Amazon Echo (1st Generation)

Amazon Echo (1st Generation)
Security Grade C Calculator v1	Amazon Echo (1st Generation) Brand: Amazon Category: Smart Speaker • Model / Gen: 1st Generation (2015 GA; 2015/2016 hardware revisions) Release Date: 2015-06-01 • Status: End of sale Classification Date: 2026-10-26 • [press.aboutamazon.com/2015/6/amazon-echo-now-available-to-all-customers Official Website]

Security Evaluation

1. Device Security

Criterion	Value	Proof	Comment
Known hardware tampering	Rare	[labs.reversec.com/pdfs/mwri-Amazon-Echo-Root-2017-08-2.pdf 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; MWR InfoSecurity documented exposed UART/SD-card debug pads on the base of 2015/2016 Echo hardware allowing physical root via external SD boot; it requires physical access and was disclosed once in research, so Rare (not Very common); the flaw is hardware and cannot be patched on 2015/2016 units.
Known vulnerabilities	Rare	[www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-11567 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; beyond the MWR hardware-root advisory (no CVE assigned), only the disputed CVE-2018-11567 (server-side-mitigated Alexa reprompt eavesdropping, pre-2018-04-27) applies to the Echo family; few device-specific documented vulns, hence Rare.
Prior attacks	None	[labs.reversec.com/advisories/2017/08/amazon-echo-rooting 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; research PoC and public disclosure exist but no documented real-world compromise campaign against the 1st gen Echo was found, so None for prior attacks.
Updatability	Rare	[digprjsurvey.amazon.co.uk/csad/help/node/GMZQWNQRVENX4GTQ 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; the current official Amazon Echo software-security-update table lists only newer generations and omits the 2014/2015 1st gen, and the MWR hardware flaw is unfixable; legacy OTA only, so Rare.
Category Score	Score: 2 / 3

2. System Security

Criterion	Value	Proof	Comment
Authentication with other systems	Partial	[digprjsurvey.amazon.co.uk/csad/help/node/G49W2WMU5DG8NYU3 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; the device registers/deregisters to an Amazon/Alexa account through the app but presents no local authentication surface of its own, hence Partial linkage to the cloud account system.
Communications	Encrypted with up-to-date encryption	[press.aboutamazon.com/2015/6/amazon-echo-now-available-to-all-customers 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; the press release describes wake-word streaming to the Alexa cloud; cited MWR MITM work required a custom trusted CA, implying TLS/HTTPS to AVS; assessed as up-to-date encrypted transport for the cloud link, no device testing.
Storage	No encryption	[labs.reversec.com/pdfs/mwri-Amazon-Echo-Root-2017-08-2.pdf 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; cited sources do not document encrypted local flash storage and MWR obtained full read/write access to the internal file system after physical boot; encryption-at-rest is not evidenced, so Not encrypted conservatively for the 2015/2016 hardware only.
Category Score	Score: 2 / 3

3. User Authentication

Criterion	Value	Proof	Comment
Account management	Basic	[digprjsurvey.amazon.co.uk/csad/help/node/G49W2WMU5DG8NYU3 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; device registration and deregistration are managed through the Amazon account/app rather than on-device; Basic account linkage, no local account database.
Authentication	Absent	[labs.reversec.com/advisories/2017/08/amazon-echo-rooting 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; there is no local login or credential challenge on the device; access control is enforced in the Alexa cloud, and U-Boot/root bypasses all authentication per MWR, so Absent on-device authentication.
Brute-force protection	Absent	[labs.reversec.com/advisories/2017/08/amazon-echo-rooting 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; no local login surface exists to protect, so brute-force protection on the device is Absent; cloud-side throttling is outside this device assessment.
Event logging	Partial logging	[www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-11567 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; Alexa voice/activity history is maintained in the Amazon account/app rather than on the hub; only partial (cloud-side) logging relative to a local access log, hence Partial logging.
Passwords	Default/Common/Easy to guess	[digprjsurvey.amazon.co.uk/csad/help/node/G49W2WMU5DG8NYU3 🔗 Proof]	documentary assessment, NOT device testing; no device password is set or required during setup; Wi-Fi provisioning occurs through the app/Amazon account with no local secret, matching Default/common/easy-to-guess for the on-device credential surface.
Category Score	Score: 3 / 3

Technical Specifications

Property	Details
Operating System & App	Fire OS (Linux-based) (Companion App: )
Hardware (CPU / GPU)	CPU: • GPU:
Memory & Storage	Memory: • Storage:
Power, Battery & Charging	Battery: • Power: • Charging:
Display & Camera	Display: • Camera:
Sound & Connectivity	Sound: • Connectivity:
Physical (Dimensions & Mass)	Dimensions: • Mass: