.
Security researchers show that defects can be easily exploited through the Android operating system, which is quite a lot of OS running on all phones with Qualcomm chips, including newer 5G. Attackers can only send SMS made specifically to control it, give it access to reading messages, view the history of phone calls, or even unlock the device’s SIM.
The good news is that the research point research reported this weakness to Qualcomm who was able to develop improvements for the end of last year. The researchers did not openly reveal vulnerabilities to provide Qualcomm time to make the necessary improvements and tell their partners.
The bad news is we also talk about Android here, and it’s up to the manufacturer to actually send the bugfix to their customers. Some OEMs are better than others in that case, but, unfortunately, it affects all Snapdragon 5G phones, no matter how fast or slow in pushing updates.
