Samsung Galaxy S7's last update fixes a critical security issue

Support for the Galaxy S7 ended last month, four years after the device made its debut. Despite this, Samsung just released one more update to the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge to fix a critical security vulnerability. The issue affects every single Samsung smartphone sold in 2014, and this new patch fixes the problem. The vulnerability allows a determined hacker to gain access to the system, possibly without the user's knowledge. It arose from a change Samsung made to Android that altered how the system handled .qmg files. All the attacker has to do is send multiple MMS messages with a specific image file to execute the exploit.

The May 2020 security patch fixes the issue. But since the Galaxy S7 series isn't covered anymore, PiunikaWeb on Samsung's forums discovered a new update that delivers the SVE-2020-16747 fix. And while it still has the April security patch attached to it, a Samsung moderator assures that the .qmg exploit fix is there. It isn't clear, though, if older Samsung flagships will get the same update.

Source: 9to5Google + MobileSyrup

Samsung Galaxy S7 gets March 2020 security update

It's common for Android devices only to get a few updates from OEMs before the smartphone manufacturers move on to their shiny new gadgets. But here's one good piece of news from Samsung. The company has updated the four-year-old Galaxy S7 with March 2020 security update. No, the phone will not get Android 10, but it does protect the phones from new threats that may arise. It's a 72MB update that has been coming to some Galaxy S7 users.

But as 9to5Google points out, this update could be the last for the Galaxy S7 series. According to Samsung's update policy, flagship phones get quarterly updates for up to four years. And since the Galaxy S7 launched in March 2016, this update is most likely the last one this flagship will receive.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will get fewer security updates

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have been taken off the list of phones that will receive quarterly security updates from the company. These two models have been downgraded into the tier that receives “regular” security updates. Samsung currently has three tiers for its security updates. The top level offers “Monthly Security Updates,” which are for the latest Galaxy smartphones until the likes of the Galaxy A8 and S8. The second tier is for “Quarterly Security Updates,” which is mostly for its mid-range devices. And the third tier, which is where the three-year-old S7 and S7 Edge phones have been relegated to, have a lot of the retired products. Strangely enough, the Galaxy S7 Active, which was released around the same time as the S7 and S7 Edge, still get the monthly security updates. As for those who own the other S7 models, you will still get security updates, but expect these to come less frequently.

Samsung continues roll out of Oreo update for Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

Review: Samsung Galaxy S7

We might already be talking about Android P but operating system fragmentation remains a big issue for Google’s mobile OS. And so, now we’re still talking about Oreo updates. This time we’re focusing specifically on the halted updates of Android 8.0 to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The rollout began a few days ago in the UK but the update was met with unexpected reboots for a limited number of units. A similar problem was reported here as well. That’s why the Korean company halted the release of the update to fix the issue. Thankfully, it didn’t take them too long to fix it. Firmware updates for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have started to rollout again. If it hasn’t hit your phone yet, just wait a bit. It should be heading your way soon.

Source: GSMArena