Solana Labs Challenges Security Concerns Over Saga Phone

According to Solana Labs, a recent video from blockchain security company CertiK made a number of “erroneous” claims about a potential security flaw in the crypto-enabled Saga phone that Solana makes.

CertiK threatened the Saga phone with a “bootloader unlock” attack, a “critical vulnerability” that enables a malicious actor to allegedly install a hidden backdoor, in a post published on X (previously Twitter) on November 15.

“An attacker with physical access to a phone could load custom firmware containing a root backdoor,” . According to the report by CertiK, this compromises the most sensitive data stored on the phone, including private keys for cryptocurrencies.

Nevertheless, a representative from Solana Labs asserted that the assertions made by CertiK are unfounded, and its video failed to expose any valid danger to the Saga smartwatch.

“The CertiK video does not reveal any known vulnerability or security threat to Saga holders.”

It is possible to unlock the bootloader on a vast array of Android devices, according to the documentation of the Android internal Open Source Project.

Unlocking the device with the user’s passcode or fingerprint, according to Solana Labs, would require an adversary to complete a series of procedures to access the bootloader and install custom firmware.

“A user is repeatedly notified that unlocking the bootloader will result in the device being wiped,” Solana Labs explained. “Therefore, the user cannot allow this process to occur without their active involvement or knowledge.”

Furthermore, doing so will result in the presentation of a sequence of cautionary notifications concerning the potential ramifications of unlocking the bootloader on an Android device.

The device and the user’s private keys will be deleted if these warnings are disregarded. With a price tag of $1,099, the Solana Saga phone was introduced in April 2022.

To integrate cryptocurrency applications into technological hardware, the phone features a Web3-native decentralized application store.

However, Solana reduced its price to $599 four months after its initial release due to a significant decrease in customers.