Airborne: Airplay Vulnerability
This one could do some damage.
Your Apple device can be compromised — silently — just by being on the same Wi-Fi with someone who’s already been hacked.
No clicks. No prompts. No warnings.
This vulnerability, dubbed “Airborne,” affects AirPlay and other local discovery services — and it’s serious.
Even if your devices are fully patched, a compromised phone or smart TV on the same network could be enough to expose you to:
🔻 Data theft
🔻 Remote code execution
🔻 Lateral movement across your network
What You Can Do Right Now:
On iPhone / iPad:
Upgrade to the latest iOS version
Go to Settings > General > AirPlay & Continuity
Set Automatically AirPlay to TVs → Never
Toggle Airplay Receiver → Off
On Mac:
Upgrade to the latest macOS version
Go to System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff
Toggle AirPlay Receiver → Off
Make sure your Firewall is On
On Apple TV:
Upgrade to the latest tvOS version
Go to Settings > AirPlay and HomeKit
Set AirPlay → Off or Same Network Only
Set Allow Access → Only People Sharing This Home
🔐 Lock Down Your Network:
Set up a fully isolated guest network - a guest should only be able to see the internet, not your internal devices. - FYI - While I have this, I do not enforce this. For now, I am accepting the risk.
Remove or retire any unpatchable AirPlay devices - this includes Smart TV’s and Speakers
If it’s on your Wi-Fi and you don’t recognize it, disconnect it - and block it.
If you want more info, you can find it here: Oligo Security
If Apple already patched the issue, why is this still a concern?
Apple did patch their own devices — anything they manufacture with AirPlay has been secured. They’ve also updated their third-party software development kit (SDK), so the fix is technically available. But that’s only part of the story.
There are millions of third-party TVs, speakers, and streaming devices that support AirPlay — and Apple can’t patch those directly. It’s now up to each individual manufacturer to implement the fix. Until that happens — or until Apple gives us a way to block connections to unpatched devices — the vulnerability remains partially open.
So we’re left with a choice:
Convenience vs. security.
We shouldn’t have to choose — but for now, we do.