[wp-hackers] Should password hashing portability be configurable?

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To make sure I am understanding you are you saying account passwords are
hashed with MD5? I would certainly hope not.

On Wed, Nov 7, 2012 at 6:18 AM, Harry Metcalfe <harry at dxw.com> wrote:

> I've been investigating switching the sites we host to bcrypt, rather than
> MD5, which is the default. That MD5 is the default is regrettable but
> understandable given WordPress's need to remain portable. I understand that
> if the site was moved to a server without bcrypt support, those accounts
> would no longer be accessible. However, if that is not a consideration, it
> would surely be better for people to use bcrypt than MD5.
>
> I was going to make change on our sites by switching the portable flags in
> wp_check_password and wp_hash_password to false, after moving those
> functions into a plugin. This makes new passwords bcrypt and maintains
> backwards compatibility for passwords hashed using MD5. However, it misses
> the hashes which are created for password-protected posts, which happens in
> a function that is not pluggable.
>
> I've therefore created a global $wp_hasher instance (without portability)
> in a plugin, which I think should get called before WordPress has a chance
> to make it.
>
> Questions:
>
> 1. Is that right? Is there a scenario where WordPress will make a
>    wp_hasher before my mu plugin gets loaded, thereby preventing
>    someone from logging in?
> 2. Is it worth adding a WP_UNPORTABLE_PASSWORDS define so that people
>    who want to make the switch can do so without having to fiddle with
>    wp_hasher?
>
> Harry
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