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Use hashlib.pbkdf2_hmac for SCRAM salted password - #1359

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elprans merged 3 commits into
MagicStack:masterfrom
twelfthlabor:fix/scram-pbkdf2
Sep 24, 2026
Merged

elprans merged 3 commits into
MagicStack:masterfrom
twelfthlabor:fix/scram-pbkdf2

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@twelfthlabor

@twelfthlabor twelfthlabor commented Sep 13, 2026 •

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SCRAMAuthentication._generate_salted_password() reimplements the RFC 5802
Hi() function as a Python-level PBKDF2 loop: one hmac.new() and a
Python-level XOR over zip() for each iteration. PostgreSQL's default
iteration count is 4096, so that loop runs 4095 times before every
password-authenticated connection can finish its handshake.

hashlib.pbkdf2_hmac("sha256", ...) computes exactly the same value in C.
Hi() is PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with a single output block, so dkLen equals the
digest size (32 bytes) and the result is byte-identical to the loop.

The old code's first HMAC used self.DIGEST, and every iteration after that
hardcoded hashlib.sha256. Since SCRAM-SHA-256 is the only mechanism this
class handles, naming the algorithm explicitly removes no real digest
agility. _bytes_xor stays, because _generate_client_proof still uses it.

Fixes #1357.

Verification

The old loop and hashlib.pbkdf2_hmac were compared in a standalone battery
of 324 cases that reproduces the loop verbatim: published
PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 test vectors, iteration counts 1, 2, 3, 4096 and 10000,
empty, short, long and unicode passwords and salts, and 310 random
combinations. Every result is 32 bytes and byte-for-byte equal.

A build of the patch was then connected with a password to a local
PostgreSQL 16 server with password_encryption = scram-sha-256 and
scram-sha-256 in pg_hba.conf. Handshakes succeeded with stored
iteration counts 2, 4096 and 10000, a wrong password still failed with
InvalidPasswordError, and the server log recorded method=scram-sha-256.
Instrumenting hashlib.pbkdf2_hmac showed the compiled extension calling it
with ('sha256', ..., 4096) during a live handshake, while the same check on
the pre-fix build recorded no calls. The compiled path was exercised
end-to-end but was not separately timed.

A standalone microbenchmark of the old loop against the stdlib primitive at
4096 iterations, best of 7 runs, measured 12.9 ms against 0.85 ms in one run
(15.3x) and 18.8 ms against 1.08 ms in another (17.5x) on this machine (Apple
silicon, CPython 3.11).

Tests

tests/test_scram.py is new and runs without a server: RFC 7914 and RFC 7677
vectors, byte-equality against the old Hi() loop (including a unicode
password), and a spy asserting the compiled path calls
hashlib.pbkdf2_hmac("sha256", password, salt, iterations). All 4 pass on the fix. The pbkdf2-call test fails against the pre-fix code
(no call is recorded), so it pins the change. The server-free subset
(test_scram, test_record, test__sourcecode) is 31 tests OK, 2 skipped.

To make the compiled method reachable from a test without a server,
_generate_salted_password changes from cdef to cpdef in
scram.pyx/scram.pxd; internal call sites keep the C fast path. If you
would rather keep the method fully private, say so and I will move the test
behind a fake-server harness or drop it; the performance fix does not depend
on the visibility change.

tests.test_connect passes on both the pre-fix and post-fix build (51 tests,
2 environment skips), including test_auth_password_scram_sha_256 against a
managed cluster. tests.test__sourcecode and tests.test_test pass. The
full suite needs a PostgreSQL instance, so only the connect and auth subset
was run locally. CI runs the suite against PostgreSQL 9.5 through 18, and
test_auth_password_scram_sha_256 connects with a password on 10 and above,
so a wrong digest, dkLen or iteration handling fails in CI.

One edge case changes behavior. PostgreSQL never sends an iteration count of
zero and RFC 5802 does not allow it, but if a nonconforming server did, the
old loop quietly computed a one-iteration value while pbkdf2_hmac raises
ValueError and the connection fails. Validating i >= 1 in
parse_server_first_message would move that error into the auth layer; left
as a follow-up here.

twelfthlabor and others added 3 commits September 12, 2026 23:12
_generate_salted_password becomes cpdef so tests can reach the compiled
method; internal call sites keep the C fast path.
@elprans
elprans merged commit 00319a9 into MagicStack:master Sep 24, 2026
53 checks passed
@elprans elprans mentioned this pull request Oct 6, 2026
MaciejZet pushed a commit to MaciejZet/asyncpg that referenced this pull request Oct 8, 2026
## Improvements

* Support Python 3.15 (MagicStack#1367, MagicStack#1378)
  (by @elprans in 1b11846 and 58c0c59)

