Exploiting AirPlay: Risks for Wi-Fi Devices
A New Wave of AirPlay Vulnerabilities Emerges
Apple’s AirPlay protocol lets iPhones, iPads, Macs and thousands of third-party devices seamlessly stream audio, video, and screen mirrors across a local network. In April 2025, security researchers at Tel-Aviv–based Oligo disclosed a suite of critical flaws—collectively named AirBorne—in the AirPlay SDK that ships with hundreds of speaker, TV, receiver, and set-top box models. Left unpatched, these vulnerabilities allow any attacker on the same Wi-Fi network to execute arbitrary code, persist inside the network, and even pivot to other hosts.
Scope of Impact
- Devices affected: Tens of millions of AirPlay-certified gadgets spanning major brands including Bose, Denon, Yamaha, Samsung, LG and more.
- Protocol components: mDNS (UDP/5353) for service discovery; RTSP (TCP/7000) for streaming control; proprietary handshake layers in the AirPlay SDK.
- CVEs assigned: CVE-2025-3241 through CVE-2025-3244 for buffer overflows, input-sanitization flaws, and authentication bypass bugs.
- Related CarPlay risk: CVE-2025-3245 allows head-unit compromise if an attacker pairs via Bluetooth or USB, though that attack vector remains constrained.
Technical Deep Dive: How AirBorne Works
AirPlay uses multicast DNS to announce devices and an RTSP-based control channel for starting/stopping streams. Oligo’s researchers identified:
- Malformed RTSP headers leading to heap-corruption on
setParameter()calls. - Insufficient bounds checks in the Bonjour (mDNS) parser that allow an attacker to overflow internal buffers during service discovery.
- Authentication bypass in the AirPlay SDK v2.1.0, enabling unauthenticated clients to send AVP (Audio-Video Pairing) commands.
The result: a single UDP or TCP packet can hijack the target’s firmware loop, drop a reverse shell, or implant a persistent backdoor in as little as 30 milliseconds.
Mitigation Strategies and Patch Management
Apple has released patches for AirPlay-enabled Apple products in macOS 14.5 and iOS 17.4, and updated the AirPlay SDK to v2.1.2. However, many third-party manufacturers lag behind:
- Automated updates: Only 12 out of 50 major brands support over-the-air firmware updates—leaving countless devices unpatched.
- Network segmentation: Administrators should isolate IoT and AV gear on a separate VLAN to limit lateral movement.
- mDNS lockdown: Enterprise-grade Wi-Fi controllers now offer per-SSID mDNS filtering; home users can manually block UDP/5353 at the router.
“Even if Apple does its part, thousands of devices shipped in 2022–2024 may never see an update,” warns Oligo CTO Gal Elbaz. “Users should verify firmware versions and apply any manufacturer fixes immediately.”
Latest Developments (June 2025)
Since the AirBorne disclosure, several initiatives have emerged:
- NIST added CVE-2025-3241 through 3245 to its National Vulnerability Database on May 10, 2025.
- Wi-Fi Alliance launched a working group to standardize secure mDNS and RTSP exchanges in forthcoming Wi-Fi 7 devices.
- CISA issued an Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisory warning that critical infrastructure hubs using AirPlay-enabled tablets may be at risk.
Wider Implications for IoT and Smart Home Security
AirBorne illustrates a recurring pattern in IoT: once a vendor-supplied SDK goes out to partners, it multiplies the attack surface exponentially. With >200 million smart-home endpoints estimated to support AirPlay by end of 2025, defenders face a Sisyphean task of patching every speaker and smart TV.
Patrick Wardle, CEO of Apple-security firm DoubleYou, notes: “When third-party vendors fail to roll out SDK patches, the trust model of the entire Apple ecosystem erodes. AirPlay was built for convenience, but security must catch up.”
Expert Perspectives and Outlook
Security analysts predict that if left unaddressed, AirBorne could power large-scale botnets of smart speakers—akin to Mirai’s IoT army in 2016—capable of DDoS, data exfiltration, or covert audio espionage via compromised microphone arrays.
“As consumers, we often forget we have computer chips in our speakers,” says Oligo researcher Uri Katz. “These devices can be silent gateways for ransomware, corporate espionage, or supply-chain attacks.”
Key Takeaways
- Check for firmware updates from your device manufacturer; apply AirPlay SDK v2.1.2 or later.
- Segment and isolate IoT/AV gear on separate networks or VLANs.
- Monitor unusual RTSP or multicast DNS traffic on your Wi-Fi network for signs of exploitation.
By understanding the technical roots of AirBorne and adopting disciplined patch and network-segmentation practices, organizations and home users can mitigate what is otherwise a long-tail risk in the age of ubiquitous wireless multimedia.