diff --git a/docs/project/changelog.rst b/docs/project/changelog.rst
index c2c869c13..a44dd0418 100644
--- a/docs/project/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/project/changelog.rst
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ They may change at any time.
 
 * Optimized default compression settings to reduce memory usage.
 
+* Protected against timing attacks on HTTP Basic Auth.
+
 * Made it easier to customize authentication with
   :meth:`~auth.BasicAuthWebSocketServerProtocol.check_credentials`.
 
diff --git a/src/websockets/legacy/auth.py b/src/websockets/legacy/auth.py
index e7e69cac1..16016e6fd 100644
--- a/src/websockets/legacy/auth.py
+++ b/src/websockets/legacy/auth.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 
 import functools
+import hmac
 import http
 from typing import Any, Awaitable, Callable, Iterable, Optional, Tuple, Union, cast
 
@@ -154,24 +155,23 @@ def basic_auth_protocol_factory(
 
     if credentials is not None:
         if is_credentials(credentials):
-
-            async def check_credentials(username: str, password: str) -> bool:
-                return (username, password) == credentials
-
+            credentials_list = [cast(Credentials, credentials)]
         elif isinstance(credentials, Iterable):
             credentials_list = list(credentials)
-            if all(is_credentials(item) for item in credentials_list):
-                credentials_dict = dict(credentials_list)
-
-                async def check_credentials(username: str, password: str) -> bool:
-                    return credentials_dict.get(username) == password
-
-            else:
+            if not all(is_credentials(item) for item in credentials_list):
                 raise TypeError(f"invalid credentials argument: {credentials}")
-
         else:
             raise TypeError(f"invalid credentials argument: {credentials}")
 
+        credentials_dict = dict(credentials_list)
+
+        async def check_credentials(username: str, password: str) -> bool:
+            try:
+                expected_password = credentials_dict[username]
+            except KeyError:
+                return False
+            return hmac.compare_digest(expected_password, password)
+
     if create_protocol is None:
         # Not sure why mypy cannot figure this out.
         create_protocol = cast(
@@ -180,5 +180,7 @@ async def check_credentials(username: str, password: str) -> bool:
         )
 
     return functools.partial(
-        create_protocol, realm=realm, check_credentials=check_credentials
+        create_protocol,
+        realm=realm,
+        check_credentials=check_credentials,
     )
diff --git a/tests/legacy/test_auth.py b/tests/legacy/test_auth.py
index c4dbd88ad..2b670c31f 100644
--- a/tests/legacy/test_auth.py
+++ b/tests/legacy/test_auth.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import hmac
 import unittest
 import urllib.error
 
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ async def process_request(self, path, request_headers):
 
 class CheckWebSocketServerProtocol(BasicAuthWebSocketServerProtocol):
     async def check_credentials(self, username, password):
-        return password == "letmein"
+        return hmac.compare_digest(password, "letmein")
 
 
 class AuthClientServerTests(ClientServerTestsMixin, AsyncioTestCase):
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ def test_basic_auth_bad_multiple_credentials(self):
         )
 
     async def check_credentials(username, password):
-        return password == "iloveyou"
+        return hmac.compare_digest(password, "iloveyou")
 
     create_protocol_check_credentials = basic_auth_protocol_factory(
         realm="auth-tests",
@@ -158,7 +159,13 @@ def test_basic_auth_unsupported_credentials_details(self):
         self.assertEqual(raised.exception.read().decode(), "Unsupported credentials\n")
 
     @with_server(create_protocol=create_protocol)
-    def test_basic_auth_invalid_credentials(self):
+    def test_basic_auth_invalid_username(self):
+        with self.assertRaises(InvalidStatusCode) as raised:
+            self.start_client(user_info=("goodbye", "iloveyou"))
+        self.assertEqual(raised.exception.status_code, 401)
+
+    @with_server(create_protocol=create_protocol)
+    def test_basic_auth_invalid_password(self):
         with self.assertRaises(InvalidStatusCode) as raised:
             self.start_client(user_info=("hello", "ihateyou"))
         self.assertEqual(raised.exception.status_code, 401)