phc-discussions - RE: [PHC] Re: Suggestion: API should include a verifier function

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Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:04:29 -0700
From: "Dennis E. Hamilton" <dennis.hamilton@....org>
To: <discussions@...sword-hashing.net>
Subject: RE: [PHC] Re: Suggestion: API should include a verifier function

The problem of the variable string comparison time in naïve hash-match checks is a good reason for the separate Verifier API that Tony suggested.

This problem and its solution is well-known and taught in introductory cryptography courses.  This is the simple example used to demonstrate timing attacks.  (E.g., in the Coursera Cryptography 1 course created by Dan Boneh.) I suppose this might have inspired some of the 100s of thousands who have taken such courses to try exploits.

The best way to ensure that the fixed-time solution is employed is to use a verifier API that does the comparison in constant time and simply reports pass or fail.  It also must compute the hash, and it is desirable that there be no exploitable variation there as well (given the particular set of fixed parameters).

This one is simple:

   good = true;
   for (i = 0; i < hash.length; i++)
        {good &= (hash[i] == key[i])}
   return good;

The verifier must return only pass/fail and not differ in the (measurable) timing in reaching the different conclusions.  Even the above code might leak measurable information in an implementation. A platform-tuned verifier is where that can all be tuned away.

 - Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeremy Spilman [mailto:jeremy@...link.co] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 21:21
To: discussions@...sword-hashing.net
Subject: Re: [PHC] Re: Suggestion: API should include a verifier function

LMGTFY: 
http://www.security-assessment.com/files/documents/presentations/TimingAttackPresentation2012.pdf

-----Original Message----- 
From: Peter Gutmann
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 8:24 PM
To: discussions@...sword-hashing.net
Subject: Re: [PHC] Re: Suggestion: API should include a verifier function

Watson Ladd <watsonbladd@...il.com> writes:

>This isn't necessary: a non-constant time comparison at worst reveals the
>hash, which doesn't give an attacker enough information to break a password
>anyway if we do our jobs right.

Oh yes it can ;-).  There's a clever attack that was presented at Kiwicon 
last
year that turns timing attacks on hashed passwords into partial attacks on 
the
original passwords.  It'll appear in the Crypto Corner column of IEEE 
Security
and Privacy in (AFAIK) the next issue.

Peter.