“White” hacker Matt Kunze found a bug in the Google Home Mini that allowed attackers to use the smart speaker to eavesdrop on gadget owners. This was reported by the publication called Tweakers.

When the researcher detected a Wi-Fi access point to which a smart Google Home column was connected, he learned that it was possible to take control of the gadget without connecting to this access point.

To do this, you need to perform an authentication attack that will disconnect the column from the network to the Wi-Fi access point. Then, with the help of a special program, Google Home can be implemented with an additional Google account. When a legitimate user reconnects the speaker to Wi-Fi, access to its management is visible to both the owner and the attacker who posted the additional account.

After an attacker gains control over someone else’s speaker, they can force him to call the phone. When the attacker picks up the phone, they will hear everything going on around the broken speaker. At the same time, a legitimate user will most likely not notice anything.

Kunze discovered the disclosed vulnerability in early 2021 and immediately reported it to Google. The IT company awarded the “white” hacker a $107,500 bounty. Currently, Google has already fixed the bug that allowed Kuntze to post his detailed description.