Samsung has vowed to patch a major vulnerability discovered in its Exynos kernel that could allow certain Android devices to be wiped or bricked by a malicious application. The flaw was discovered earlier this week, and the Korean company promises to release a software update to address it “as quickly as possible.”

Samsung has today issued a statement to AndroidCentral which reads:

Samsung is aware of the potential security issue related to the Exynos processor and plans to provide a software update to address it as quickly as possible.

The issue may arise only when a malicious application is operated on the affected devices; however, this does not affect most devices operating credible and authenticated applications.

Samsung will continue to closely monitor the situation until the software fix has been made available to all affected mobile devices.

The flaw, discovered by developers on the XDA Developers forum, left certain Exynos-powered devices vulnerable to malicious apps that could steal personal data, wipe data, and even brick handsets. It affected a number of Samsung’s own devices — including the hugely popular Galaxy S III, and the Galaxy Note II — plus some third-party handsets as well.

Fortunately, there is no known Android malware that takes advantage of the exploit at the moment, and those who are careful about what they’re installing shouldn’t have any problems anyway. But even so, it’s a serious security flaw that has to be fixed quickly.

• SourceAndroidCentral