| Samsung Galaxy A14 (SM-A145F)
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Security Grade
Calculator v1
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Samsung Galaxy A14
Category: Smartphone • Model / Gen: Galaxy A series (2023; 4G LTE) SM-A145F / SM-A145F/DSN (Malaysian launch configuration)
Release Date: 2023-03-15 • Status:
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Security Evaluation
1. Device Security
| Criterion
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Value
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Proof
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Comment
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| Known hardware tampering
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Rare
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🔗 Proof
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ChoiceJacking uses physical access to the USB port and demonstrates bypass of consent prompts on a Galaxy A14 running Android 13 / One UI 5. This fits the methodology's port-access scope. The paper does not specify SM-A145F or distinguish the 4G/5G variant; applicability to this exact SKU is unverified. Rare is a provisional family-level rating, not measured prevalence.
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| Known vulnerabilities
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Rare
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🔗 Proof
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Samsung documents CVE-2024-20900, an MTP authentication flaw affecting Android 12-14 before the July 2024 security release. ChoiceJacking separately reports an affected Galaxy A14 test device. Rare provisionally reflects limited reviewed family-level evidence; the exact tested SKU is unspecified. This historical finding does not establish that current SM-A145F firmware remains vulnerable.
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| Prior attacks
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Rare
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🔗 Proof
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Researchers demonstrated ChoiceJacking on Galaxy A14 in a laboratory. File access required an unlocked phone; ADB access additionally required USB debugging. This is an actual research demonstration, not evidence of criminal campaigns or botnet membership. Exact SM-A145F reproduction and current Android 15 exploitability remain unverified; Rare is provisional family-level evidence.
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| Updatability
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Very common
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🔗 Proof
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Samsung currently lists Galaxy A14 separately from A14 5G in its quarterly security-update scope. Its SM-A145F support page provides manuals through Android 15, and its model changelog records repeated security releases. This supports regular update availability, not monthly delivery, indefinite support, or confirmation that any particular handset has installed the latest patch.
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| Category Score
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Score: 2 / 3
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2. System Security
| Criterion
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Value
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Proof
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Comment
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| Authentication with other systems
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Partial
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🔗 Proof
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The model-listed manual documents passwords for secured Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth pairing accepted by both devices (pp. 77-79). Partial reflects these documented connection controls. Open Wi-Fi is also supported; universal mutual authentication across every app, service and interface has not been established.
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| Communications
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No encryption
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🔗 Proof
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Android supports secure connections and blocks cleartext by default for apps targeting API 28+, but allows apps to explicitly opt into HTTP. The rubric has no mixed-traffic option, so No encryption provisionally represents possible plaintext traffic, not a claim that all communications lack encryption. No model-specific packet capture was performed.
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| Storage
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Encrypted with up-to-date encryption
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🔗 Proof
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Android requires file-based encryption for devices launching with Android 10 or later and documents modern algorithms such as AES-256-XTS and Adiantum. A14 launched with Android 13. The rating is therefore an inference from Android requirements for stock internal user-data storage; the exact cipher configuration was not measured. No claim covers removable microSD or every firmware partition.
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| Category Score
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Score: 2 / 3
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3. User Authentication
| Criterion
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Value
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Proof
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Comment
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| Account management
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Basic
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🔗 Proof
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The manual documents adding Samsung/Google accounts, Samsung-account creation and password recovery, and password-confirmed sign-out (pp. 18, 106). These establish basic account controls. Arbitrary lower-privilege local user creation is unverified, so Full is not justified. Unverified functionality is not asserted to be absent.
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| Authentication
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Basic
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🔗 Proof
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Samsung documents credential checks for a Settings reset and ownership verification after other resets when Google device protection is configured. The model manual also documents screen-lock credentials. Basic reflects those verified controls; the exact model's firmware-signature and recovery implementation was not independently established, so Secure is not claimed. This does not assert that signed boot is absent.
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| Brute-force protection
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Exist
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🔗 Proof
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The model-listed manual provides an optional automatic factory reset after the failed-unlock attempt limit is reached (p. 25). This is documented failed-attempt protection. It must be enabled and is not assumed active by default; the precise retry timing and threshold were not measured on a physical handset.
