.. hazmat:: Symmetric Encryption ==================== .. currentmodule:: cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers .. testsetup:: import binascii key = binascii.unhexlify(b"0" * 32) iv = binascii.unhexlify(b"0" * 32) Symmetric encryption is a way to encrypt (hide the plaintext value) material where the sender and receiver both use the same key. Note that symmetric encryption is **not** sufficient for most applications, because it only provides secrecy (an attacker can't see the message) but not authenticity (an attacker can create bogus messages and force the application to decrypt them). For this reason it is *strongly* recommended to combine encryption with a message authentication code, such as :doc:`HMAC `, in an "encrypt-then-MAC" formulation as `described by Colin Percival`_. .. class:: Cipher(algorithm, mode) Cipher objects combine an algorithm (such as :class:`~cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.algorithms.AES`) with a mode (such as :class:`~cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.modes.CBC` or :class:`~cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.modes.CTR`). A simple example of encrypting (and then decrypting) content with AES is: .. doctest:: >>> from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers import Cipher, algorithms, modes >>> cipher = Cipher(algorithms.AES(key), modes.CBC(iv)) >>> encryptor = cipher.encryptor() >>> ct = encryptor.update(b"a secret message") + encryptor.finalize() >>> decryptor = cipher.decryptor() >>> decryptor.update(ct) + decryptor.finalize() 'a secret message' :param algorithms: One of the algorithms described below. :param mode: One of the modes described below. .. method:: encryptor() :return: An encrypting :class:`~cryptography.hazmat.primitives.interfaces.CipherContext` provider. If the backend doesn't support the requested combination of ``cipher`` and ``mode`` an :class:`cryptography.exceptions.UnsupportedAlgorithm` will be raised. .. method:: decryptor() :return: A decrypting :class:`~cryptography.hazmat.primitives.interfaces.CipherContext` provider. If the backend doesn't support the requested combination of ``cipher`` and ``mode`` an :class:`cryptography.exceptions.UnsupportedAlgorithm` will be raised. .. currentmodule:: cryptography.hazmat.primitives.interfaces .. class:: CipherContext When calling ``encryptor()`` or ``decryptor()`` on a ``Cipher`` object you will receive a return object conforming to the ``CipherContext`` interface. You can then call ``update(data)`` with data until you have fed everything into the context. Once that is done call ``finalize()`` to finish the operation and obtain the remainder of the data. Block ciphers require that plaintext or ciphertext always be a multiple of their block size, because of that **padding** is often required to make a message the correct size. ``CipherContext`` will not automatically apply any padding; you'll need to add your own. For block ciphers the reccomended padding is :class:`cryptography.hazmat.primitives.padding.PKCS7`. If you are using a stream cipher mode (such as :class:`cryptography.hazmat.primitives.modes.CTR`) you don't have to worry about this. .. method:: update(data) :param bytes data: The data you wish to pass into the context. :return bytes: Returns the data that was encrypted or decrypted. :raises cryptography.exceptions.AlreadyFinalized: See :meth:`finalize` When the ``Cipher`` was constructed in a mode that turns it into a stream cipher (e.g. :class:`cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.modes.CTR`), this will return bytes immediately, however in other modes it will return chunks, whose size is determined by the cipher's block size. .. method:: finalize() :return bytes: Returns the remainder of the data. :raises cryptography.exceptions.IncorrectPadding: This is raised when the data provided isn't correctly padded to be a multiple of the algorithm's block size. Once ``finalize`` is called this object can no longer be used and :meth:`update` and :meth:`finalize` will raise :class:`~cryptography.exceptions.AlreadyFinalized`. Algorithms ~~~~~~~~~~ .. currentmodule:: cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.algorithms .. class:: AES(key) AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a block cipher standardized by NIST. AES is both fast, and cryptographically strong. It is a good default choice for encryption. :param bytes key: The secret key, either ``128``, ``192``, or ``256`` bits. This must be kept secret. .. class:: Camellia(key) Camellia is a block cipher approved for use by CRYPTREC and ISO/IEC. It is considered to have comparable security and performance to AES, but is not as widely studied or deployed. :param bytes key: The secret key, either ``128``, ``192``, or ``256`` bits. This must be kept secret. .. class:: TripleDES(key) Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard), sometimes referred to as 3DES, is a block cipher standardized by NIST. Triple DES has known crypto-analytic flaws, however none of them currently enable a practical attack. Nonetheless, Triples DES is