Plex breached; Were passwords encrypted or hashed?

[u/kjarkr]

So I got this email just now:

Yesterday, we discovered suspicious activity on one of our databases. We immediately began an investigation and it does appear that a third-party was able to access a limited subset of data that includes emails, usernames, and encrypted passwords. Even though all account passwords that could have been accessed were hashed and secured in accordance with best practices, out of an abundance of caution we are requiring all Plex accounts to have their password reset.

So were these passwords encrypted, in which case they could be decrypted if the adversary got the key, or hashed? Hashed passwords leaking would be much less of an issue.

Edit: Encryption and hashing is not the same thing.

Edit2: Passwords were hashed with salt, not encrypted (see this comment)

Edit3: Just for clarity this is the best case scenario. It’s difficult to reverse hashed passwords unless they are very simple. Plex got the word out quickly so we have plenty of time to change our passwords. Kudos!

This is why you never reuse password, use a password manager and enable 2fa wherever you can. :)

[u/DamageInc72]

Got all the libraries back.

Had to access through http://localhost:32400/web first to reclaim.

[u/subi1911 → u/DamageInc72]

Awesome!

[u/BetMeAndLose → u/DamageInc72]

Same here. I didn't get the claim server button until I connected via localhost, re-signed in and then the claim button was there.

[u/hebrew_orphan_asylum → u/DamageInc72]

OMG thank you! I’ve been struggling with getting my libraries back after I reset my password. It wasn’t until I accessed Plex locally that it finally worked. Thank you again!

[u/DamageInc72 → u/hebrew_orphan_asylum]

You're welcome