Technologies

Google Warns Samsung and Pixel Phone Owners About 18 Dire Exploits

If you have these devices with Samsung Exynos chipsets, stay off Wi-Fi and Voice over LTE, or VoLTE, calls.

Google is warning owners of some Samsung, Vivo and Pixel phones that a series of exploits enable bad actors to compromise devices simply by knowing phone numbers — and the device owners wouldn’t notice a thing.

Project Zero, Google’s in-house team of cybersecurity experts and analysts, described in a blog post 18 different potential exploits in some phones using Samsung’s Exynos modems. These exploits are so severe that they should be treated as zero-day vulnerabilities (indicating they should be fixed immediately). With four of these exploits, an attacker has to have only the right phone number to get access to data flowing in and out of a device’s modem, like phone calls and text messages.

The other 14 exploits are less worrisome, since they require more effort to expose their vulnerability — attackers would need access to the device locally or to a cell carrier’s systems, as TechCrunch noted.

Owners of affected devices should install upcoming security updates as soon as possible, though it’s up to the phone makers to decide when a software patch will come out for each device. In the meantime, Google says device owners can avoid being targeted by these exploits by turning off Wi-Fi calling and Voice-over-LTE, or VoLTE, in their device settings.

In the blog post, Google listed which phones use the Exynos modems — inadvertently admitting that its premium Pixel phones have been using Samsung’s modems for years. The list also includes a handful of wearables and cars that use specific modems.

Phones from Samsung, including those in the premium Galaxy S22 series, the midrange M33, M13, M12, A71 and A53 series, and the affordable A33, A21, A13, A12 and A04 series.
Mobile devices from Vivo, including those in the S16, S15, S6, X70, X60 and X30 series.
The premium Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series of devices from Google (at least one of the four most severe vulnerabilities was patched out in the March security update).
Any wearables that use the Exynos W920 chipset.
Any vehicles that use the Exynos Auto T5123 chipset.

Google reported these exploit discoveries to affected phone manufacturers in late 2022 and early 2023, the blog post said. But the Project Zero team has chosen not to disclose four other vulnerabilities out of caution due to their ongoing severity, breaking with its usual practice of disclosing all exploits a set period of time after reporting them to affected companies.

Samsung didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Southwest Airlines Says You Can’t Use Portable Chargers Inside Your Bags

There’s a new airline safety rule for everyone’s favorite travel tech because of the risk of fire.

Southwest Airlines is implementing a new safety policy, effective May 28, requiring passengers to keep portable phone chargers and power banks visible during flights when you’re charging a device. The airline will prohibit the use of these devices while they’re stored in carry-on bags or overhead bins, aiming to mitigate the risk of lithium-ion battery fires.

This policy change comes in response to a series of incidents involving overheating lithium-ion batteries. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been 22 battery-related incidents on flights in 2025 alone, following a record 89 such events in 2024. Notably, a fire aboard an Air Busan flight in South Korea in January — suspected to have been caused by a power bank with deteriorated insulation — led to the evacuation of 176 people, including passengers and crew.

Read more: The Best Way to Pack Your Carry-On Bag to Breeze Through TSA Lines

While the FAA and the Transportation Security Administration currently allow lithium-powered devices, like e-cigarettes and power banks, in carry-on luggage but prohibit them in checked bags, they do not mandate that portable chargers be kept in plain sight. Southwest’s new policy goes a step further, aligning with practices already adopted by some Asia-based carriers, including Singapore Airlines, AirAsia and all South Korean airlines, according to Reuters.

This move by Southwest Airlines reflects a growing concern in the aviation industry regarding the safe transport and use of lithium-ion batteries on aircraft. Passengers are encouraged to stay informed about airline policies and to handle electronic devices with care to ensure a safe travel experience.

«Southwest will introduce a first-in-industry safety policy on May 28 requiring customers to keep portable charging devices visible while in use during flight,» Southwest Airlines confirmed in a statement to CNET via email. «Using portable charging devices while stored in a bag or overhead bin will no longer be permitted. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees.»

For more travel-related articles, explore these travel essentials you need for every vacation and then take a look at this travel checklist. You should also read about the new Real ID requirement for getting through airport security.

Technologies

Walmart Says Tariffs Will Drive Up Prices but Avoid Panic-Buying. Do This Instead

Technologies

Sega’s Re-Released Games for Switch 2 Include Yakuza 0 and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S

The first of Sega’s third-party games to hit the console are re-releases from consoles past.

As the Nintendo Switch 2 prepares to launch, its list of third-party games grows, including a trio of Sega and Atlus games that include classics and deep cuts. I got to play all three ahead of the Switch 2 release on June 5.

The three games — Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S and RAIDOU Remastered — are odd bedfellows that represent distinct eras and genres among Sega’s oeuvre. All three play well on the Switch 2, which is unsurprising given the console’s rumored PS4-equivalent performance but still reassuring given the original Switch’s limited capability.

Yakuza 0 is the marquee title of the trio for its role in the series — a prequel to the original Yakuza and de facto entry point for new players that details the origins of fan favorites Kazuma Kiryu and Daigo Dojima. In addition to the story, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut includes a new mode, Red Light Raid, that lets you pick a character from a roster of Yakuza heroes and nobodies to brawl with successively harder rounds of enemy groups.

While dated compared with the sharp combat and graphics of the latest in the series, February’s Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Yakuza 0 is still a fantastic game and great to have on the new console. I only played it in docked mode, so I can’t say how the game plays in handheld with a 1080p and 120 frames per second display graphics cap.

Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is a deeper cut, the third game in the Devil Summoner series within the Megami Tensei franchise, which was originally released for the PS2 in 2006. Though the game has been refreshed for modern consoles (the game will also be out on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and last-gen systems), it preserves the charm of the era’s games — one where very little is explained and players have to figure it out for themselves. (I had to have a certain solution to a puzzle spelled out for me.)

Starring the eponymous Raidou as a detective assisted by demons he captures and can use to investigate denizens of his town or summon for battle in real-time combat, the game is a little slower and less dense than today’s graphically-intense titles.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is the opposite — a contemporary puzzle game first released in 2020 for current and last-gen consoles, the re-release preserves the bright colors and frantic gameplay with a few new multiplayer modes. In our preview, Sega paired up gamers for 2-vs-2 puzzler matches where we tried to stay out of each other’s way while clearing lines. For Switch 2, players can switch from Joy-Con mode to Mouse mode, which is precise enough but adds to the frenetic tension.