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VulnerabilityPublished

CVE-2026-59178: esphome device-builder · Missing Authentication

Affects esphome device-builderSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 9.8 Critical : upgrade to 1.0.12 as a priority.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
9.8Critical
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 55% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 1.0.12
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 14 Sep 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade device-builder and esphome/device-builder to 1.0.12.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
esphomedevice-builderAffected
  • <1.0.12
Fixed in
  • 1.0.12
GitHubesphome/device-builderpkg:github/esphome/device-builderOther threatsAffected
  • <1.0.12
Fixed in
  • 1.0.12

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Upgrade to ESPHome Device Builder Dashboard version 1.0.12 or later, or use the esphome container version 2026.6.2 or later which includes the fix. Alternatively, immediately restore authentication by setting the new environment variables $ESPHOME_USERNAME and $ESPHOME_PASSWORD to the same values as the legacy variables. Operators should also avoid exposing the dashboard port to untrusted networks. Check startup logs for the 'WITHOUT AUTHENTICATION' banner to verify if an instance is currently unauthenticated. Operators are advised to migrate to the new environment variable names as the legacy fallback will be removed in the future.

Description

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.

References

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