openwall / openwall/john

Add support for sequential masks

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enhancement
Dominant language
C
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Description

See also #2310

We should allow something like --mask='?w?a;?a?w' (similar to --rules=':rule1;rule2') although when ?w or ?W is used I'm not sure whether we should apply each mask to every word, or apply first mask to every word and then rewind (in case of wordlist) and use next mask.

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First steps

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  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with issue #2310 and trace the existing --mask and --rules command-line behavior. Clarify how sequential masks should interact with ?w, ?W, and wordlists, including whether masks are applied per word or sequentially after rewinding. Done means the agreed syntax and application semantics work consistently.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c
Domain
cli, security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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