Yes, an attacker may be able to make a compromised or vulnerable audio device play sound—but there is no universal exploit that lets hackers take over every speaker or reliably force it to maximum volume. Published studies also show attacks that use speakers to target microphones or deliver voice commands, which is different from making a speaker blast harmful noise. The evidence does not establish a general hearing-injury rate or a universal damage threshold for these scenarios.
What “speaker hijacking” can mean
A speaker can become part of an attack in several ways: malware may control audio output on a compromised computer; an attacker may exploit or misuse a network-connected device; or malicious sound may target a microphone or voice-control system. These are distinct attack paths, and a demonstration of one does not prove that an attacker can remotely control every speaker.
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It is also important to separate three outcomes: playing disruptive sound, sending commands to a voice assistant, and using audio hardware for surveillance or covert communication. Security research covers all three, but they are not interchangeable.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteHow the demonstrated attack types differ
| Attack type | What the attacker targets or needs | What the cited work demonstrated | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compromised computer or audio device | Some route to control the device, such as malware on a computer or access through vulnerable device software. | A compromised computer can be made to produce audio through its ordinary speakers; networked audio devices can also expose software interfaces. | A universal remote takeover method or guaranteed maximum-volume playback. |
| Nuit speaker-to-microphone attack | A victim speaker is used to target a victim microphone and its voice-control system (VCS). The USENIX Security 2023 authors say a special speaker is not required. | Command injection aimed at microphones and associated voice-control systems. | That every speaker can be commandeered to play deafening sound. |
| Poisoned speech-recognition data | A backdoor in an automatic speech-recognition (ASR) system, created through poisoned training data. | Koffas, Xu, Conti, and Picek reported that less than 1% poisoned data was sufficient for the tested backdoor setup to reach a 100% attack success rate. | A 100% success rate for taking over consumer speakers. The reported rate applies only to that tested ASR backdoor. |
| Directional ultrasonic command delivery | Specialized directional sound delivery aimed at a voice-control system. | The 2018 Audio Hotspot Attack publication reported command delivery at 2–4 metres in a small room and 10+ metres in a long hallway, in experiments involving 20 participants. | Guaranteed hearing injury, deafening playback, or the same range in other rooms and conditions. |
| Acoustic covert channel through a power supply | Malware manipulates a computer power supply to emit sound that can carry data. | The 2020 POWER-SUPPLaY study reported covert data exfiltration over five metres at up to 50 bit/s in its evaluated setup. | A normal speaker takeover or a routine loud-volume attack. |
What the device vulnerability examples show
NIST’s record for CVE-2021-38546 describes certain Creative Pebble devices allowing remote attackers to recover speech signals from changes in LED power consumption. That is a side-channel information-disclosure example—not evidence that the speaker could be remotely forced to play audio.
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NIST’s CVE-2026-0790 record describes an unauthenticated information-disclosure flaw in the web interface of ALGO 8180 IP Audio Alerter devices. It illustrates that network-connected audio appliances can have remotely reachable software interfaces, but the described flaw is information disclosure; it should not be presented as proof of a deafening-playback exploit.
Could an attack damage your hearing?
Unexpected loud audio can be alarming, and reducing your exposure is sensible. But the cited ultrasonic and inaudible-attack demonstrations concern command delivery, backdoors, or covert communication—not a proven method for causing hearing damage with a speaker. The available evidence does not provide a universal injury threshold or an authoritative count of people injured in speaker-hijacking incidents.
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- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
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Ultrasonic or inaudible signals may be difficult for a person to notice, but “hard to hear” does not mean “guaranteed to injure.” The range and success figures above belong to particular experiments and should not be treated as predictions for a household device.
How to reduce the risk
- Keep your computer, router, speakers, and voice assistants updated. Apply firmware updates through the device maker’s normal update process.
- Disable remote administration or remote access features you do not use, especially on network-connected audio equipment.
- Use unique passwords for device and account logins, and enable multifactor authentication where it is offered.
- Review voice-assistant settings and connected accounts if you suspect someone has accessed them.
- Keep computer security protections active and investigate unexpected processes or audio behavior rather than assuming the speaker itself is the only possible cause.
These are general protections against the access paths described above; no single update or setting is a fix for every attack class.
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- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
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What to do if a device starts playing unexpected loud audio
- Reduce exposure first. Move away from the sound or lower the volume using a safe, immediate control.
- Stop the device if you can do so safely. Mute it, disconnect its power, or cut its network connection if that is the practical way to stop playback.
- Check access and software. Review account activity, connected devices, recent settings changes, firmware updates, and the computer for possible malware or unauthorized access.
- Secure the relevant accounts and network. Change compromised credentials, enable multifactor authentication where available, and update affected devices before reconnecting them.
- Seek medical advice for persistent symptoms. The cited security studies do not set a hearing-damage threshold for this scenario; if you have ongoing pain, ringing, or reduced hearing after loud exposure, contact a medical professional.
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