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Treat a leaked onion-service private key as a full compromise of the service identity. Take the affected system offline for investigation, preserve evidence in read-only mode where possible, generate a new onion-service key, obtain a new HTTPS certificate, update Onion-Location and other references, and announce the replacement address through a channel users can independently trust. The new key necessarily produces a new onion address.
Act immediately: contain the identity compromise
A credible leak is not just a credential-reset event. Someone who has the onion service’s identity private key can impersonate the service and may be able to disrupt access to the genuine service by publishing bogus descriptors. Tor’s setup guide warns: “If your keys leak, other people can impersonate your Onion Service, deeming it compromised, useless, and dangerous to visit.” Read the Tor Project onion-service setup guide and the Tor incident-response checklist as the authoritative starting points.
- Declare the incident. Record when the exposure was discovered, which key files may have been copied, who had access, and which systems used the key. Assume the key is usable by an attacker even if you have not yet observed impersonation.
- Remove the service from the network where practical. Tor recommends bringing the system offline, preferably in read-only mode while you investigate. Isolate the onion-service host, web server, application server, administration interfaces and any storage that could have exposed the key. Do not destroy the original system before collecting the evidence your incident-response process requires.
- Preserve trustworthy communications. Stop treating the old onion address as an authentication channel. An attacker with the key can present a convincing copy of the service, so announcements made only through the old address cannot establish that a replacement is genuine.
- Escalate if you lack forensic expertise. The Tor checklist recommends standard computer forensics but does not prescribe one toolset, evidence-retention schedule or restoration procedure. A qualified incident-response or digital-forensics team can adapt the investigation to your operating system, hosting arrangement and application stack.
What an attacker can do with the private key
An onion service has an identity key pair. The public identity key is encoded into the onion address, while the corresponding private key signs the service descriptor. Tor’s onion-service overview explains this relationship. Possession of the private key therefore gives an attacker the material needed to impersonate that identity in the Tor network.
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- Service disruption: Tor’s checklist says an attacker may keep the genuine service offline by uploading bogus descriptors.
- Deceptive HTTPS: Tor recommends obtaining a fresh HTTPS certificate after a key compromise because an attacker can generate a fresh TLS certificate for a fraudulent copy.
- Loss of address trust: users cannot safely treat the old onion address as proof that they are reaching your rebuilt server.
Changing only the web application, password or TLS certificate does not replace the onion identity. The identity key itself must be replaced. Because the address encodes the public half of that identity, a replacement key creates a replacement onion address rather than preserving the old one.
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Investigate how the key escaped
Containment prevents further access, but it does not explain whether an intruder changed the application, stole user data or left another persistence mechanism. Investigate the whole path that could have reached the key, not just the Tor process.
Start with the onion-service host
The Tor setup guide identifies the HiddenServiceDir as the location containing service keys and the hostname file as the location containing the v3 onion hostname. Check access to that directory, ownership and permissions, administrative accounts, backups, deployment artifacts, logs and any scripts that copied or packaged the directory. Treat every copy of the private key—including archives, snapshots and developer workstations—as potentially exposed until reviewed.
Trace likely application entry points
Tor’s checklist specifically calls out the backend application server, web server and web application framework as possible attack paths. Review authentication events, newly created accounts, configuration changes, uploaded files, scheduled jobs, process launches, package changes and unexpected outbound connections. Correlate timestamps with the first indication that the key was copied or used. The exact sequence depends on your operating system, hosting model and application, so do not assume that a generic checklist substitutes for environment-specific forensics.
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Preserve evidence without recontaminating it
Prefer a read-only examination of the affected system, as Tor recommends. Work from forensic copies when your response capability allows it, document who handled each copy and keep investigation notes separate from production credentials. If you cannot establish that the host is clean, do not place it back on the network merely to test the old service. The official guidance does not define a universal evidence protocol; follow your organization’s incident-response policy or the procedures supplied by your specialist responder.
Build a new onion-service identity
After you have contained the intrusion and addressed the suspected entry point, establish a clean deployment and generate a new onion-service key. Tor’s incident checklist recommends both a new onion-service key and a new HTTPS certificate.
- Choose a trusted rebuild point. Reinstall or restore the host and application from sources you have checked. Do not copy unknown binaries, startup files or configuration secrets from the compromised machine without reviewing them.
- Create a fresh service identity. Generate a new onion-service key in the clean environment. Keep the private key restricted to the Tor service account and protect the directory that stores it. The new public identity will produce a different onion hostname.
- Read the new hostname from the clean deployment. The v3 hostname is recorded in the service’s
hostnamefile. Verify that the address is the one generated by the new deployment and that no old key material was reused. - Obtain a new HTTPS certificate. A new certificate prevents the certificate associated with the compromised deployment from remaining part of the recovery story. Configure the certificate and private TLS key on the rebuilt web service, following your certificate authority’s validation requirements.
