Unexpected events happen randomly

Setup, Configuration and Use Runtime
1
  • Platform information:
    • Hardware: x86_64/4GB RAM/200GB storage
    • OS: gentoo latest version
    • Java Runtime Environment: zulu11.56.19-ca-jdk11.0.15-linux_x64
    • openHAB version: 3.3.0
  • Issue of the topic: unexpected events happen randomly
  • Please post configurations (if applicable):
    • Items configuration related to the issue
    • Sitemap configuration related to the issue
    • Rules code related to the issue
    • Services configuration related to the issue
  • If logs where generated please post these here using code fences:

Hi all

I apologize already for not very specific question. Reason for
posting is rather to ask if others once have experienced similar
behavior.

Questions: see below

Symptoms: unexpected events happen randomly

such as

  • smart TV switches on middle of the night
  • volume increases to maximum on smart TV
  • spotify output switches from one player device to another
  • lights go on or off individually or per zone
  • lights become dimmer or lighter individually or per zone
  • airco or heating turns on or off or decreases or increases temperature
  • windows open or close

I have various ‘Item changed’ logs like in appendix (unexpected
spotify switches in a few minutes)

In short: -recently- events started to happen that are not requested
for by any human intervention via remote or app.

Note that I have not programmed any automation either. In fact, I do
not use OpenHAB to instruct devices, only to inspect devices. Like,
very convenient, the status of all batteries of all IoT devices
ordered by percentage. And nobody else uses OpenHAB. I do run OpenHAB
client on various devices (smartphone(s), browser(s)).

There was a Homey device too (which I initially assumed to be
culprit) but after shutting it down the unexpected events kept
happening randomly.

I also use Google Home and my wife uses iPhone (I think Homekit).
But we both do not use those to instruct devices. To instruct devices we use
the vendor apps.

Basically I am a happy OpenHAB user with plenty of things from plenty
of vendors. Like lights, sensors (motion, temperature, water, smoke
…), cameras, media players (mostly coreelec and android), airco,
heating, thermostats, windows, … you name it, and their respective
gateways for various IoT protocols.

After some troubleshooting, turning off OpenHAB resulted in no more
unexpected events.

Note that some restoration work is happening in the home resulting in
some devices to sometimes not be reachable. I may decide to keep
OpenHAB off for some time. In practice my wife and other people do not
want these unexpected events and last incident the airco started
heating while being covered against dust. It could have caused damage
if we did not notice…

Questions:

  • does this ring a bell?

  • is the OpenHAB ‘data’ perhaps confused/corrupt and is there a way to clean/fix it?

  • can one run OpenHAB ‘readonly’ (assuring it does not take any action)?

  • is there a string to search for in logs that could indicate login attempts?
    (I searched for ‘login’ over long period but the only ones were
    failures for gateways that indeed were offline).

appendix

2022-11-20 00:39:44.775 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Google TV to Office
2022-11-20 00:41:05.160 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Office to Hangar
2022-11-20 00:41:55.796 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Hangar to Google TV
2022-11-20 00:42:26.166 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Google TV to Hangar
2022-11-20 00:42:46.397 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Hangar to Google TV
2022-11-20 00:42:56.503 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Google TV to Hangar
2022-11-20 00:43:16.789 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Hangar to Google TV
2022-11-20 00:43:26.899 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Google TV to Hangar
2022-11-20 00:43:37.005 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Hangar to Google TV
2022-11-20 00:43:47.138 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Google TV to Hangar
2022-11-20 00:47:09.747 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Hangar to Google TV
2022-11-20 00:47:40.130 [INFO ] [openhab.event.ItemStateChangedEvent ] - Item 'Spotify_Player_Bridge_ActiveDeviceName' changed from Google TV to Hangar
2

The last few times this was reported it turned out that the users had opened a port in their internet router to provide direct access to openHAB. So anyone in the world could type in their IP address and fiddle around with switches.

Checkout Shodan to see how many openHAB instances are directly open to the internet!

How have you configured remote access to openHAB, if at all?

1 Like
3

Thanks @hafniumzinc !

I forwarded ports but they are configured non standard ones to OpenHAB server.
Mentioned in Shodan for one port.
I stopped that forwarding now.

I thought for remote access such forwarding was required…

Are there any access log records I could spot?

Do you have posts for similar such user reports?

I will start OpenHAB server again after restoration work is over.

Keep you informed.

4

It depends on what remote features you actually want, but this is why in general they recommend using myopenHAB just for a UI

1 Like
5

OK : so myopenHAB (which indeed I use) does not require port forward, right?

6

Instructions are here

extract

Remote Access

Access your local openHAB instances securely without having to expose ports to the Internet or requiring a complex VPN setup.

1 Like
7

After restarting OpenHAB without forwarding rules, I no longer experience random unexpected events. And remote acces via openhab cloud service does work.

Thanks all for help!