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Graph/crypto-primitives-conflation

AntiPattern

Conflated Crypto Primitives

crypto-primitives-conflation

Developers conflate encryption with authentication and misapply credential/storage mechanisms (e.g., unauthenticated AES-CBC, treating API keys as passwords without hashing, or assuming private keys can be used for transport), causing forgery risk, key/IV misuse, and broken security guarantees.

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Updated7/5/2026

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30 linked nodes

MATCHESSolution

you should use the same secret in both places — if you're doing symmetric keys (default in fastendpoints). Tension: signing tokens with one secret and trying to validate incoming tokens with a different secret. Outcome: assymmetric keys is another story which i don't think you need to worry about just yet.

MATCHESSolution

the API keys are stored in an encrypted form — more-annoying techniques (e.g., native code via the NDK). Tension: This too makes it more difficult for an attacker to get the keys. Outcome: but it does not prevent it completely.

MATCHESSolution

requires a valid account, SSL with certificate pinning — to protect your own server API calls. Outcome: This increases the difficulty for an attacker to get the keys.

MATCHESSolution

Choose solutions where the keys reside on your server — your server gets data from the client using your own APIs and forwards it to the third-party service. Tension: To prevent an attacker from getting client-side API keys.

MATCHESSolution

Take the inputted password, throw it in a loop that adds adds an extra character at the end, beginning, wherever, and then match it against the stored hash. — You would need to kind of brute force it, I think. Tension: how do systems enforce the not being similar test without having to store the passwords in plain text in the database?

MATCHESSolution

Encrypting the plain text locally and storing the ciphertext remotely is the way to go. — You want to have protection from the remote attackers? Tension: Encryption has never solved any problems for us. It has just shifted the problems somewhere else. Outcome: protection from remote attackers is doable.

MATCHESSolution

Use a certificate authority private key and a certificate with CA basicConstraints enabled to sign additional certificates

MATCHESSolution

Use Hash-Based Message Authentication Code or any cryptographic library or built-in .NET classes

MATCHESSolution

Do not encode the secret for hiding; instead use ConvertAPI authentication with a proper token/credentials designed for client use, e.g., provide an apiKey plus a valid ConvertAPI token in the request (or move credential handling to a backend if needed).

MATCHESSolution

Perform the authorization-code-to-token exchange in the backend to keep tokens and the client secret off the client. Create/establish an app-specific user session (e.g., HTTP session cookies or tokens) and do not use the external provider access token directly for your backend authorization; generate/validate authorization specific to your APIs.

MATCHESSolution

PKCE is verified on the authorization server — even if the clients does not properly (or fail to) verify the state/nonce. Tension: PKCE will still protect them. Outcome: PKCE will still protect them.

MATCHESSolution

Using the platform provided protection usually makes sense — Using the platform provided protection usually makes sense; it is pretty hard to securely store the encryption key within an application after all. Tension: it is pretty hard to securely store the encryption key within an application after all. Outcome: destroy the (copies of) the unencrypted key / passphrase after provisioning / use.

MATCHESSolution

pass `False` if you're not using the algorithm for security purposes. — False indicates that the hashing algorithm is not used in a security context. Tension: Insecure algorithms are enabled by default. Outcome: Python will tell OpenSSL to allow insecure algorithms anyway.

MATCHESSolution

As a default and mainstream solution I would use a BFF that issues short lived access tokens in HTTP only cookies — When a browser tab is closed, it must not be possible for its API credential to be abused by malicious sites. Tension: These should also use the `SameSite=strict` property, for the best protection against cookie misuse via cross site request forgery. Outcome: These should also use the `SameSite=strict` property.

MATCHESSolution

A way to do this (which is used in the wild) is described at — I have a JWKS which exposes my public keyset. Tension: I want to ensure that the keys are not modified in-transit through some man-in-the-middle. Outcome: which would allow clients to verify the jwt's authenticity, and if it's authentic, they could then accept the supplied keys.

MATCHESSolution

addressing the issue should be more about cognito configuration than actual programming — This is actually also the reason why Cognito has deployed its advanced security features. Tension: Should I protect the submission in some way (reCAPTCHA, honeypot, etc.)? Outcome: more about cognito configuration than actual programming.

MATCHESSolution

Your hardware token idea is the only thing you've listed that is plausible — assuming the token's hardware has its own clock and is hardened against tampering. Tension: There is no way to trust hardware that someone else controls. Outcome: This is just a computer that you trust because the user does not control it.

MATCHESSolution

A solution I've found is to use the `hash_secret_raw` function: — use the `hash_secret_raw` function. Outcome: b64_key = base64.urlsafe_b64encode(key) cipher = Fernet(b64_key).

MATCHESSolution

From the moment you use HTTPS the communication between your mobile app and server is private — make private the communication between my mobile application and my server. Tension: someone can intercepts http calls and copy the static token. Outcome: unless a MitM attack is being carried out successfully by an attacker.

MATCHESSolution

If you want to keep a key secret safe — wallet secrets. Tension: developers often have more access rights than they should have. Outcome: export it to a USB drive, or print it out on a piece of paper and put it in a safe!

MATCHESSolution

Use a password-hashing algorithm designed for authentication (e.g., bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2) and generate a unique random salt per password, storing the salt (or the full hash parameters) with the user record. Optionally add a secret pepper stored outside the codebase/DB, and verify passwords using the library’s verification function.

MATCHESSolution

using the `crypto` module is fine — In Node.js. Tension: instead of trying to do it yourself. Outcome: you can simply do what you're doing without concern.

MATCHESSolution

Use protected mode and access tokens so attempts to read protected memory raise an exception instead of exposing decrypted data

MATCHESSolution

If you want to have e.g. functionality such as signed (and/or encrypted) email then you'd use a higher level protocol such as PKCS#7 — If you want to have e.g. functionality such as signed (and/or encrypted) email. Tension: CMS supports both encryption (enveloped data) and signatures. Outcome: you can simply base64 encode it.

MATCHESSolution

after i can have it inside keychain — the best way to hold a private key inside ios app. Tension: storing it in the keychain leaves it also vulnerable to runtime attacks via an instrumentation framework. Outcome: it inside keychain.

MATCHESSolution

Browsers themselves provide an encryption interface. That interface supports AES-GCM — You mention using the private key. Tension: WebAuthn does not currently provide any symmetric key that can be used for encryption. Outcome: You would need to download Chr.

MATCHESSolution

Replicate the Java key-derivation step in C# (same KDF type, salt/password handling, iteration count, and derived key length) before initializing AES/GCM with the derived key. After matching the derivation and parameters, decrypt successfully.

MATCHESSolution

Solution: — leveraging Spring Security for Authentication. Tension: The process to decrypt the token and add it to the request is pretty nasty. Outcome: I worked around the issue and got it working.

MATCHESSolution

Make the primary install command prompt securely via `/dev/tty` (`curl ... | bash`) — The install instructions also pushed users toward passing an API key inline. Tension: keep `--key` as an optional low-friction path.

MATCHESSolution

add a pay-per-token API-key auth profile ordered after the subscription OAuth profile — quota-domain diversity. Tension: auth-profile rotation is the only lever that survives a subscription lockout. Outcome: route mechanical/public work to a separate-quota provider lane (e.g. Gemini via acpx) with a privacy gate.

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