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Soundtouch 30Hardware / appliance · Bose

CVE-2017-6520

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-05-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Multicast DNS (mDNS) responder used in BOSE Soundtouch 30 inadvertently responds to IPv4 unicast queries with source addresses that are not link-local, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (traffic amplification) or obtain potentially sensitive information via port-5353 UDP packets.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The mDNS responder in BOSE Soundtouch 30 incorrectly processes IPv4 unicast queries from non-link-local source addresses instead of restricting responses to link-local multicast queries (224.0.0.251). This allows remote attackers to send UDP packets to port 5353 and receive amplified responses, enabling traffic amplification DoS attacks or information disclosure.

MitigationBlock inbound UDP port 5353 from untrusted networks at the network perimeter, or if mDNS is not required, disable the service entirely on the device.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Soundtouch 30Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the Bose Soundtouch 30 on your network
    Scan your network for devices listening on UDP port 5353 (mDNS). Use a tool like nmap: nmap -sU -p 5353 <your-network-range>. Look for a device that responds and is identified as a Bose Soundtouch device.
    Affected if A device running the Bose Soundtouch 30 firmware with port 5353/UDP open is discovered on your network.
  2. Verify UDP port 5353 is accessible
    From a host outside the local subnet (simulating an external attacker), attempt to reach UDP port 5353 on the Bose device. Use: nc -zvu <device-ip> 5353 or nmap -sU -p 5353 <device-ip>.
    Affected if UDP port 5353 on the device is reachable from non-link-local (routable) IP addresses.
  3. Test for unicast mDNS response amplification
    Send a small mDNS query to the device's port 5353 from a non-link-local source address (e.g., your external testing host). Capture the response and compare its size to the query. Use a tool like mdns-scan or a raw packet crafter.
    Affected if The device sends a response to a unicast query from a non-link-local address, especially if the response is significantly larger than the query (amplification).
  4. Confirm the device responds to non-link-local sources
    Send an mDNS query specifically targeting the device's public IP (not multicast 224.0.0.251) from an external IP. Verify the device replies directly to that external IP rather than ignoring or only responding to link-local multicast.
    Affected if The device responds directly to queries from non-link-local (routable) source addresses on UDP port 5353.

Your environment is affected if the Bose Soundtouch 30 has UDP port 5353 accessible from untrusted/external networks and responds to unicast mDNS queries from non-link-local source addresses, allowing traffic amplification.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Block inbound UDP port 5353 from untrusted networks at the network perimeter, or if mDNS is not required, disable the service entirely on the device.

Fix this in Soundtouch 30 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-6520 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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