CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-59178

CriticalCVSS 9.8
Published: Translated: NVD NIST

Summary

In ESPHome Device Builder Dashboard prior to version 1.0.12, authentication environment variables were renamed from $USERNAME/$PASSWORD to $ESPHOME_USERNAME/$ESPHOME_PASSWORD with no fallback. As a result, instances protected with the old names lost authentication after upgrade and the dashboard became open to anyone who could reach its port. The issue is fixed in 1.0.12, which restores the old names as a deprecated fallback with a startup warning.

Risk Assessment

After an upgrade, the dashboard may start without authentication, allowing unauthorized parties to access the ESPHome management panel and device configuration. The risk is especially high when the dashboard port is exposed to untrusted networks.

Recommendation

Upgrade to version 1.0.12 or later (in the esphome container: release 2026.6.2). If upgrading is not possible, immediately set the new $ESPHOME_USERNAME and $ESPHOME_PASSWORD variables to the same values and check startup logs for the "WITHOUT AUTHENTICATION" banner.

Related vulnerabilities

Original NVD description (English source)

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.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS