# Security Challenges for Users of Extensible Smart Home Hubs: A Systematic Literature Review
## 1 Introduction  
The smart home is defined by [PERSON] and [PERSON] as \"a home equipped with lighting, heating and electronic devices that can be controlled remotely by smartphone or computer\" [1]. Smart home devices, like light bulbs, plugs, blinds, cameras, robot vacuums, door locks, heaters, and speakers, have been popular for a long time and are continuously growing in popularity. Statista [2] has observed an increase in the number of smart home users for nine consecutive years and has predicted that the number of smart home users will more than double between 2023 and 2028, reaching an estimated peak of almost 800 million users worldwide in 2028. Furthermore, a market report from 2025 [3] estimates that the global smart home market will be at USD 199.4 billion this year, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.5% until 2034. Smart home hubs are central to the smart home because they are the \"central control unit of a smart home system\" [4]. The smart home hubs act as a single entry point, usually allowing the user to control any connected smart home device anywhere in the world. While this offers great convenience to the user, it also makes smart home hubs a lucrative target for cyberattacks. This means that the security of these systems is essential, especially considering that smart home systems protect the user's privacy and security in one of the few places where most people expect to have both, in their own homes. Smart home hubs and home automation systems are typically used by tech enthusiasts, homeowners, renters, families, elderly and disabled individuals, and environmentally conscious users to enhance home security, convenience, energy efficiency, and manage household tasks. As [PERSON] et al. [5] pointed out, the cybersecurity architecture in smart homes does not have the same levels of security as in organizations. This implies that they tend to be even more exposed to attacks like phishing, malware, and fake apps. Even more so, smart homes share much of the same attack surface as common IoT systems, where [PERSON] et al. [6] have shown that replay attacks, dictionary attacks, and TLS interceptions thrive against consumer devices. Due to the rapid expansion of the smart home market, standardization efforts have been unable to keep up with innovation. This has led to a heterogeneous smart home market, with fragmented ecosystems that do not interoperate well. While there are multiple popular communication standards, like Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi/Ethernet, and Bluetooth Low Energy, these have not ensured interoperability and feature uniformity, sometimes even among devices that use the same communication standard. Matter and Thread, two promising new standards, could solve many of these problems; however, the development and adoption of these have been slow. This lack of interoperability has led to the development of several other solutions. One of these is extensible smart home hubs, which provide a uniform platform for the user while supporting each device ecosystem through first- or third-party extensions. This model is used by commercial solutions, like Samsung SmartThings [7] and Athom Homey [8], and open-source solutions, like Home Assistant [9], MagicMirror2[10], and openHAB [11]. While improving interoperability, the extensible nature of these hubs also changes their security landscape. Footnote 2: [[https://www.sds.org/](https://www.sds.org/)]([https://www.sds.org/](https://www.sds.org/))  
The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the security challenges associated with smart home devices and home automation systems, as well as the general concepts useful for solving these challenges. Our approach has been to investigate the recent academic literature through a systematic literature review and synthesize the results from the most central peer-reviewed publications. Our work has been driven by the following research question: What are the prevalent cybersecurity challenges in extensible smart home hubs as indicated by the academic literature?