BlueBorne

BlueBorne is the name Armis gave to a set of Bluetooth vulnerabilities disclosed in September 2017. The affected implementations spanned Android, Windows, Linux, and older Apple operating systems.

Research and disclosure

Armis researchers described Bluetooth attack paths that could allow information disclosure, man-in-the-middle attacks, or remote code execution depending on the platform and vulnerability. The initial disclosure covered eight issues; later work added another Linux information-disclosure issue.

Vendor patches were coordinated across several ecosystems. Android fixes appeared in the September 2017 security update, while Microsoft had released a relevant Windows update in July.

Impact

The research emphasized that Bluetooth can be reachable without pairing in some circumstances, expanding the importance of prompt platform and device updates. It also documented the special patching challenges for devices whose operating-system updates depend on carriers or manufacturers.

Timeline

• 2017-07-11Microsoft releases a patch for the Windows Bluetooth issue later included in BlueBorne coverage.
• 2017-09-12Armis publicly discloses BlueBorne vulnerabilities with coordinated vendor information.
• 2017-11-14Armis discloses additional BlueBorne-related issues affecting smart-home devices.