diff --git a/src/api/auth.c b/src/api/auth.c
index c1ee1c09..c0b31a83 100644
--- a/src/api/auth.c
+++ b/src/api/auth.c
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@
 #include "config/password.h"
 // database session functions
 #include "database/session-table.h"
+// base64_decode()
+#include "config/password.h"
 
 static struct session auth_data[API_MAX_CLIENTS] = {{false, false, {false, false}, 0, 0, {0}, {0}, {0}, {0}}};
 
@@ -400,6 +402,47 @@ static void generateSID(char *sid)
 	sid[SID_SIZE-1] = '\0';
 }
 
+static char *basic_auth(struct ftl_conn *api)
+{
+	const char *auth_header = mg_get_header(api->conn, "Authorization");
+	if(auth_header == NULL)
+		return NULL;
+
+	// Check if this is a Basic Auth header
+	if(strncmp(auth_header, "Basic ", 6) != 0)
+		return NULL;
+
+	// Decode Base64
+	size_t length = 0;
+	char *decoded = (char*)base64_decode(auth_header + 6, &length);
+	if(decoded == NULL)
+		return NULL;
+
+	// Extract username and password
+	char *username = decoded;
+	char *password = strchr(decoded, ':');
+	if(password == NULL)
+	{
+		free(decoded);
+		return NULL;
+	}
+	*password = '\0';
+	password++;
+
+	// Check if username is correct
+	if(strcmp(username, "pi-hole") != 0)
+	{
+		free(decoded);
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	char *password_copy = strdup(password);
+	free(decoded);
+
+	// Return copy of password
+	return password_copy;
+}
+
 // api/auth
 //  GET: Check authentication
 //  POST: Login
@@ -417,6 +460,9 @@ int api_auth(struct ftl_conn *api)
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	// Did the client authenticate before and we can validate this?
+	int user_id = check_client_auth(api, false);
+
 	// Login attempt, check password
 	if(api->method == HTTP_POST)
 	{
@@ -462,8 +508,9 @@ int api_auth(struct ftl_conn *api)
 		password = json_password->valuestring;
 	}
 
-	// Did the client authenticate before and we can validate this?
-	int user_id = check_client_auth(api, false);
+	// If there is no password, check if user provided a password via HTTP Basic Auth
+	if(password == NULL || strlen(password) == 0)
+		password = basic_auth(api);
 
 	// If this is a valid session, we can exit early at this point if no password is supplied
 	if(user_id != API_AUTH_UNAUTHORIZED && (password == NULL || strlen(password) == 0))
@@ -484,7 +531,7 @@ int api_auth(struct ftl_conn *api)
 	// - Client tries to authenticate using a password, or
 	// - There no password on this machine
 	enum password_result result = PASSWORD_INCORRECT;
-	
+
 	// If there is no password (or empty), check if there is any password at all
 	log_info("Password: \"%s\"", password);
 	if(empty_password && (password == NULL || strlen(password) == 0))
diff --git a/src/api/docs/content/specs/auth.yaml b/src/api/docs/content/specs/auth.yaml
index 117f7eb0..396ca493 100644
--- a/src/api/docs/content/specs/auth.yaml
+++ b/src/api/docs/content/specs/auth.yaml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ components:
         operationId: "get_auth"
         security: []
         description: |
-          The API may chose to reply with a valid session if no authentication is needed for this server.
+          The API may chose to reply with a valid session if no authentication is needed for this server. It is possible to initiate a session using HTTP Basic Auth (username: `pi-hole`).
         responses:
           '200':
             description: OK
diff --git a/src/config/password.c b/src/config/password.c
index 1b01922d..98d3f2e4 100644
--- a/src/config/password.c
+++ b/src/config/password.c
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ static char * __attribute__((malloc)) double_sha256_password(const char *passwor
 	return strdup(response);
 }
 
-static char * __attribute__((malloc)) base64_encode(const uint8_t *data, const size_t length)
+char * __attribute__((malloc)) base64_encode(const uint8_t *data, const size_t length)
 {
 	// Base64 encoding requires 4 bytes for every 3 bytes of input, plus
 	// additional bytes for padding. The output buffer must be large enough
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ static char * __attribute__((malloc)) base64_encode(const uint8_t *data, const s
 	return encoded;
 }
 
-static uint8_t * __attribute__((malloc)) base64_decode(const char *data, size_t *length)
+uint8_t * __attribute__((malloc)) base64_decode(const char *data, size_t *length)
 {
 	// Base64 decoding requires 3 bytes for every 4 bytes of input, plus
 	// additional bytes for padding. The output buffer must be large enough
diff --git a/src/config/password.h b/src/config/password.h
index a4cc96b6..8d882119 100644
--- a/src/config/password.h
+++ b/src/config/password.h
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 void sha256_raw_to_hex(uint8_t *data, char *buffer);
+char * __attribute__((malloc)) base64_encode(const uint8_t *data, const size_t length);
+uint8_t * __attribute__((malloc)) base64_decode(const char *data, size_t *length);
 char *create_password(const char *password) __attribute__((malloc));
 enum password_result verify_login(const char *password);
 enum password_result verify_password(const char *password, const char *pwhash, const bool rate_limiting);
@@ -30,6 +32,6 @@ enum password_result {
 } __attribute__((packed));
 
 // The maximum number of password attempts per second
-#define MAX_PASSWORD_ATTEMPTS_PER_SECOND 3
+#define MAX_PASSWORD_ATTEMPTS_PER_SECOND 6
 
 #endif //PASSWORD_H
diff --git a/test/test_suite.bats b/test/test_suite.bats
index af19c27d..b6168c19 100644
--- a/test/test_suite.bats
+++ b/test/test_suite.bats
@@ -1337,6 +1337,18 @@
   [[ ${lines[0]} == "true" ]]
 }
 
+@test "API authorization (HTTP Basic Auth): Incorrect password is rejected if password auth is enabled" {
+  run bash -c 'curl -s -u pi-hole:XXX 127.0.0.1/api/auth | jq .session.valid'
+  printf "%s\n" "${lines[@]}"
+  [[ ${lines[0]} == 'false' ]]
+}
+
+@test "API authorization (HTTP Basic Auth): Correct password is accepted" {
+  run bash -c 'curl -s -u pi-hole:ABC 127.0.0.1/api/auth | jq .session.valid'
+  printf "%s\n" "${lines[@]}"
+  [[ ${lines[0]} == 'true' ]]
+}
+
 @test "Test TLS/SSL server using self-signed certificate" {
   # -s: silent
   # -I: HEAD request