Does attaching the microphone through dom0:mic to a compromised qube affect the security of dom0?
What about when the usb microphone in question is connected to sys-audio?
I assumed this might have been a visual misrepresentation as my usb mic (attached to sys-audio from sys-usb should not have access to dom0.
I’ve read documentation regarding device handling, while interesting I am not certain.
Yes it can be unsafe and put you in more risk. But not with any kind of virus, while possible extremely unlikely. Cant say anything more than that because i havent seen such an exploit ever but is definitely possible!
No, it’s fine. Attaching a microphone - if it’s done through the Microphones section of the Qubes Devices widget, not through the USB Devices section! - uses the same secure audio protocol (see below) as for playback, just in the other direction. The reason that a microphone needs to be attached explicitly isn’t to protect against exploits from the qube, but to make recording audio in a qube opt-in.
dom0:mic wasn’t the sys-audio USB microphone but the built-in one. E.g. your computer might have a 3.5 mm headset connector? I’m not sure if dom0:mic is always present even without a built-in microphone and it simply doesn’t do anything in this case.
There’s a page specifically about the audio protocol. It’s a bit outdated since the switch from PulseAudio to PipeWire, but at the core there’s still the same general principle.