Posted by vitorcerq on 03 January 2013 at 21:30

Galaxy S III’s latest software update fixes Exynos security exploit & Sudden Death Issue

Follow: Firmware news Firmware news

On 2nd January, Samsung pushed a software update (I9300XXELLA) to the Galaxy S III and we can confirm that the new software update fixes the infamous Exynos 4 vulnerability. The security flaw was in the kernel which made the device R/W by all users, apps and gave access to full Physical Memory. In short, this vulnerability gave root permissions to *any* app and there was no control over it but now with the new system update the security hole has been patched.

We believe that the new system update also fixes the sudden death issue as the new firmware ships with brand new bootloaders and this is the first time Samsung has updated the bootloaders of the device since it started shipping back in May 2012. But, we can’t confirm if sudden death issue has been resolved or not as Samsung is the only one who can confirm about the fix.

For now the new software update is only available for the United kingdom (BTU) but we expect other countries to follow soon. We would urge Galaxy S III users to  immediatly update their device to the latest firmware via Kies or OTA (Over-The-Air).

Official Firmware Details:
Android Version: 4.1.2 – Build JZO54K
PDA: I9300XXELLA
CSC: I9300OXAELLA
MODEM: I9300XXELLA
Build Date: 22-12-12
Change list: 742798

Screenshots:

Screenshot_2013-01-03-20-31-32
Screenshot_2013-01-03-20-31-43
Screenshot_2013-01-03-20-34-46
Screenshot_2013-01-03-20-37-26
Capture

SamMobile research, via, via

UPDATE: Our sources confirm that Samsung has fixed the sudden death issue with the latest Galaxy S III Software Update.

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56 comments on “Galaxy S III’s latest software update fixes Exynos security exploit & Sudden Death Issue”

  1. raj_p on said:

    I am living in Suriname, a country near Brazil. I have tried the Polish (first) rom as well as the other roms for my S3. Since yesterday I am using the XXELLA rom and I must say this one works smoother than all previous roms. If you are running a official UK rom with BTU as CSC, you should get the update via OTA. It can take a wile because of the servers are overloaded now.

    Report this comment

  2. _Marcoo_ on said:

    Ok, jellybean for s3 fixed, now we want android 4.1.2 for our sweet galaxy s2!!!

  3. rezas3 on said:

    i want install this frimware (btu) by odin app. do you recommend it.
    i dont want loss my galaxy s3

    Report this comment

  4. Atomlux on said:

    this will work great, only if my S3 were still alive -.- and not dead from sudden death.

    Report this comment

  5. ZaKaTRoN on said:

    rezas3, always better by odin

    Report this comment

  6. oliverg11x on said:

    3th of Junuary of 2013…. We still waiting the final Update for the SII!!!! SuckSung Fail One More Time!! -.-

    Report this comment

  7. Said1995 on said:

    Does anyone now will come to Vodafone UK aswell plz if u know plz tell me asap Thanx

    Report this comment

  8. Kulaspiro on said:

    Will this remove root access from the phone? Running Poland’s 4.1.2 and Siyah Kernel

    Report this comment

  9. andnote on said:

    will real note and s2 will get same update…anyone knows plz share…because exploit is also in note
    note 2 ans s2

    Report this comment

  10. Rahul1226 on said:

    S3…….is fixed now…….
    Start updating s2…….

  11. gzycy on said:

    what about SCH-I939.
    not SCH-I939 on samfirmare list?????

    Report this comment

  12. jcorrales on said:

    when at Costa Rica !!

    Report this comment

  13. gholaofme on said:

    Can you confirm the exynos abuse fix? u had the other uk btu firmware running and had exynos abuse apk of chainfire, onve I flashed this BTU i rooted the phone the old way and the exynos abuse apk from chainfire still says that the exploit is enabled

    Report this comment

  14. JiiNDER on said:

    Would anyone care to share that Wallpaper?

    Report this comment

  15. jesus_id on said:

    For me this update comes late, my Samsung Galaxy S3 died on Monday.

    Report this comment

  16. Offgrey on said:

    How did you confirm that this fixes SDS? The sources you have listed only highlight the possibility that this fixes SDS. If you’re talking about the XDA thread, they’re not even sure. They’re only assuming based on the fact that there’s a new bootloader. We can’t know for sure unless you put up the changelist or Samsung announces it officially. This article is misleading.

