CVE-2024-55568 is a denial of service (DoS) vulnerability discovered in a broad range of Samsung Exynos processors and modems, including mobile and wearable chipsets such as the Exynos 980, 990, 850, 1080, 2100, 1280, 2200, 1330, 1380, 1480, 2400, wearable processors W920, W930, W1000, and modem chips 5123, 5300, and 5400. The root cause is the absence of a NULL pointer check when processing malformed Mobility Management (MM) packets, which are part of the cellular network signaling protocol. When an attacker sends specially crafted malformed MM packets to a vulnerable device, the missing NULL check leads to a crash or system instability, resulting in a denial of service condition. This vulnerability does not require authentication or user interaction, making it potentially exploitable remotely by an attacker with network access to the cellular interface. The lack of a CVSS score and absence of known exploits in the wild suggest it is newly disclosed and not yet weaponized, but the broad range of affected chipsets indicates a large attack surface. No patches or firmware updates are currently linked to this CVE, increasing the urgency for affected parties to monitor vendor advisories. The vulnerability affects the cellular baseband processing components, which operate at a low level in the device, meaning exploitation could disrupt device availability and network connectivity. Given the widespread use of Samsung Exynos processors in smartphones, wearables, and modems, this vulnerability could impact millions of devices globally. The technical details indicate the vulnerability arises from improper input validation of network signaling packets, a common vector for baseband attacks. The absence of a NULL check is a classic programming error that leads to dereferencing invalid pointers and crashing the system. This vulnerability highlights the ongoing risks in cellular baseband firmware security and the need for rigorous input validation in protocol handling.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-55568 is the potential for denial of service on devices using affected Samsung Exynos processors and modems. This can lead to device crashes, loss of network connectivity, and service interruptions on mobile phones, wearables, and IoT devices relying on these chipsets. Critical sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, finance, and government agencies that depend on mobile communications could experience operational disruptions. Enterprises with mobile device fleets or BYOD policies that include Samsung devices may face increased support costs and reduced productivity due to device instability. Additionally, mobile network operators could see increased signaling anomalies or dropped connections if attackers exploit this vulnerability at scale. Although no known exploits are currently in the wild, the ease of exploitation without authentication means attackers with cellular network access could disrupt user devices remotely. This could also impact emergency communications and critical mobile services. The lack of patches means organizations must rely on network-level mitigations and monitoring until firmware updates are available. Overall, the vulnerability poses a medium to high risk to availability and operational continuity for European organizations heavily reliant on Samsung mobile and wearable devices.

1. Monitor Samsung and mobile device vendors for firmware updates or patches addressing CVE-2024-55568 and apply them promptly once available. 2. Implement network-level filtering on cellular network infrastructure to detect and block malformed MM packets if possible, reducing exposure to malformed signaling traffic. 3. Employ anomaly detection systems within mobile network operator environments to identify unusual MM packet patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. 4. For enterprise environments, restrict or monitor use of vulnerable Samsung devices on corporate networks until patches are applied. 5. Educate IT and security teams about this vulnerability to increase awareness and readiness to respond to potential device outages. 6. Collaborate with mobile network providers to understand exposure and mitigation capabilities at the network level. 7. Consider deploying endpoint protection solutions that can monitor device stability and alert on unexpected reboots or crashes. 8. Maintain robust incident response plans that include scenarios involving mobile device denial of service. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on network-level controls and operational readiness specific to cellular signaling vulnerabilities.