This technique of generating password hash (or password digest) generates strong hash of plain
text password. And for authentication, it matches a generated hash with a plain password.
Modern computers can generate both md5() and sha1() very quickly, thousands per seconds. Thus
generating hashes and matching with existing hashes (for hacking) is easy. The present technique
implements a kind of hashing that makes strong salt, decodes that and makes hash with that decoded
salt and the given password. It gives a variable length strong hash that makes attackers' job tough.
Description:
This technique -
1. Creates strong salt of given length
2. Makes that salt more strong by decoding it to binary data
3. Creates hash appending that salt to the output of secure hash algorithm - 1
(sha1)generated hash. Parameter of SHA1 in this case is (decoded salt + plainpassword)
4. In matching a password with a stored hash,
(i) The salt is extracted from given/stored hash and decoded first
(ii) Then sha1() is implemented on that salt + plain password
(iii) Then this hash is compared with the sha1() generated-hash portion of given/stored hash
Strengths :
1. If no parameter is given, initSalt() generates random salt that eventually generates random password hash for the same plain password.
2. When password characters are only plaintext, attackers' job is easy. Use of base64_decode()
helps this technique generate more strong password since the hash contains binary data.
3. Changing the length of salt (saltLength), you can generate password of variable lengths(upto 70 characters).
This strengthens the password and makes attackers' job tough.
SecurePassword.class.php
<?php
/**
* Class : Secure Password
*
* @PHPVER : 5.0
* @author : MA Razzaque Rupom <rupom_315@yahoo.com>, <rupom.bd@gmail.com>
* Moderator, phpResource (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phpresource/)
* URL: http://www.rupom.info
*
* @version : 1.0
* Date : 06/03/2006
* Purpose : Generating and Matching Secure and Strong Password Hash
*/
class SecurePassword
{
private $salt;
private $saltLength = 20; //+ve and <=40
/**
* Initializes Salt
* @param Salt
* @return none
*/
function initSalt($salt = null)
{
$this->salt = !empty($salt) ? $this->getSalt($salt) : $this->randomSalt();
}
/**
* Generates password hash
* @param plain password text
* @return secure password hash
*/
function generatePasswordHash($passwordText)
{
//data is not only plain, may be binary also
$decodedSalt = base64_decode($this->salt);
//password from salt and sha1(of decoded salt and plain password)
$password = $decodedSalt.sha1($decodedSalt.$passwordText);
return $password;
}
/**
* Creates Random Salt
* @param none
* @return Random Salt
*/
function randomSalt()
{
mt_srand($this->makeSeed()); //since PHP 4.2.0, seed is no longer needed
$randVal = mt_rand(); //random value
return $this->getSalt($randVal);
}
/**
* Gets Salt
* @param string to be formatted-salt
* @return String Salt
*/
function getSalt($salt)
{
$saltStr = sha1($salt); //use of secure hash algorithm-1
$saltStr = substr($saltStr,0,$this->saltLength); //salt according to saltLength
return $saltStr;
<?php
/**
* Class : Secure Password
*
* @PHPVER : 5.0
* @author : MA Razzaque Rupom <rupom_315@yahoo.com>, <rupom.bd@gmail.com>
* Moderator, phpResource (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phpresource/)
* URL: http://www.rupom.info
*
* @version : 1.0
* Date : 06/03/2006
* Purpose : Generating and Matching Secure and Strong Password Hash
*/
require_once "SecurePassword.class.php";
$obj = new SecurePassword();
$obj->initSalt();
$password = 'abcd'; //password
$hash = $obj->generatePasswordHash($password); //hash created
//Matching results true if this $hash is for this $password
if($obj->matchPassword($password, $hash)) //match password by the hash
{
echo "<br>YES, Matched";
}
else
{
echo "<br>No, Wrong Password";
}
//Try with wrong password
$wrongPassword = 'asdf';
if($obj->matchPassword($wrongPassword, $hash)) //match password by the hash
{
echo "<br>YES, Matched";
}
else
{
echo "<br>No, Wrong Password";
}
