A collection of security flaws in the firmware implementation of 5G mobile network modems from major chipset vendors such as MediaTek and Qualcomm impact USB and IoT modems as well as hundreds of smartphone models running Android and iOS.
Of the 14 flaws – collectively called 5Ghoul (a combination of “5G” and “Ghoul”) – 10 affect 5G modems from the two companies, out of which three have been classified as high-severity vulnerabilities.
“5Ghoul vulnerabilities may be exploited to continuously launch attacks to drop the connections, freeze the connection that involve manual reboot or downgrade the 5G connectivity to 4G,” the researchers said in a study published today.
