Apple addresses eavesdropping vulnerability in Beats Studio Buds

Apple has released an update for its Beats Studio Buds wireless earbuds to address a high-severity vulnerability. This vulnerability, identified as CVE-2025-20701, allowed improper authentication in the firmware of the Bluetooth chips, enabling nearby individuals to impersonate previously paired devices. Researchers demonstrated that this could lead to eavesdropping on conversations or sounds near the phone's microphone. According to Apple, an attacker within Bluetooth range could potentially listen through the microphone of a device that is not yet paired. The fix is included in Beats Firmware Update 1B211, which is automatically delivered when the earbuds are paired with a user's iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Users can verify their firmware version by accessing the Settings on their device, navigating to Bluetooth, and selecting the info button next to the headphones.