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Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2015 10:17:10 -0400
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Port random_bytes to PHP 5
From: fsb@thefsb.org (Tom Worster)

On 10/12/15 10:53 PM, Larry Garfield wrote:
> On 10/12/2015 07:29 PM, Tom Worster wrote:
>> Could we regard random_bytes() as a security patch rather than a new
>> feature and therefore port it to PHP 5?
>>
>> Error handling would have to change but that should be feasible. Iirc,
>> earlier commits of random_bytes() had PHP 5-like behavior on error.
>>
>> My motivation: it's easier to defend abandoning OpenSSL's RNG (e.g. in
>> paragonie/random_compat) if we could say to Windows users stuck with
>> nothing else: "Upgrade to the latest point release of PHP 5.x. It has a
>> proper fix."
>>
>> Tom
>
> Since there's no 5.7 release planned, you're talking about adding it in
> a 5.6.x?

Yes, maybe even 5.5?


 > What's wrong with the random_compat library as a solution for
 > 5.6 users?

Good question. Vexing answer. I try to be brief.

There are real situations that push random_compat into a corner with 
only unpleasant options, namely recommending the user install the 
unsavory mcrypt ext, which provides mcrypt_create_iv(), or resort to 
OpenSSL's RNG, which is just scary.

There are recent discussion of this in a few places, I think you can 
find them all starting here 
https://github.com/paragonie/random_compat/issues/5

So I thought another option would be to say "patch your PHP". One 
possibility to do that is what I proposed above.

[I hesitate to mention it but, another is to make mcrypt_create_iv() 
independent of libmcrypt and present in standard builds of PHP. Maybe 
the latter is better because existing scripts that test 
function_exists('mcrypt_create_iv') become more secure.]

Tom