What is race?

RACE is a security research tool that demonstrates a set of real vulnerabilities in the Airoha RACE protocol, a communication protocol used inside many Bluetooth headphones and speakers from brands like Sony, Marshall, Bose, JBL, Jabra, and others. The three vulnerabilities it targets, tracked as CVE-2025-20700, CVE-2025-20701, and CVE-2025-20702, allow an attacker within Bluetooth range to connect to a vulnerable device without authentication, read and write its flash memory, and extract a security credential called a Link Key that can then be used to impersonate the device. The README states plainly that the software is meant for authorized security testing only. The tool works over Bluetooth Low Energy and offers a command line interface with several stages. A discovery or scan step finds nearby devices that expose the vulnerable RACE service, a fingerprint step queries a target device for its chip model, software version, and build date, a flash dump step extracts the device's Link Key from memory, and an impersonation step uses that key to pose as the original device, which the README says can be used to intercept calls, contacts, and messages sent over Bluetooth's hands-free profile. There is also a combined mode that automates scanning and exploitation together. Installation requires a Linux system with the Bluetooth stack installed, plus Python packages for Bluetooth Low Energy communication. The code is organized into a command line entry point, a session management module, separate transport modules for Bluetooth Low Energy and classic Bluetooth, and modules for each attack stage. The README documents the exact protocol format and command codes used to talk to affected devices, and links to a public vulnerability disclosure page and the CVE database entries for further technical detail. The README does not state a license.