diff --git a/flaschengeist/plugins/auth_ldap/__init__.py b/flaschengeist/plugins/auth_ldap/__init__.py
index dffbc3c..3ceb6e0 100644
--- a/flaschengeist/plugins/auth_ldap/__init__.py
+++ b/flaschengeist/plugins/auth_ldap/__init__.py
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ class AuthLDAP(AuthPlugin):
                 password_hash = base64.b64encode(pbkdf2_hmac("sha512", password.encode("utf-8"), salt, rounds)).decode()
                 return f"{{PBKDF2-SHA512}}{rounds}${base64.b64encode(salt).decode()}${password_hash}"
             else:
-                return f"{{SSHA}}{base64.b64encode(sha1(password.encode() + salt).digest() + salt)}"
+                return f"{{SSHA}}{base64.b64encode(sha1(password.encode() + salt).digest() + salt).decode()}"
 
     def _get_groups(self, uid):
         groups = []