What happened
ESPHome is a system to control microcontrollers remotely through Home Automation systems. In version 2025.8.0 in the ESP-IDF platform, ESPHome's web_server authentication check can pass incorrectly when the client-supplied base64-encoded Authorization value is empty or is a substring of the correct value. This allows access to web_server functionality (including OTA, if enabled) without knowing any information about the correct username or password. This issue has been patched in version 2025.8.1.
Affected versions
esphome: = 2025.8.0 Fixed: See vendor advisory.
Why it matters
Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.
Detection & mitigation
- Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
- Review affected product exposure and access logs.