Bluetooth flaw exposes millions of premium headphones to spying

20.07.2025 17:00

FOXNews.com

Bluetooth headphones are supposed to make life easier. You put them on, press play and forget they exist. But researchers have found that some of the most popular audio products on the market might be doing more than streaming your playlist.

Cybersecurity firm ERNW has revealed that 29 devices using Airoha Bluetooth chips are vulnerable to attacks that could expose your personal data or let someone snoop on your conversations. The affected devices come from well-known brands, including Bose, Sony, JBL, Jabra and Marshall. They include headphones, earbuds, speakers and wireless microphones.

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The Bluetooth flaws in question are built into Airoha chips commonly used in true wireless audio devices, as reported by BleepingComputer. Three flaws were disclosed, each allowing an attacker to gain some level of unauthorized access. The most serious flaw lets an attacker read or manipulate data by exploiting a custom protocol used by the chip. All three flaws have been assigned official CVE numbers and scored between medium and high severity.

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To be clear, these are not casual attacks. They require close proximity and technical expertise. But when successful, the results are concerning. Researchers showed that they could extract call logs, contact lists and media being played. They could even force a phone to place a call without the user’s knowledge. Once connected, they could listen in on any sound the phone picked up.

In one proof-of-concept, the researchers retrieved Bluetooth link keys from a headphone’s memory. This allowed them to impersonate the device and hijack the connection to the phone. With that access, they could issue commands using the Bluetooth Hands-Free Profile, a feature available across most modern phones.

ERNW researchers have identified the following devices as vulnerable:

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Keep in mind that this list may not include every product affected by these vulnerabilities. As more research emerges, the list could change. Furthermore, not every device faces all the same risks. For instance, at least one manufacturer seems to have already addressed CVE-2025-20700 and CVE-2025-20701. However, we do not know if this fix was intentional or accidental.

Because of these factors, getting a complete and accurate picture of which devices are truly secure remains a challenge. As a consumer, you should stay alert for updates and check with your device's manufacturer for the latest information.

Airoha has addressed the vulnerabilities in its software development kit (SDK) and released an updated version to device manufacturers in early June. These manufacturers are now responsible for building and distributing firmware updates to affected products. If you haven't seen an update yet, it should be arriving soon, though some may already be available.

However, there's a catch. According to a report by German outlet Heise, many of the most recent firmware updates for affected devices were released before Airoha provided its official fix. This means some products may still be running vulnerable code, despite appearing up to date.

To make matters more complicated, consumers typically aren't notified directly about these updates. Firmware patches for headphones and similar devices often install silently, or in some cases, may not be delivered at all. As a result, most users have no way of knowing whether their devices are secure or still exposed to risk.

We reached out to all 10 companies for a comment, but did not hear back before our deadline.

1. Regularly check for firmware updates: Visit the manufacturer's app or website to manually check for firmware updates, even if you haven’t received a notification. Automatic updates aren’t always reliable, especially for headphones and earbuds.

2. Turn off Bluetooth when not in use: Disabling Bluetooth when you're not actively using it reduces your exposure window and makes it harder for attackers to target your device.

3. Use devices in low-risk areas: Since these attacks require close proximity, avoid using Bluetooth audio devices in crowded or unfamiliar public places where someone nearby could exploit vulnerabilities.

4. Pair devices with trusted sources only: Avoid pairing your Bluetooth headphones with unfamiliar phones, computers or public terminals. Once paired, those devices can sometimes maintain a connection or reestablish one without your knowledge, increasing the risk of abuse if they're compromised.

5. Remove unused paired devices: Go into your Bluetooth settings and delete old or unfamiliar pairings. This helps prevent unauthorized reconnections from previously trusted devices that may now be compromised.

The real concern here isn’t the Bluetooth flaw itself, but what happens when the software inside everyday devices fails quietly. Vulnerabilities like this aren’t unusual, but the way they are handled often leaves users in the dark. As long as consumers can’t see or control the software running inside their own headphones, problems like this will keep happening.

Should manufacturers be required to notify users directly when security flaws are discovered in their products? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact