Apple patches high-severity eavesdropping flaw in Beats Studio Buds
Original: Apple patches high-severity eavesdropping vulnerability in Beats Studio Buds
Why This Matters
Addresses critical Bluetooth security gap affecting millions of wireless earbuds across multiple manufacturers; demonstrates ongoing device authentication vulnerabilities.
Apple released Beats Firmware Update 1B211 to patch CVE-2025-20701, a high-severity vulnerability (8.8/10 severity) in Beats Studio Buds that allowed nearby attackers to eavesdrop through device microphones via improper Bluetooth authentication.
Apple has patched a high-severity vulnerability in its Beats Studio Buds wireless earbuds that could allow nearby attackers to eavesdrop on users. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-20701, resulted from improper authentication in firmware running on Bluetooth-related chips made by Airoha Systems. The flaw enabled attackers within Bluetooth signal range to impersonate previously paired devices and listen through the microphone of unpaired devices actively seeking pairing requests. The vulnerability was disclosed 12 months prior by security researchers Dennis Heinze and Frieder Steinmetz of Insinuator. Airoha subsequently released an updated software development kit to affected hardware manufacturers. The fix is delivered automatically via Beats Firmware Update 1B211 when earbuds are paired with and within Bluetooth range of an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Users can verify their firmware version through device Settings > Bluetooth. With a severity rating of 8.8 out of 10, CVE-2025-20701 was one of three vulnerabilities disclosed in Airoha chips. The patch timing coincided with announcements from other manufacturers including Jabra, Bose, and JBL, which also released updated firmware. Researchers noted the full attack chain enabled additional malicious capabilities including retrieving call history, contacts, and making arbitrary calls, though specific functionality varies by device. No active exploitation in the wild has been reported.