Apple Patches Beats Studio Buds Flaw Letting Nearby Attackers Spy via Microphone
Summary: Apple released Beats Firmware Update 1B211 to patch CVE-2025-20701, a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) incorrect authorization flaw in the Airoha Bluetooth audio SDK that lets an attacker within Bluetooth range listen through the microphone of a device that is not yet paired and is actively seeking pair requests. The flaw was first disclosed in June 2025 by ERNW researchers Dennis Heinze and Frieder Steinmetz at the TROOPERS conference in Germany alongside CVE-2025-20700 and CVE-2025-20702, and Jabra released similar patches in December 2025.
What's compelling: The researchers' finding was that Bluetooth range is the only precondition - no authentication or pairing - and that the same capabilities allow reading and writing the device's RAM and flash and hijacking the trust relationship with the phone paired to the headphones.
Read the original at The Hacker News ↗
- Topics
- Vulnerabilities & Patching
- Mentions
- CVE-2025-20700CVE-2025-20701CVE-2025-20702
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