With Thanksgiving now here and December fast approaching, Samsung is still rolling out its critical November security update to millions of phones. Today is also the deadline set by the US cyber defense agency to install that update on your phone.
Per SamMobile, “the November 2024 security update for Galaxy devices hasn’t had the smoothest rollout. Samsung has been unusually slow with bringing this month’s security update to phones both new and old, but it seems the company is finally picking up the pace now that December is almost here.”
The latest devices to pick up the update in the US are more of its Galaxy A54, Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, S24 Ultra, S23, S23 Plus, S23 Ultra, Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6, Z Fold 5, and Z Flip 5. While in Europe it’s the A33 and A44.
“There’s no telling when it will arrive in other regions,” SamMobile says, “because even for devices that have received the November update, Samsung has taken longer than usual to expand the rollout to all countries following the initial release.”
November’s security update fixes CVE-2024-43093, which Google warns “may be under limited, targeted exploitation.” What’s not confirmed is whether it also fixes CVE-2024-43047, a Qualcomm vulnerability patched in this month’s Android’s release but not included in Samsung’s bulletin.
That said, the Galaxy-maker told me it has “started rolling out security updates since October, but updates may continue being released at a later date, which will vary by network provider or model.”
Clearly, US users should update today and certainly before returning to work after the holidays. CISA’s formal mandate applies to federal employees but is actually wider, helping all organizations “better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity,” with its Known Exploited Vulnerability (KEV) catalog “an input to their vulnerability management prioritization framework.”
The better news is the delayed One UI 7 beta, which finally brings Android 15 to Galaxy phones is nearing release for at least some flagship devices. We have seen a leaked schedule for the beta release, expected to run for three months, and the latest leaks show this is now hitting Samsung servers in readiness for release.
Android 15 is a game-changer for security and privacy, with theft protection, live malware defense and even scam call detection all wrapped in the Android release. We await final confirmation of what will make Samsung’s final release or even its actual beta release. And so December will be a big month as users finally get to know.
