MediaTek chipsets contain a serious security flaw

Chinese manufacturer MediaTek is currently the largest manufacturer of chipsets for Android smartphones. That’s why you should be careful about their safety. According to the portal GSMArena they contain a serious vulnerability that the October security patch should fix.

A security flaw made it possible to eavesdrop on the smartphone

The vulnerability was discovered by a security company Check Point Research in the firmware of newer MediaTek chipsets. According to her findings, a potential attacker could exploit it using a specific code and access the sounds recorded by the smartphone system. At the same time, it could insert malicious code into the processor’s DSP driver. Subsequently, he could listen to practically anything on his smartphone.

The vulnerability was widespread and involved Dimensity, G and P series chipsets such as the MediaTek Helio G90 or Helio P90. Specifically, it is intended to address the Tensilica APU architecture, which is also used by Kirin chipsets from Huawei. Whether the error was also found in them was not confirmed. Company Check Point Research she had already informed Mediatek about the mistake, who reacted immediately.

A fix was released in October, which manufacturers should distribute in the form of a security patch to smartphones with these chipsets. If you have a smartphone with a MediaTek chipset of the Dimensity, G or P series, you should check in the settings whether you have it installed. However, according to MediaTek, the vulnerability was not exploited.