not recommended for new applications because it is incredibly slow; old applications should consider moving away from it. :param bytes key: The secret key, either ``64``, ``128``, or ``192`` bits (note that DES functionally uses ``56``, ``112``, or ``168`` bits of the key, there is a parity byte in each component of the key), in some materials these are referred to as being up to three separate keys (each ``56`` bits long), they can simply be concatenated to produce the full key. This must be kept secret. .. class:: CAST5(key) CAST5 (also known as CAST-128) is a block cipher approved for use in the Canadian government by their Communications Security Establishment. It is a variable key length cipher and supports keys from 40-128 bits in length. :param bytes key: The secret key, 40-128 bits in length (in increments of 8). This must be kept secret. Weak Ciphers ------------ .. warning:: These ciphers are considered weak for a variety of reasons. New applications should avoid their use and existing applications should strongly consider migrating away. .. class:: Blowfish(key) Blowfish is a block cipher developed by Bruce Schneier. It is known to be susceptible to attacks when using weak keys. The author has recommended that users of Blowfish move to newer algorithms, such as :class:`AES`. :param bytes key: The secret key, 32-448 bits in length (in increments of 8). This must be kept secret. .. class:: ARC4(key) ARC4 (Alleged RC4) is a stream cipher with serious weaknesses in its initial stream output. Its use is strongly discouraged. ARC4 does not use mode constructions. :param bytes key: The secret key, ``40``, ``56``, ``64``, ``80``, ``128``, ``192``, or ``256`` bits in length. This must be kept secret. .. doctest:: >>> from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers import Cipher, algorithms, modes >>> algorithm = algorithms.ARC4(key) >>> cipher = Cipher(algorithm, mode=None) >>> encryptor = cipher.encryptor() >>> ct = encryptor.update(b"a secret message") >>> decryptor = cipher.decryptor() >>> decryptor.update(ct) 'a secret message' .. _symmetric-encryption-modes: Modes ~~~~~ .. currentmodule:: cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.modes .. class:: CBC(initialization_vector) CBC (Cipher block chaining) is a mode of operation for block ciphers. It is considered cryptographically strong. :param bytes initialization_vector: Must be random bytes. They do not need to be kept secret (they can be included in a transmitted message). Must be the same number of bytes as the ``block_size`` of the cipher. Each time something is encrypted a new ``initialization_vector`` should be generated. Do not reuse an ``initialization_vector`` with a given ``key``, and particularly do not use a constant ``initialization_vector``. A good construction looks like: .. code-block:: pycon >>> import os >>> iv = os.urandom(16) >>> mode = CBC(iv) While the following is bad and will leak information: .. code-block:: pycon >>> iv = "a" * 16 >>> mode = CBC(iv) .. class:: CTR(nonce) .. warning:: Counter mode is not recommended for use with block ciphers that have a block size of less than 128-bits. CTR (Counter) is a mode of operation for block ciphers. It is considered cryptographically strong. It transforms a block cipher into a stream cipher. :param bytes nonce: Should be random bytes. It is critical to never reuse a ``nonce`` with a given key. Any reuse of a nonce with the same key compromises the security of every message encrypted with that key. Must be the same number of bytes as the ``block_size`` of the cipher with a given key. The nonce does not need to be kept secret and may be included alongside the ciphertext. .. class:: OFB(initialization_vector) OFB (Output Feedback) is a mode of operation for block ciphers. It transforms a block cipher into a stream cipher. :param bytes initialization_vector: Must be random bytes. They do not need to be kept secret (they can be included in a transmitted message). Must be the same number of bytes as the ``block_size`` of the cipher. Do not reuse an ``initialization_vector`` with a given ``key``. .. class:: CFB(initialization_vector) CFB (Cipher Feedback) is a mode of operation for block ciphers. It transforms a block cipher into a stream cipher. :param bytes initialization_vector: Must be random bytes. They do not need to be kept secret (they can be included in a transmitted message). Must be the same number of bytes as the ``block_size`` of the cipher. Do not reuse an ``initialization_vector`` with a given ``key``. Insecure Modes -------------- .. warning:: These modes are insecure. New applications should never make use of them, and existing applications should strongly consider migrating away. .. class:: ECB() ECB (Electronic Code Book) is the simplest mode of operation for block ciphers. Each block of data is encrypted in the same way. This means identical plaintext blocks will always result in identical ciphertext blocks, and thus result in information leakage .. _`described by Colin Percival`: http://www.daemonology.net/blog/2009-06-11-cryptographic-right-answers.html