    Report this comment

  17. gazza35 on said:

    When will wifi tethering be fixed?

    Report this comment

  18. ax_lip97 on said:

    When will ir appear for download?

    Report this comment

  19. anubius on said:

    You believe the sudden death is fixed? There is no proof for that.

    Report this comment

  20. ludo91 on said:

    Hi !

    I have an GT-I9300 in France. I have download (but not install at this time) the firmware I9300XXELL4.
    Do you know if is it possible to ad (replace ?) the sboot.bin of the I9300XXELLA in the I9300XXELL4 ?

    Report this comment

  21. andytr999 on said:

    Where is the firmware link?

    Report this comment

  22. Zaknewbie on said:

    Hello !
    No link for manual download to flash via odin for root users who have not access to OTA updates ??

    Report this comment

  23. Kulaspiro on said:

    Flashed the rom. Very smooth but root went away. Will the same root methods apply to this rom? Or will we wait for another method to root this build?

    Report this comment

  24. gardner on said:

    Time Update My galaxy (n7000)to jelly bean?
    Samsung answer me.

    Report this comment

  25. apis_86 on said:

    Exynos Mem Bug Checker still saying is affected when i’m using this stock rom

    Report this comment

  26. Pandur2000 on said:

    Is this affecting the 9305 (LTE), too?

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  27. Predator.IKON on said:

    Damn!?!?!?!?!? My S3 got “Sudden Death” issue on 28 December 2013 and till still not fixed yet.
    I could not get the latest update for Indonesia. what do we do ?

    I really unsatisfied with this issue…

    Report this comment

  28. mark27595 on said:

    Do people actually think that this is an official samsung website well its not so stop demanding updates !

    Report this comment

  29. Mariborcan on said:

    Does any one have flashable files or if any one knows where can I download them :) ? I’m still on that official poland first relese :D .

    Report this comment

  30. pyblack on said:

    installed the I9300XXELLA firmware via ODIN and have had no issues so far.

    hopefully 4.2.1 is on its way soon for sgIII

    as for s2 users, there IS A OFFICIAL WORKING FIRMWARE for jellybean, that is not OTA or KIES but can be installed via ODIN.

    Report this comment

  31. bahri on said:

    Ok WHEN AT TURKEY S3???? WE ARE WAİTİNG FOR 2 Months…….

    Report this comment

  32. Reginault on said:

    i tried it and its not ok. everytime i press a key once,it doubles.

    Report this comment

  33. ricnar456 on said:

    the exynos bug was fixed

    Try to root using the exploit and always fail, the exynos tool do not know where the fix is and continue saying is vulnerable but fail when try to root.

    ricnar

    Report this comment

  34. farooktaz on said:

    I am Using Galaxy s3 19000 (H3G), i update my phone with I9300XXELL4_I9300H3GELL1_H3Gthis update but there was a problem in SystemUI, it’s not responding. there haven’t a notification bar.. please fix it.

    Report this comment

  35. lelinuxien52 on said:

    New sboot.bin don’t fix Sudden death issue. I think it’s new protection against rooting and installing custom firmware.

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  36. dynamind on said:

    @lelinuxien52, no it’s not a protection, I’ve alrealdy installed XELLA and CWM Touch 6.0.2.7 afterwards, not any problems to root the device with this latest ROM.

    Report this comment

  37. xxjadey86xx on said:

    ARGH since this update this morning my phone keeps freezing and not working! i had no problems before and now i cant use my phone :(

    has anyone else experienced this?

    thanks

    xxJADEYxx

    Report this comment

  38. wfsmiley on said:

    I just got the biggest laugh from SAMSUNG Canada, The reason was to ask about the Exyonos exploit.. the first agent I spoke to said “we don’t make the phones here ,you have to call KOREA” now almost falling on the floor he also stated” ALL phones are built that way and I should learn to be more secure when using it”

    After about 20 min of him checking and reding for the first time about this issue I got transferred up the ladder..then was told there was no exploit, i should not read false stories on line…after 20 min he admitted yes there is a fault and the teams and engineers are working on it..Then I asked if jellybean is coming out at the same time….again after 10 min he stated he will send an email to samsung asking about the fix and jellybean, said It will be 24-48 hrs and I will get an email too…

    anyone wanna place bets I will be forgotten….lol, btw I have the I1900m s2

    Report this comment

  39. Rasta4i on said:

    So I flashed this ROM on my I9300T variant, and all works fine and dandy, however, all reference that my phone was a I9300T has changed to I9300…

    Does anyone have the original “Sboot.bin” file, just in case i need to revert back to stock… not that I see myself doing that, but just a contingency…

    Rasta4i…

    Report this comment

  40. tompob on said:

    Hi.
    I have i9305 and just 5 minutes ago received XXBLL5 update via OTA.
    I was on XXBLL3 firmware (Germany) before.