* Support PostgreSQL 19 (MagicStack#1379)
  (by @elprans in 8d2a5ae)

* Make pool `min_size` a maintained connection floor and add `init_size` to
  control the number of connections opened at startup (MagicStack#1323).
  Idle connections at or below `min_size` are retained, and closed connections
  are replaced in the background. `init_size` defaults to `min_size`.
  To preserve the previous behavior, where the pool could drain to zero,
  replace `min_size=N` with `init_size=N, min_size=0`.
  (by @shatilov-diman in 67a1cbc)

* Use `hashlib.pbkdf2_hmac()` for faster SCRAM password derivation (MagicStack#1359)
  (by @twelfthlabor in 00319a9)

* Use the statement cache for `copy_records_to_table()` introspection (MagicStack#1360)
  (by @matemax in dd05865)

## Fixes

* Clean up connections rejected by `target_session_attrs` immediately so an
  unresponsive rejected host cannot delay the selected connection, and cleanup
  tasks cannot outlive the event loop. Rejected connections are aborted without
  waiting for a graceful disconnect; servers may log "unexpected EOF on client
  connection" if the Terminate message is not delivered before the transport
  closes.

* Fix a connection pool deadlock when releasing a connection after a protocol
  abort (MagicStack#1324)
  (by @pchaseh in 4a83cc2)

* Honor `Connection.close(timeout=...)` while waiting for a pending
  cancellation (MagicStack#1361)
  (by @gyanu2507 in c06bcb4)

* Prevent stuck cancellation from blocking connection teardown or pool release
  by bounding cancellation with the command or release timeout (MagicStack#1370)
  (by @elprans in 4cf0220)

* Preserve the server error when the connection closes mid-operation (MagicStack#1369)
  (by @RitiGrover in 6c8f1a7)

* Fix COPY cleanup when a records generator raises, preserving the original
  exception and avoiding protocol desynchronization and stalled rollback (MagicStack#1358)
  (by @CodingCossack in fdc6bc8)

* Reparse unnamed statements before cursor binding when the statement cache
  is disabled (MagicStack#1364)
  (by @elprans in 302ba49)

* Allow cursors in transactions started outside `Connection.transaction()`,
  such as with an explicit `BEGIN` (MagicStack#1350)
  (by @aryansk in 25aaaf5)

* Remove the query logger when the `query_logger()` block raises (MagicStack#1373)
  (by @kratos0718 in 6a7fbd3)

* Fix a segfault in `Record.get()` with an invalid number of positional
  arguments (MagicStack#1333)
  (by @apoorvdarshan in 40a3832)

* Align SSL startup retries with libpq and improve SSL rejection diagnostics
  (MagicStack#1366). Retry alternative transports only before authentication succeeds.
  Direct TLS now requires `sslmode=require`, `verify-ca`, or `verify-full`,
  or an explicit `SSLContext`.
  (by @elprans in 78752c9)

* Preserve password errors during SSL fallback when the fallback fails with
  a less specific authorization error (MagicStack#1331)
  (by @Mauricio0129 in 2d97947)

* Handle cleartext password authentication when no password is supplied
  without raising an `AttributeError` (MagicStack#1351)
  (by @aryansk in 6be5915)

* Set the `postgresql` ALPN protocol on SSL contexts created by asyncpg so
  direct TLS connections work with PostgreSQL 17 and later (MagicStack#1372).
  User-provided contexts must set this protocol for direct TLS connections.
  (by @DurandA in b21325d)

* Link explicitly against `libm` on non-Windows platforms to fix undefined
  math symbol errors when loading the extensions (MagicStack#1305)
  (by @veeceey in db8ecc2)

* Fix builds on FreeBSD 15 by linking against `libstdthreads` (MagicStack#1368)
  (by @elprans in 87bcaf9)

## Other

* Replace `pkg_resources` with `packaging` in `setup.py` (MagicStack#1362)
  (by @elprans in 6695db7)

* Build Linux and macOS ARM64 wheels on native runners and add Windows ARM64
  wheel builds (MagicStack#1308)
  (by @ddelange in 1e8cc1c)

* Add manual and PR-label-triggered dry runs to the release workflow (MagicStack#1374)
  (by @elprans in 1bd643e)

* Clarify how `execute()` uses prepared statements and how to confirm an
  `INSERT` in the documentation (MagicStack#1336)
  (by @pctablet505 in cdf816c)

* Fix typos in comments and docstrings (MagicStack#1332)
  (by @maxtaran2010 in bc3e246)
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SCRAM: _generate_salted_password reimplements PBKDF2 in Python; hashlib.pbkdf2_hmac is ~30x faster and bit-identical

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