On Tue, Dec 14, 2021 at 11:56:09AM +0100, Yann Droneaud wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I'm not familiar with the Python release process, but looking at the latest 
> release
> 
> https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-3101/
> 
> we can see MD5 is still used ... which doesn't sound right in 2021 ...
> especially since we proved it's possible to build different .tar.gz that 
> have the same MD5

Please ignore my ignorant question, but what is the actual threat you 
are concerned about here?

Anyone who gains access to the Python web site sufficient to smuggle in 
a different .tar.gz file will surely also be able to just change the 
checksum on the website to whatever they want. It doesn't matter what 
the checksum is or how strong it is, MD5 or SHA256 or any other 
checksum. An attacker who can change the file can change the checksum to 
match it.

And both the download and the webpage listing the checksum are over 
https. If we don't trust https, the whole internet is broken and 
changing to a stronger checksum won't help. A hypothetical MITM attacker 
capable of breaking https and injecting new content into the download 
file can likewise change the checksum.

Checksums are, as far as I understand it, only good for verifying data 
integrity against download errors, not malicious attack. And for that, 
MD5 is more than sufficient.

Have I missed something?


-- 
Steve
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