It’s the last thing phone-maker Samsung probably wants to hear. It seems the popular Samsung Galaxy S4 phones may have a major security hole, according to a team of Israeli researchers.

According to researchers at Ben-Gurion University, the Samsung Galaxy S4’s  high-level security software, known as Knox, may be susceptible to malware attacks. The study, conducted by Mordechai Guri, a Ph.D. student at Ben-Gurion University, could serve as a significant problem for Samsung, which is now one of the leading smartphone makers. The company has largely avoided embarrassing slip-ups, but series of problems may present the company with its first major hurdle.  The technology is one of the core components of the phone, and is widely distributed through Samsung’s collection.

“The Knox has been widely adopted by many organizations and government agencies and this weakness has to be addressed immediately before it falls into the wrong hands,” said Guri. “We are also contacting Samsung in order to provide them with the full technical details of the breach so it can be fixed immediately.”

Researchers say the security flaw could leave users open to attacks via app downloads. The security breach would allow hackers to collect information on downloads, file transfers, emails and browser activity. Samsung, in a statement released to the Wall Street Journal, said that it is investigating the claims, which it takes very seriously.

Knox is mainly distributed on Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy S3 phones. It serves as an additional layer of security for government and corporate clients. The revelations come as the U.S. government is considering changing contracts with phone carries and distributors in an effort to upgrade its phone services for government employees.