{"id":"CVE-2021-38544","aliases":["EUVD-2021-24992","GHSA-4x9j-662f-4xw7"],"status":"published","title":"Sony SRS-XB33 and SRS-XB43 devices through 2021-08-09 allow remote attackers to recover speech...","description":"Sony SRS-XB33 and SRS-XB43 devices through 2021-08-09 allow remote attackers to recover speech signals from an LED on the device, via a telescope and an electro-optical sensor, aka a \"Glowworm\" attack. The power indicator LED of the speakers is connected directly to the power line, as a result, the intensity of a device's power indicator LED is correlative to the power consumption. The sound played by the speakers affects their power consumption and as a result is also correlative to the light intensity of the LEDs. By analyzing measurements obtained from an electro-optical sensor directed at the power indicator LEDs of the speakers, we can recover the sound played by them.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":5.9,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","level":"medium","assessor":"primary","from":"nvd"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-09","score":0.01293,"percentile":0.70496,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":false},"published":"2021-08-11T15:25:43Z","modified":"2026-06-17T04:02:20Z","products":[{"vendor":"sony","product":"srs-xb33_firmware"},{"vendor":"sony","product":"srs-xb43_firmware"}],"references":[{"url":"https://www.nassiben.com/glowworm-attack","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38544"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-4x9j-662f-4xw7"}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2021-38544","description":"Sony SRS-XB33 and SRS-XB43 devices through 2021-08-09 allow remote attackers to recover speech signals from an LED on the device, via a telescope and an electro-optical sensor, aka a \"Glowworm\" attack. The power indicator LED of the speakers is connected directly to the power line, as a result, the intensity of a device's power indicator LED is correlative to the power consumption. The sound played by the speakers affects their power consumption and as a result is also correlative to the light intensity of the LEDs. By analyzing measurements obtained from an electro-optical sensor directed at the power indicator LEDs of the speakers, we can recover the sound played by them.","status":"published","published":"2021-08-11T15:25:43Z","modified":"2024-08-04T01:44:23.537Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:33:07.349244Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2021-24992","description":"Sony SRS-XB33 and SRS-XB43 devices through 2021-08-09 allow remote attackers to recover speech signals from an LED on the device, via a telescope and an electro-optical sensor, aka a \"Glowworm\" attack. The power indicator LED of the speakers is connected directly to the power line, as a result, the intensity of a device's power indicator LED is correlative to the power consumption. The sound played by the speakers affects their power consumption and as a result is also correlative to the light intensity of the LEDs. By analyzing measurements obtained from an electro-optical sensor directed at the power indicator LEDs of the speakers, we can recover the sound played by them.","status":"published","published":"2021-08-11T15:25:43Z","modified":"2024-08-04T01:44:23Z","updated_at":"2026-11-03T03:24:24.781045Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-4x9j-662f-4xw7","title":"Sony SRS-XB33 and SRS-XB43 devices through 2021-08-09 allow remote attackers to recover speech...","description":"Sony SRS-XB33 and SRS-XB43 devices through 2021-08-09 allow remote attackers to recover speech signals from an LED on the device, via a telescope and an electro-optical sensor, aka a \"Glowworm\" attack. The power indicator LED of the speakers is connected directly to the power line, as a result, the intensity of a device's power indicator LED is correlative to the power consumption. The sound played by the speakers affects their power consumption and as a result is also correlative to the light intensity of the LEDs. By analyzing measurements obtained from an electro-optical sensor directed at the power indicator LEDs of the speakers, we can recover the sound played by them.","status":"published","published":"2022-05-24T19:10:41Z","modified":"2023-01-30T05:01:30Z","updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:46:25.569206Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2021-38544","description":"Sony SRS-XB33 and SRS-XB43 devices through 2021-08-09 allow remote attackers to recover speech signals from an LED on the device, via a telescope and an electro-optical sensor, aka a \"Glowworm\" attack. The power indicator LED of the speakers is connected directly to the power line, as a result, the intensity of a device's power indicator LED is correlative to the power consumption. The sound played by the speakers affects their power consumption and as a result is also correlative to the light intensity of the LEDs. By analyzing measurements obtained from an electro-optical sensor directed at the power indicator LEDs of the speakers, we can recover the sound played by them.","status":"published","published":"2021-08-11T16:15:07.247Z","modified":"2026-06-17T04:02:20.12Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":5.9,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","level":"medium","assessor":"primary"},{"version":"2.0","score":4.3,"vector":"AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N","level":"medium","assessor":"primary"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:06:56.943671Z"}]}}