This happens to be the second Samsung security hole he's found this month. The first one he found is more or less what leads to this new one. He found out that you were able to make calls, and even run apps while the phone had a pattern lock on it.
To be sure, the method to do this takes a few steps to accomplish, but if you have the patience, then you'll have no problem getting in. The following are instructions and some updates from his blog:
HOW TO:- From the lock screen, hit the emergency call button.
- Dial a non-existent emergency services number - e.g. 0.
- Press the green dial icon.
- Dismiss the error message.
- Press the phone's back button.
- The app's screen will be briefly displayed.
- This is just about long enough to interact with the app.
- Using this, you can run and interact with any app / widget / settings menu.
- You can also use this to launch the dialler.
- From there, you can dial any phone number (one digit at a time) and place a phone call.
- With Google Play, you can search for apps using the voice interface.
- You can download apps from the app store which will disable the screen lock.
YouTube user "bicecream88" has alerted me to a way to partially defend against this attack.
By disabling your screen animations, it is possible to reduce the amount of time the screen is displayed.
Settings -> Developer Options -> Window animation scale -> off
Repeat for Transition animation scale and Animator duration scale.
The vulnerability is still present - but you need to be a lot quicker in order to exploit it.
I reported this flaw to Samsung in late February. They are working on a patch which they assure me will be released shortly.
I have delayed public disclosure of this vulnerability. I also asked if they wanted me to delay publication until a patch was ready - however they declined this offer.
If you discover a security issue with Samsung's mobile products, I strongly encourage you to email m.security AT samsung.com
They will provide their PGP public key if you wish to ensure your communications with them are secure.
- Terence Eden
You can see the security flaw in action, via a YouTube video from Mr. Eden:
It's a serious flaw, but it's good to know that Samsung is aware of the problem and will release a patch to fix this. If you fall under the umbrella of this security flaw, I suggest you take extra precautions if you happen to rely on your phone's security. Oh, and DO NOT let your significant other find out about this...of course, that's only if they like to snoop around