    Hope this update fixes both issues… exynos & sudden death… ;)

    Report this comment

  41. alozide on said:

    Hello everyone, this is just a quick Samsung Bug kernel fix for rooted uses on European Samsung Roms,
    I’m using the XXELKC 4.1.2 Poland Samsung ROM rooted, which did has the samsung exploit in its kernel, so I downloaded the Full UK XXELLA ROM from sammobile.com, (Thanks Guys) and unzipped it and stored it to my i9300, then used Mobile Odin to flash the Kernel Only. of the XXELLA ROM to my XXELKC ROM, and that was it, I now have the Exploit Bug removed…and my rom is still up and running without any problems at all, and without having to Wipe or change the whole ROM :-)
    I tested the exploit with Chainfire’s Exploit Demo apk several times and evertime it -fails-
    I dont know if it will work on any i9300 4.1.2 ROMs, but it worked for me and it was a fast and easy fix…

    Report this comment

  42. chrizhaynes on said:

    just updated 1 hour ago and phone kept freezing and had to remove battery to reset it a few times. now it wont turn on just get galaxy s3 logo. wont go into recovery but does go into download mode. dont know weather to risk flashing back or take to shop :(

    Report this comment

  43. alozide on said:

    Hey chrizhaynes

    did you update via Samsung Kies, or did you download XXELLA ROM and flashed Kernel Only like I did to keep the original ROM you had?

    Report this comment

  44. muppetz on said:

    I appreciate your work in this regard and I will always follow you yet on the last update to fix Exynos vulnerability, why some Google Play applications as “Norton Halt Exploit Defender” and “Exynos Mem Bug Checker” show the vulnerability is still there ?
    Does this update we are talking really fix the bug of Exynos ?

    Report this comment

  45. chrischals on said:

    Mine is from Saudi Arabia Got 4.1.2 on monday and today got another minor update with 31mb of size. Todays updates got XXELLA baseband version. I think sudden death has been fix with this. Thanks Samsung for this. I can tell this is the smoothest firmware of all time sinc invent of S3

    Report this comment

  46. guerouig on said:

    I’m on XXELLA (BTU) right now. it has certainly fixed the exynos mem abuse bug (I checked using chainfire way). But for sudden death, it seems ssamsung have aired another fix. anyone know how to get this new fix ??? or how samsung are going to proceed?

    Report this comment

  47. vincpoland on said:

    after update to XXELLA I have problem with charging my phone, IMHO something is wrong with them…very long charging Let me know if somebody have the same problem and how to fix this ?

    Report this comment

  48. nitin1730 on said:

    My phone is dead now. Can it be recovered? Will samsung fix/replace my phone?

    Report this comment

  49. mufaddal.ezzi on said:

    Is samsung going to fixed rhe exploit problem with Note 2, if yes when is it going to be released?

    Report this comment

  50. plymouthbiker on said:

    Ah….. So now I know, after 6 months of having the phone. Pity my phone is now dead too…. on Saturday morning(12th Jan 2012). Lost all my data and everything. Also happened a month ago to a friend of mine and he had had his phone for a month!!!

    Looks like a serious issue for those who don’t often update due to data restrictions and no wifi to download.

    Report this comment

  51. tezuka on said:

    im really worry about it i recibe jelly bean 4.1.2 via ota in usa. but the update is BELL1, they send my in january but the deal is, how they send me a update that dont fix the problem??? i dont understand.

    Report this comment

  52. AdL2012 on said:

    waiting for 4.2 on my S3

    Report this comment

  54. Pingback: Faille Exynos : Samsung déploie un correctif à double effet

  55. Pingback: Samsung Pushes Exynos Flaw Fix on Galaxy Phones | Threatpost

  56. Pingback: Samsung fixes Exynos security hole in latest Galaxy S III software update | AIVAnet

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