[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #21420: Login without salted MD5 Password

[WordPress Trac]

#21420: Login without salted MD5 Password
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 Reporter:  shubhamoy     |       Owner:
     Type:  defect (bug)  |      Status:  reopened
 Priority:  normal        |   Milestone:
Component:  General       |     Version:  3.4.1
 Severity:  normal        |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  close         |
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Changes (by nacin):

 * keywords:  needs-patch needs-testing => close


Comment:

 While the original benefit of upgrading a straight md5 hash was the
 rolling upgrade, it still has benefits now.

 When people get locked out of their sites, they are often encouraged to
 update their database manually with a query that could include
 MD5(password).

 They have direct database access ''anyway'', which means they could also
 calculate the proper portable $P$B hash and update the database row to
 this, but that also brings up the point that accepting a login against a
 plain md5 hash cannot possibly be a vulnerability. If you have direct
 access to the database, you can do anything you want. That we "update"
 straight hashes to salted hashes is the one absolute must. Beyond that,
 the only purpose of hashing is to ensure that a leaked DB does not expose
 insecurely hashed passwords. Changing WordPress to no longer accept and
 upgrade md5 hashes doesn't make us any more secure.

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/21420#comment:4>
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