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TI-2021-16144 Aliases CVE-2021-38545GHSA-w4r6-6p34-f36w

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and 4 B devices through 2021-08-09, in certain specific use cases in…

Priority LOW 29Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · None · None
Fix status
No fix listed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA.

Summary

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and 4 B devices through 2021-08-09, in certain specific use cases in which the device supplies power to audio-output equipment, 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. We assume that the Raspberry Pi supplies power to some speakers. The power indicator LED of the Raspberry Pi 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 the Raspberry Pi's power consumption and as a result is also correlative to the light intensity of the LED. By analyzing measurements obtained from an electro-optical sensor directed at the power indicator LED of the Raspberry Pi, we can recover the sound played by the speakers.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.01293 70th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
——all versions—No fix listedCNA
  • — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 4

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:raspberrypi:raspberry_pi_4_model_b_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*up to 2021-08-09VulnerableRaspberry Pi
cpe:2.3:h:raspberrypi:raspberry_pi_4_model_b:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*not specified by NVDRunning onRaspberry Pi
cpe:2.3:o:raspberrypi:raspberry_pi_3_model_b\+_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*up to 2021-08-09VulnerableRaspberry Pi
cpe:2.3:h:raspberrypi:raspberry_pi_3_model_b\+:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*not specified by NVDRunning onRaspberry Pi
  • cpe:2.3:o:raspberrypi:raspberry_pi_4_model_b_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 2021-08-09 Vulnerable ·Raspberry Pi
  • cpe:2.3:h:raspberrypi:raspberry_pi_4_model_b:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions not specified by NVD Running on ·Raspberry Pi
  • cpe:2.3:o:raspberrypi:raspberry_pi_3_model_b\+_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 2021-08-09 Vulnerable ·Raspberry Pi
  • cpe:2.3:h:raspberrypi:raspberry_pi_3_model_b\+:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions not specified by NVD Running on ·Raspberry Pi

Remediation

No fixed version listed by the sources yet.

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-38545
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-w4r6-6p34-f36w

References

Exploit 1

  • TI-2018-12841 The ARM-based hardware debugging feature on Raspberry Pi 3 module B+ and possibly other… CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences