ESPHome Device Builder: Renamed auth env vars silently disable dashboard authentication on upgrade
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-306.
Summary
ESPHome Device Builder Dashboard is a dashboard for the ESPHome home management software. Prior to version 1.0.12, the dashboard reads its authentication credentials from `$ESPHOME_USERNAME` and `$ESPHOME_PASSWORD`. Earlier versions, and the legacy `esphome` dashboard, read the bare `$USERNAME` and `$PASSWORD` instead. When the env vars were renamed the bare names were dropped with no fallback, so an operator who had protected their dashboard with `USERNAME` / `PASSWORD` (as the older getting started guide documented) loses authentication on upgrade and the dashboard starts open to anyone who can reach its port. The issue is fixed in 1.0.12. The bare `$USERNAME` / `$PASSWORD` are accepted again as a deprecated fallback so previously protected instances stay protected across the upgrade without operator intervention, with a loud deprecation warning at startup directing operators to rename them to `$ESPHOME_USERNAME` / `$ESPHOME_PASSWORD`. The fallback is gated on `$PASSWORD` being set and is only adopted as a pair, so the OS provided `$USERNAME` is never read on its own and the original collision footgun stays closed. A lone bare `$PASSWORD` with no username still fails loud as a credential mismatch rather than starting unauthenticated. This restores compatibility rather than failing closed on the legacy names, because the priority is that an instance which was protected before the upgrade stays protected without the operator having to act; the deprecation warning plus a future removal handles the migration. Operators should migrate to the `$ESPHOME_*` names. The esphome container delivers the fix in the 2026.6.2 release, which bumps its pinned `esphome-device-builder` version to 1.0.12. Without upgrading, restore authentication immediately by setting the new env vars to the same values, on any affected version. Alternatively, do not expose the dashboard port to untrusted networks, and check the startup logs for the `WITHOUT AUTHENTICATION` banner to confirm whether a given instance is currently open.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| esphome | device-builder | before 1.0.12 | 1.0.12 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | esphome-device-builder (PyPI) | before 1.0.12 | 1.0.12 | Patch available | GHSA-rrxg-g2pf-6hh4 |
- device-builder Vendoresphome Affected before 1.0.12 Fixed in 1.0.12 Patch available CNA
- esphome-device-builder (PyPI) Vendor— Affected before 1.0.12 Fixed in 1.0.12 Patch available GHSA-rrxg-g2pf-6hh4
Remediation
- Fix · CNA device-builder (esphome) Fixed in 1.0.12
- Fix · GHSA-rrxg-g2pf-6hh4 esphome-device-builder (PyPI) Fixed in 1.0.12 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-59178
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-rrxg-g2pf-6hh4
References
Other 5
- https://github.com/esphome/device-builder/security/advisories/GHSA-rrxg-g2pf-6hh4
- https://github.com/esphome/device-builder/pull/1625
- https://github.com/esphome/device-builder/commit/9e294f729c3eb7334bb57b9fc49b75b728052f52
- https://github.com/esphome/device-builder/releases/tag/1.0.12
- https://github.com/esphome/device-builder
More esphome vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-17944 ESPHome remote code execution via arbitrary file write CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2025-35691 ESP-IDF web_server basic auth bypass using empty or incomplete Authorization header CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2024-19201 ESPHome vulnerable to Authentication bypass via Cross site request forgery CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2026-19197 ESPHome vulnerable to denial-of-service via out-of-bounds check bypass in the API component CVSS 4.0LOW 1.7
- TI-2026-81983 ESPHome Device Builder ingress site skips authentication on LAN CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2024-18126 ESPHome vulnerable to stored Cross-site Scripting in edit configuration file API CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-59178 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-59178 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-rrxg-g2pf-6hh4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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