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| Event logging
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Partial logging
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🔗 Proof
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The manual documents permission-use history for the preceding 24 hours and recent location access (pp. 95, 104), with model/carrier availability caveats. These support partial access-event visibility. A comprehensive persistent log of all logins and file access is unverified; enterprise audit collection is not assumed configured.
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| Passwords
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Default/Common/Easy to guess
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🔗 Proof
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The model manual describes swipe unlocking and optional pattern/PIN/password protection (pp. 24-25). Samsung's lock guidance permits PINs as short as four digits. This category represents allowed weak/no-lock choices, not a shared factory password. Mandatory credential rotation with enforced complexity is not established for the consumer configuration; stronger user-selected passwords remain possible.
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| Category Score
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Score: 2 / 3
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Technical Specifications
| Property
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Details
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| Operating System & App
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Android 13 / One UI 5.1 at launch; Android 15 manual available for SM-A145F (Companion App: )
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| Hardware (CPU / GPU)
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CPU: Exynos 850, octa-core up to 2.0 GHz • GPU:
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| Memory & Storage
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Memory: 6 GB RAM (Malaysian launch configuration) • Storage: 128 GB internal; microSD up to 1 TB
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| Power, Battery & Charging
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Battery: 5000 mAh typical • Power: Rechargeable battery; USB-C charging • Charging: Up to 15 W fast charging
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| Display & Camera
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Display: 6.6-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2408), PLS LCD, Infinity-V • Camera: Rear: 50 MP f/1.8 + 5 MP f/2.2 + 2 MP f/2.4; front: 13 MP f/2.0
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| Sound & Connectivity
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Sound: • Connectivity: 4G LTE; Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; USB-C; dual SIM plus microSD
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| Physical (Dimensions & Mass)
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Dimensions: 167.7 x 78.0 x 9.1 mm • Mass: 201 g
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Assessment scope and uncertainty
Assessment date: 2026-10-23. Literature-based assessment of Samsung Galaxy A14, SM-A145F (4G LTE), using the Malaysian SM-A145F/DSN support listing and 6 GB/128 GB launch configuration. This entry does not describe the distinct SM-A146-series Galaxy A14 5G. No physical device testing, packet capture or firmware extraction was performed.
Historical attack evidence names Galaxy A14 with Android 13 / One UI 5 but omits the exact model number and does not explicitly distinguish the 4G and 5G variants. Hardware-tampering, vulnerability and prior-attack ratings therefore use provisional family-level evidence; exact SM-A145F applicability remains unverified. The Samsung bulletin establishes a historical platform vulnerability and patch boundary, not current firmware exploitability. Laboratory demonstrations are not evidence of criminal campaigns or botnet participation.
The Methodology has no Unknown option or numerical threshold for Rare/Very common. Frequency labels are provisional qualitative judgements, not prevalence estimates. Missing evidence is not treated as absence. The communications label represents permitted plaintext alongside modern encrypted communication because the form has no mixed-traffic option.
Feature descriptions use Samsung's model-listed Android 15 manual, which covers several models and cautions that availability can vary. Secure Folder and Samsung Pass sections are explicitly limited to SM-A245F and are not attributed to this A14. No Knox Vault, DualDAR, model-specific certification, configured enterprise auditing or universal signed-recovery protection is claimed. Storage encryption is an inference from the Android launch-version requirement; exact cipher configuration is unmeasured. Optional failed-attempt wiping is not assumed enabled.
The release date records the official Malaysian availability date of March 15, 2023, not a worldwide first-sale date. Memory/storage specifications refer to the Malaysian launch configuration. GPU, sound details, current sale status and companion-app applicability are left unspecified where not independently verified.
Duplicate checks: Wiki-IoT searches for A14 and A145 found no matching Samsung Galaxy A14 or SM-A145F record before this draft. A14 results concerned Apple A14 processors.
Additional references
Score calculation
- Device: ceil((2 + 2 + 2 + 1)/4) = 2.
- System: ceil((2 + 3 + 1)/3) = 2.
- User authentication: ceil((2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 3)/5) = 2.
- Total: 6, corresponding to B under the current Methodology. This is a device security classification, not an assignment mark.
