When Clever Hardware Hacks Bite Back: A Password Keeper Device Autopsy https://hackaday.com/2026/02/07/when-clever-hardware-hacks-bite-back-a-password-keeper-device-autopsy/
#ATtinyHacks #PeripheralsHacks #SecurityHacks #Attiny85 #Capslock #Hd44780 #Mooltipass #Passwordkeeper #USBHIDKeyboard
#mooltipass
When Clever Hardware Hacks Bite Back: A Password Keeper Device Autopsy
![<div><img alt="" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" height="497" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/hardware_password_keeper_alessandro_carminati.jpg?w=800" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" width="800" /></div><p>Sometimes you have this project idea in your mind that seems so simple and straightforward, and which feels just so <em>right</em> that you have to roll with it. Then, years later you stumble across the sad remnants of the tearful saga and the dismal failure that it portrays. Do you put it away again, like an unpleasant memory, or write it up in an article, as a tearful confession of past sins? After some coaxing by a friend, [Alessandro] worked up the courage to detail how he set about <a href="https://carminatialessandro.blogspot.com/2026/01/when-clever-hardware-hacks-bite-back.html" target="_blank">making a hardware-only password keeper</a>, and why it failed.</p>
<p>The idea was so simple: the device would pretend to be a keyboard and type the passwords for you. This is not that unusual, as hardware devices like <a href="https://hackaday.com/2020/07/23/hands-on-wireless-login-with-the-new-mooltipass-mini-ble-secure-password-keeper/">the Mooltipass</a> do something similar. Even better, it’d be constructed only out of parts lying around, including an ATtiny85 and an HD44780 display, with bit-banged USB connectivity.</p>
<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_915514" style="width: 400px;"><a href="htt](https://files.mastodon.social/cache/media_attachments/files/116/032/371/820/740/195/original/cbcfdd573da5a43d.jpg)
Argh, my password manager of choice just failed. RIP my mooltipass mini.
It's not totally dead but inserting the smart card (any smart card) that is part of the auth sequence causes the unit to boot loop.
And there's no replacement available for purchase 😭
My remixed #mooltipass case
added a keyring loop.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6731469
@sebsauvage ben go utiliser des #mooltipass ou n'importe quelle application libre pour s'occuper de ça
@alexq un #mooltipass mini ble que j'utilise sur n'importe quel appareil :)
mince, j'ai cassé mon #mooltipass 😱 ... quel pas de chance, heureusement que j'avais un backup et un appareil supplémentaire
RT @tindie: #Mooltipass One Day Sale! Get 15% off the Open Hardware / Open Software Portable Hardware Password Keeper that was developed on… source: https://twitter.com/hackaday/status/1007362520821071873
Yes! Finally received my Mooltipass Mini!
www.themooltipass.com
https://mamot.fr/media/gqQC6v6_p9GCytmvYZQ
Poke #lertsenem
Mooltipass mini : un Keepass matériel
https://www.themooltipass.com/
Unboxing / Présentation : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvbNNHSi0_k
Trois nuances de sécurité. #mooltipass
as #decentralised is too croweded I switched to the #security tracks - #mooltipass at Janson https://i.imgflip.com/1j09v2.jpg !fosdem
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