this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2026
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-68
PSA to Home Assistant users (infosec.exchange)
submitted 19 hours ago by starkzarn@infosec.pub to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
12 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Heads up, if you use home assistant, any credentials in your config have been hoovered up without your knowledge

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[–] curbstickle_lw@lemmy.world 35 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

TL;DR:

  • No, your passwords/secrets have not been shared anywhere.
  • This is a long-standing feature and has been discussed in HA forums before.
  • You can turn it off, but that is generally not recommended.

This post has been reported for misinformation.

I agree due to how its phrased by OP, but its not completely off base in that HIBP is used, but it is a severe misunderstanding of how. So I'm going to leave it up for awareness, while adding some notes and a few quick links here.

A quick quote from HA:

Your secrets are never sent anywhere. The check uses an algorithm called K-Anonymity that makes sure the service never sees your password, not even its complete hash. Your secrets and privacy stay protected.

The check is on by default. If you prefer not to run it, you can turn it off using the command line:

ha security options --pwned=false

To turn the check back on again, run:

ha security options --pwned=true

In short - HomeAssistant has never shared your passwords anywhere. HomeAssistant shares a part of a hash. In no way, shape, or form does this expose your passwords/secrets.

  1. HA Page on Pwned passwords and secrets
  2. HaveIBeenPwned
  3. k-anonymity
[–] miaowoo_lw@lemmy.world -2 points 2 hours ago

A couple of clarifications, since this thread is getting heated: Home Assistant's HIBP check uses k-anonymity — it sends only the first 5 characters of the SHA-1 prefix to the range API and matches the rest locally. Your actual password (and the full hash) never leaves the machine, so there's no credential leak in any meaningful sense.

If you still want zero outbound traffic, the check is config-visible and you can point it at a local copy of the HIBP dump or disable it. The real takeaway: secrets in plain-text YAML are far more exposed to local risks — backups, shared configs, accidental git pushes — than to this feature. Use !secret entries and keep the secrets file out of anything you sync or commit.

[–] ehyuman@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 16 hours ago

blatant misinformation

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 36 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

No, your credentials have not been "hoovered up". A hash is not reversible, and a partial hash would match far too many potential passwords to be any more accurate than random guesses.

Still, uploading any data, especially identifying data, should absolutely not be enabled by default.

[–] KaninchenSpeed@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

it only send the first 5 characters of the sha1 hash, thats pretty much useless for finding the password

[–] socphoenix@lemmy.world 14 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

This is such a nothing burger, they’re using those first five to get partial matches then doing the actual checks locally on the hash…

To be transparent: this check isn't new, it has been part of the Supervisor for years. It checks app options that are marked as passwords. A recent release fixed the warning that surfaces it, which is why you're seeing it now. Privacy was a design requirement for this feature from the start, which is why your secrets never leave your system. The Supervisor hashes them locally and sends only the first 5 characters of the SHA-1 hash to Have I Been Pwned. HIBP returns every hash starting with that prefix, and the matching happens on your own instance. You can see exactly what it does here: https://github.com/home-assistant/supervisor/blob/main/supervisor/utils/pwned.py. You are right that our documentation should have explained this, including how to turn it off. We'll get that page updated. ../Frenck

[–] Shimitar@downonthestreet.eu 15 points 19 hours ago

Not really, they are testing your passwords against have I been pawnd. I agree that transparency should apply here, and also an upfront question to skip.

But it's not "unsafe" or a privacy breach per se. No password has actually been "sent" anywhere only a partial hash that is useless for accessing your home assistant.