Samsung is now rolling out the August 2017 security patch for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge units sold in Mexico. It is likely that the patch currently being deployed by the South Korean tech giant is dated August 1, 2017 rather than the newer August 5, 2017 update. This is likely the same software that was released earlier this month for the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime and it contains fixes for many vulnerabilities found in the operating system’s media framework. Ten of the security issues found resolved in the August 1 package are considered by the search giant as critical. However, not distributing the newer update may leave the devices vulnerable to attacks that exploit the flaws found in Broadcom’s networking drivers and the OS’s kernel components.
Aside from the flaws found in the Android operating system, the August 2017 security patch fixes loopholes in Samsung’s proprietary skin. The South Korean smartphone manufacturer identified 12 major vulnerabilities found in the company’s own software. While others were not disclosed at this time, the firm noted that the problems originate from its software’s lack of boundary checking. If exploited, the smartphone’s memory may become corrupted and the data stored may also be accessed by unauthorized individuals. The issues are found in devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and Android 7.0 Nougat, and therefore users of these handsets should expect an update to arrive soon.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is one of the two flagship devices released by the manufacturer back in early 2016. Like most other devices, the handset is expected to receive two major operating system upgrades and three years of support with security patches and bug fixes. The handset, like its smaller brother the Samsung Galaxy S7, has already received Android 7.0 Nougat earlier this year and it is expected that the two products will receive an update that should install Android 8.0 within a few months after it is released. Once the update is installed, the owners of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge should see that the firmware version has changed and is now identified as the G935FXXU1DQH3 once they check for it in the device settings. More devices should receive the new patch soon, though it may take several weeks before it actually arrives.