Protocol Prying: Zero-Click Vulnerability Research on AirDrop and Quick Share Across 5 Billion+ Devices

arXiv 2606.26967·high signal

Researchers systematically study the application-layer security of Apple AirDrop and Google/Samsung Quick Share — proximity file-transfer protocols on over five billion devices that are reachable without pairing and parse complex serialized content (binary plists, CPIO archives, Protocol Buffers, UKEY2 handshakes) inside privileged daemons. Both stacks are proprietary and largely unstudied, making them attractive zero-click targets. This is a rare deep look at the attack surface of an everyday feature most users assume is benign.