| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to security vulnerabilities in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge has happened again within the same organization. Google's Project Zero discovered 11 security holes in the device, with some vulnerabilities allowing hackers to potentially take control of the victim's phone. Samsung fixed eight of these flaws but three remained outstanding [53525].
(b) The software failure incident involving security vulnerabilities in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is not explicitly mentioned to have occurred at other organizations or with their products and services in the provided articles. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge was primarily due to design factors introduced during system development. Google's Project Zero discovered 11 security vulnerabilities in the device, including flaws in Touchwiz, Samsung's customization layer, and in the software of the device itself. These vulnerabilities could allow hackers to exploit the system, such as altering the photo viewing app settings or accessing files through a Wi-Fi utility [53606, 53525].
(b) The software failure incident was also influenced by operational factors related to the use and maintenance of the system. The vulnerabilities discovered in the Galaxy S6 Edge could potentially allow hackers to take control of the victim's phone, indicating a risk associated with the operation and misuse of the device. Samsung addressed these issues through software updates to mitigate the security risks [53606, 53525]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
From the provided articles [53606, 53525], the software failure incident related to the security vulnerabilities discovered in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge can be analyzed as follows:
(a) within_system: The software failure incident was primarily within the system, as it was caused by 11 security vulnerabilities discovered within the Touchwiz software of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. These vulnerabilities included issues in the software of the email application, the photo viewing application, and a critical directory traversal vulnerability in a built-in Wi-Fi utility. Google's Project Zero conducted an investigation that revealed these flaws within the system, highlighting the internal software weaknesses that could be exploited by hackers [53606, 53525].
(b) outside_system: While the software failure incident itself was within the system due to internal vulnerabilities, the potential risk and impact of these vulnerabilities extended beyond the system to external threats from hackers. The security holes discovered by Google's Project Zero could have left the handset at risk of attacks from external malicious actors. These external threats could exploit the internal software weaknesses to gain control of the victim's phone or access sensitive information, highlighting the importance of addressing both internal and external factors in software security [53606, 53525]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge was primarily due to non-human actions, specifically the presence of 11 security vulnerabilities discovered by Google's Project Zero team [53606, 53525]. These vulnerabilities were related to flaws in the software design and programming, such as issues in the device drivers, image processing, and logic errors within the device itself. One critical vulnerability involved a directory traversal in a built-in Wi-Fi utility that could allow unauthorized access to files on the device, potentially leading to complete control of the phone [53606].
(b) However, human actions were also involved in this software failure incident as Samsung had to take action to resolve the identified security vulnerabilities. Samsung fixed eight of the flaws promptly, and the remaining three were scheduled to be addressed in a security update [53606, 53525]. This indicates that human intervention was necessary to address the issues identified by Google's Project Zero team. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware:
- The software failure incident reported in the articles is primarily related to security vulnerabilities found in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone [53606, 53525].
- Google's Project Zero discovered 11 security holes in the device, with one of the vulnerabilities related to a directory traversal in a utility wifi integrated into the phone, potentially allowing access to files that should not be accessible [53606].
- The vulnerabilities found in the device could lead to hackers taking control of the victim's phone, indicating a hardware-related security risk [53525].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to software:
- The software failure incident is also attributed to software issues, specifically bugs and flaws in the programming and design of the smartphone's software [53606, 53525].
- The vulnerabilities discovered in Touchwiz, Samsung's customization layer, and in the software of the email and photo viewing applications highlight software-related weaknesses [53606].
- The bugs found in device drivers, image processing, and logic issues within the device itself point to software-related security issues [53525]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles is related to malicious factors. Google's Project Zero discovered 11 high-impact security holes in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, which could leave the handset at risk of attacks from hackers. These vulnerabilities included issues in device drivers, image processing, and logic problems that could be exploited by hackers to gain control of the victim's phone [53606, 53525]. The vulnerabilities found in the software could allow hackers to transmit messages from the victim's email account, alter photo viewing app settings, and access files that should not be accessible, potentially leading to complete control of the phone [53606].
Additionally, one of the vulnerabilities discovered was a directory traversal in a Wi-Fi utility integrated into the phone, which could allow malicious actors to access files they shouldn't have access to and interfere with system functions, compromising the overall security of the device [53606]. The severity of these security flaws highlights the malicious nature of the software failure incident. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident was not due to poor decisions but rather accidental decisions. The software failure incident in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge was a result of 11 security vulnerabilities discovered by Google's Project Zero researchers during a routine investigation [53606, 53525]. These vulnerabilities were unintentional flaws in the software design and programming that could potentially be exploited by hackers to compromise the device's security. Samsung promptly addressed the issues through software updates to mitigate the risks posed by these accidental vulnerabilities. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge was primarily due to development incompetence. Google's Project Zero discovered 11 security vulnerabilities in the device, including flaws in the software of the phone that could potentially allow hackers to take control of the victim's phone [53606, 53525]. These vulnerabilities were related to bugs in the programming or design of the smartphone, particularly in the Touchwiz customization layer by Samsung. The existence of a directory traversal vulnerability in a built-in Wi-Fi utility was highlighted as a significant concern, as it could allow malicious actors to access files they shouldn't have access to, potentially compromising the entire phone's security [53606].
(b) The software failure incident was not accidental but rather a result of deliberate investigation by Google's Project Zero team to uncover security vulnerabilities in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. The researchers intentionally sought out bugs in the device to assess the security posture and response time of Samsung to such issues [53525]. The vulnerabilities discovered were not accidental but were actively sought out as part of the routine investigation conducted by the Project Zero team. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident related to the security vulnerabilities discovered in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge can be classified as a temporary failure. The vulnerabilities were identified by Google's Project Zero team during a week-long investigation [53525]. Samsung was able to address and resolve 8 out of the 11 security flaws within 90 days, with plans to fix the remaining three through a security update [53606]. This indicates that the failure was temporary and not permanent, as the issues were actively being worked on and resolved within a specific timeframe. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The articles do not mention any instances of the software crashing.
(b) omission: The software failure incident in the articles is related to the omission of performing its intended functions correctly. The vulnerabilities discovered in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge allowed hackers to exploit weaknesses in the software, such as altering the configuration of the photo viewing application and transmitting messages from the victim's email account to the hacker's account [53606, 53525].
(c) timing: The articles do not mention any instances of the software performing its intended functions too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident falls under the category of performing its intended functions incorrectly. The vulnerabilities found in the Galaxy S6 Edge allowed for unauthorized access to files and potential control of the victim's phone by hackers [53606, 53525].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit behaviors of inconsistent responses or interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior exhibited by the software failure incident is the compromise of the device's security due to the discovered vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities weakened the overall security of the Android operating system and could potentially lead to complete control of the phone by malicious actors [53606, 53525]. |