To homepage To homepage
Answered

Is SonosNet easy to use as a "trojan" to gain access to a secured network?

  • 17 January 2017
  • 6 replies
  • 364 views
F
Userlevel 2
Badge
Is the ease of SonosNet also a weakness?

What if someone places a Sonos device near my house and power it up. By gaining access to my house (as a legal guest at a party, or by breaking into it while I'm out) and locating one of my Sonos devices and a tablet with the Controller App (I have a handful lying around my house) the intruder easily adds the rogue device to my SonosNet.

By powering down the rogue device it will not be listed in the normal Controller GUI.

Later, the intruder can power up the rogue device (eg in the trunk of a car parked outside) and use its Ethernet port to gain full access to my home network.


Is this possible?

Are there any additional security measures I can take still keeping my Sonos devices in the wireless domain? Using my wifi instead of SonosNet?
icon

Best answer by Ryan S 18 January 2017, 20:17

View original
If the tractor overturns, hold the steering wheel do not jump.
This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

6 replies

Insertusernamehere


Is this possible?

No it is not possible in the manner you describe. Rest easy.
J
Seriously?
ratty
Is this possible?
Theoretically yes, but as you said yourself this would require "gaining access to [your] house". You either trust those you let through the front door, or you supervise them.

Are there any additional security measures I can take still keeping my Sonos devices in the wireless domain? Using my wifi instead of SonosNet?

The Ethernet ports aren't active on a Sonos device in WiFi mode. But what if an intruder, who had discretely added a Sonos player and sneaked off with it, set up a bogus router in the car trunk outside and wired their Sonos unit to it. The entire Sonos system would shift over to SonosNet mode, centred on that router.

There are things you could do to police the situation if you want. Check your Sonos account profile for registered devices which you don't recognise. Run a network monitor of some kind to look for unrecognised MAC addresses. (It should be next to impossible to spoof a Sonos unit's MAC.)
Ryan S
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
I'd agree with ratty's analysis here. If they're in your home, they'd be just as able to plug a wireless access point into the network somewhere with a hidden SSID. You wouldn't know unless you check each and every Ethernet port in the house. Even worse, it'd probably be just as easy for them to just attach a keylogger onto one of your computers or install some software on that tablet you left around and aren't watching.

There's a saying that physical access is total access. If someone is in your home, you never know what they might be able to do. That said, I think there are far likelier targets and opportunities than attempting to use an extra Sonos device to get onto your local network.
Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
F
Userlevel 2
Badge
All, thanks for the feedback.

I know physical access disables most security; but I know people that have their Sonos gear outside on their patios and balconies day/night during summer time. A such device is like leaving an Ethernet cable connected to your private network hanging outside on your otherwise, locked house.

The auto-bridging and ease to add new controllers and players makes it much less an effort to make silent entry to a household's network, you don't need a Stuxnet organization, nor budget. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet

The Ethernet ports aren't active on a Sonos device in WiFi mode. But what if an intruder, who had discretely added a Sonos player and sneaked off with it, set up a bogus router in the car trunk outside and wired their Sonos unit to it. The entire Sonos system would shift over to SonosNet mode, centred on that router.

Lets say I go over from SonosNet to wifi mode before any hijacking takes place. Will devices already joined to my system (by wifi) allow the intruder to switch all my Sonos units back to using SonosNet & "promiscuous" bridging just by connecting an Ethernet cable to any of the devices, e.g. the one I occasionally out on the terrace and just restart it?
If the tractor overturns, hold the steering wheel do not jump.
Ryan S
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
Any Sonos player with the same household ID will be able to connect to the players again, assuming they haven't been reset. So if one was added on SonosNet, and then powered down, and your players were switched to WiFi only, it'll still try to rejoin. It might have trouble if it never learned the SSID to begin with, but it will probably be able to get on.

Will devices already joined to my system (by wifi) allow the intruder to switch all my Sonos units back to using SonosNet & "promiscuous" bridging just by connecting an Ethernet cable to any of the devices, e.g. the one I occasionally out on the terrace and just restart it?

You'd have to have that device wired into a router to get the players to switch over, but yes, that would bring your Sonos players off of SonosNet and onto whatever network that device is wired to. But, if it's like a travel router someone brought over, it'd be on that network and not on your's anymore. If it were an access point that was connected to your network previously, then the issue is kind of academic because that access point is already on your network to begin with.

By the way, one of the most recent updates to Sonos put the adding of players behind a login. If your account has been securely registered, part of the process for adding Spotify Connect access, you'll need to put in your Sonos.com credentials in order to add a player.

So back to the original situation, in order for them to add a new player to your system, they'd need to put in those credentials on your controller. Unless you recently had done so yourself.
Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

View real-time service status

Terms & ConditionsCookie settings