Once a month, devices receive a notification about the availability of a software update, which typically takes up several hundred megabytes and requires a restart. After installing the update, the menu displays a new date next to the security patch, creating the impression that the system is fully protected.

For most system components, this is indeed the case. For example, in July, Samsung updates first arrived on the newest device models. However, one of the key elements—the pre-installed browser—is updated separately via the Play Store or Galaxy Store, and notifications about available updates are sent through only one of these channels.

Browser Updates and Their Specifics

It is impossible to determine how outdated the browser engine is from external sources, as Samsung has not published this information for the Android version for over two years. For the Windows version of the browser, the company maintains an up-to-date changelog, but for Android, it stops at May 2024.

The Samsung browser is based on the open-source Chromium platform, which also powers Google Chrome, Edge, and Opera. One of the most important parts of Chromium is the V8 engine, responsible for executing JavaScript code used on nearly every website. Vulnerabilities in V8 are considered especially dangerous because exploiting them can be as simple as opening a specially crafted web page.

After such vulnerabilities are discovered and fixed, information about them becomes public, including detailed descriptions. This allows attackers to exploit already known vulnerabilities (N-day) until the fixes are installed on all devices.

Example of a Security Analysis

In April 2026, experts extracted the browser app from a Galaxy S25 device and found that it was using V8 version 13.6, which by then was about six months out of date. A successful attack was then carried out using vulnerabilities that had already been patched in Chrome, allowing arbitrary code execution inside the browser and access to the contents of other open tabs, including email and online store accounts. This was possible due to the way process isolation works in Android: on PCs, each site runs in a separate process, while on Android, only pages with authentication and some special pages do; the rest share a common process.

The Patch Gap Problem

In security, there is the concept of a patch gap—the time between when a vulnerability is fixed in the Chromium project and when the update becomes available to users. While this gap exists, attack instructions are available, and the device remains vulnerable. In Chrome, this window usually lasts only a few days, as Google uses a unified codebase and distributes updates quickly. For browsers from third-party manufacturers like Samsung, the speed of response depends on the manufacturer itself.

The specific vulnerability described above has already been patched, but any that appeared after it remain open. For the Windows version of the Samsung browser, information about the Chromium version used is published, but not for Android.

Checking and Updating the Browser

You can check the installed browser version on your device through the app info menu or in the Play Store. If an update is available, the store will show the appropriate button. However, the app version number does not reveal which Chromium version is used internally, which is the main issue.

Alternative Solutions

Users can install another browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, which are updated directly by the developers and display the version number in the menu. You can set them as the default browser in Android settings.

For those who prefer to use the Samsung browser (for example, due to the built-in ad blocker or Samsung Pass integration), it is recommended to keep automatic updates enabled in the app store so that new versions are installed automatically. At this stage, no further control is provided.

The Importance of Monthly Patches

Monthly patches remain important because they address vulnerabilities in the system that browser updates cannot fix. However, they do not protect all components that access the internet from the device. Therefore, to ensure maximum security, it is important to update not only the system but also all applications, especially the browser, in a timely manner.