Security Flaw in Galaxy S III present in many other Android phones! Here’s how to check if its present in yours! 
Remember our advisory the other day regarding the security flaw on the Galaxy S III and other Galaxy smartphones that can allow someone to remotely wipe and SIM lock an Android phone?
Well, bad news. Samsung ‘droids aren’t the only one affected by this particular exploit. Dylan Reeve reports that most Android phones are susceptible to this kind of attack, and has confirmed the HTC One X running on Android 4.0.3 and Motorola Defy running on Cyanogen Mod 7 on Android 2.3.5 are both vulnerable. TNW’s Nick Summers verified that it is also present on the HTC Desire running on Android 2.2, and the Sony Xperia arc S and Xperia Active are also believed to be affected by this troublesome bug.
I, for one, can confirm it is also present on the HTC Sensation running on Android 4.0.3.
How did I find out?
Easy! By visiting this site on your Android phone. Once you click on that link, your phone will then launch the dialer app and display your handset’s IMEI number.
If you’re ‘droid is immune to the exploit, it’ll just launch the dialer and display *#06#.
Is there a fix already?
Well, for Samsung Galaxy S III users, yes! As we said in the previous post, the Galaxy S III running on Jelly Bean is safe. So just update to Android 4.1 and you’re worry free. But unfortunately, the Jelly Bean update isn’t readily available to everyone just yet.
So what’s the next best thing?
Dylan Reeve suggests you install a 3rd party dialer app, such as Dialer One, to prevent the attack from being carried out. Since the code is only able to launch the stock dialer app, it won’t be able to successfully perform the mischeivious deed if there’s a different dialer app installed.
Read more about how the attack works and the workaround here.
So, have you checked your Android phone’s vulnerable too? If not, I suggest you do so. After all, you’ve got nothing to loss and everything to gain by doing this simple check. .
