Use 'usedforsecurity' flag when using hashing functions for non-security purposes
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- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 385
- Forks
- 102
- Avg merge
- 4d 2h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 9
Description
We occasionally use python's hashlib to generate hashes for things like AreaDefinitions. On FIPS-enabled systems, certain hashing algorithms are disabled from use for security reasons. This is common in certain US government organizations. It turns out there is a feature in some versions of Python to say "I know I'm using md5sum and it is not well-suited for security purposes, but I'm not using it for security" by passing a usedforsecurity=False keyword argument to some of the hashing functions. See it discussed here:
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First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Search the project for hashlib calls used to generate hashes for AreaDefinitions, then inspect how those calls behave on FIPS-enabled systems. Check the supported Python versions before applying the usedforsecurity=False option, and add or update tests that confirm non-security hashing works where the flag is available.
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Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- data
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 38/100