Samsung Galaxy S7 February Security Patch
Some Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices have started receiving the February security patch update. Pictured: Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S7 smartphone is seen at its headquarters in Seoul, July 28, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Samsung has started rolling out the February Security Update to its Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices, according to AndroidHeadlines. The update comes with G930FXXU1DQB7 firmware version for the Galaxy S7 and G935FXXU1DQB7 for the Galaxy S7 Edge. In addition to fixing the devices' vulnerabilities, the update brings stability improvements and performance optimizations.

The update will come to the devices as an over-the-air update. Consumers can also manually check for it by navigating to the settings of their device, going to the About Device section and clicking on System Updates. The important thing to note is that the update is based on Android 7.0 — Nougat OS, so you will need to have the recent Android Nougat OS update installed beforehand.

The update contains patches for 58 different vulnerabilities, some of which are critical. One such vulnerability is CVE-2017-0405 — a remote code execution vulnerability in the Android Surfacefinger graphics library — which can make your device vulnerable to hackers and data thieves who could remotely hack into your device and cause memory corruption while you play a video.

Another such issue is the CVE-2017-0427 privilege escalation vulnerability, which could comprise your entire operating system and all the data stored on your device.

In case you receive the update, we recommend that you ensure that your S7/S7 Edge has at least 50 percent charge and also make sure that all your important data has been properly backed up.

The S7/S7 Edge devices are expected to keep receiving software updates for at least a couple more years, after which Samsung might stop rolling out software updates. Bug and security fixes are generally included in every incremental Android update received by a device. Such updates stop after one generation of the device, so Nougat might be the last OS update which the S7 receives. The next Android update – Android O is expected to come only to the Galaxy S8 device.

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