A vulnerability has been found in the new One UI 7 that exposes Protected Folder data: here's how to fix it

In Samsung smartphones running One UI 7, a serious security issue has been discovered by our colleagues at Sammobile that affects the Protected Folder feature. The vulnerability allows Gallery content residing in the Protected Folder to become accessible outside of it via automatically generated stories. Users of the Galaxy S24, Galaxy Flip 6 and Galaxy Fold 6 devices, and possibly the Galaxy S25, may experience this issue.

Here's What We Know

The crux of the issue is that the Gallery app inside a Protected Folder creates a story, which then becomes visible outside of that folder. This happens by having the system create a notification about the created history, which allows the protected content to be exposed. This can raise serious concerns about data privacy.

This issue may have been the reason behind the suspension of the One UI 7 update rollout, which was revealed today.

To resolve the issue found, users are advised to disable the automatic story creation feature in the Gallery app settings inside the Protected Folder to avoid data leakage. To do this, you need to open the Gallery app inside the Protected Folder, press the Menu button, go to settings and switch off the Auto Story Creation feature.

Source: Sammobile