- Test before announcing. Check that the application serves the expected content, authentication works, logs are collected and administrative access is restricted. Test from a controlled client and verify that the service is using the new onion address and certificate.
Tor does not publish one universal rebuild workflow for every operating system or hosting design. Document the choices you make—where the new key is stored, who can administer it, how backups are encrypted and how recovery will be performed—so the replacement identity does not repeat the original exposure.
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Change every address reference
Search controlled systems and public materials for the old hostname. Replace it with the new address only after the clean service has passed your checks.
- Onion-Location: If your site publishes an Onion-Location header or HTML link, update it. Tor’s incident checklist explicitly calls for this change when Onion-Location is used.
- Documentation and support pages: Update help pages, account-recovery instructions, client configuration, printed materials and administrator runbooks that you control.
- Monitoring and automation: Change health checks, allowlists, deployment variables and notification rules so they do not continue contacting the compromised identity.
- Bookmarks and pinned messages: Tell users that saved links to the old address are no longer proof of authenticity.
Do not assume that keeping the old service online as a redirect makes the transition safe. The old identity is the object of the compromise, and an attacker may be able to present a competing service under it.
Tell users how to find and verify the replacement
Publish the new onion address through an official channel that does not depend solely on the compromised identity. Tor recommends notifying users through an official communication channel, preferably with a cryptographically signed message. Suitable channels depend on your organization: a previously established signing key, a separately administered public website, a verified mailing list or another channel whose authenticity users can check independently.
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Include the facts users need
- State that the former onion-service identity may have been compromised.
- Give the complete replacement onion address exactly, without substitutions or shortened links.
- Explain that a new address is expected because the replacement service has a new identity key.
- Provide the fingerprint or verification method for the cryptographic signature used to authenticate the announcement, when available.
- Tell users to stop entering credentials or sensitive information at the old address.
- Identify the date of the change and where future security notices will appear.
If the signing key used for announcements may also have been exposed, do not rely on it alone. Use an independent channel and explain the limitation so users understand why the new address is trustworthy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do not confuse service identity replacement with client-authorization revocation
Onion-service client authorization controls who may connect; it does not define the service’s public identity. Tor’s client-authorization guide describes the distinction.
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| Problem | Correct response | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Onion-service identity private key leaked | Investigate and contain the host, create a new onion-service key, obtain a new HTTPS certificate, update references and notify users. | The service receives a new onion address because its identity key changed. |
| One client should no longer be authorized | Remove that client’s relevant .auth file from the service configuration and restart the Tor process. |
That client’s authorization is revoked after the restart; the service identity and onion address remain the same. |
Deleting an .auth file can remove an individual client, but it cannot repair an identity key that an attacker already possesses. If both events occurred, perform both responses independently.
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Harden the recovered deployment
Use the rebuild to close the route that exposed the key and reduce the chance of a second compromise.
- Limit shell, administrative and deployment access to named accounts, and review every account that could read
HiddenServiceDir. - Keep service keys out of source repositories, ordinary support tickets, shared folders and unencrypted backups.
- Separate the onion-service host from the backend systems that do not need direct access to its key material.
- Review whether the web server reveals identifying information that could connect the onion service to its physical or public-facing infrastructure.
- Rotate other credentials that were present on the compromised host, including application, database, deployment and monitoring secrets.
- Improve logging and alerting for changes to service directories, unexpected Tor configuration edits and unusual administrative access.
- Read Tor’s operational-security guidance, which also recommends Vanguards as protection against advanced attacks: Tor operational-security guidance.
Continue monitoring both the new service and references to the old address. A clean rebuild is not complete until users can consistently reach the new identity and administrators can detect another unauthorized change.
Legal and disclosure considerations
Tor’s published materials do not specify legal notification duties or deadlines. Whether you must notify regulators, customers, partners or law enforcement depends on your jurisdiction, the information involved and the type of service. Have counsel or your organization’s privacy and incident-response leads assess those obligations separately from the technical recovery.
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Recovery checklist
- Record the suspected exposure and treat the identity as compromised.
- Take affected infrastructure offline, preferably read-only during forensic examination.
- Investigate the host, backend, web server and application framework for intrusion and persistence.
- Build or restore a clean deployment and generate a new onion-service key.
- Obtain and configure a new HTTPS certificate.
- Verify the new hostname, application behavior and administrative controls.
- Update Onion-Location and every other controlled reference.
- Announce the new address through an independently trusted channel, preferably with a cryptographic signature.
- Revoke individual client authorization separately when necessary by removing its
.authfile and restarting Tor. - Harden the deployment, rotate exposed secrets and monitor for renewed intrusion.
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