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Moderate 59 Bitcoin

update external tor socks proxy control port authentication

Public commit record

What the developer wrote

Authored by Craig Raw

55/100 · Thin
update external tor socks proxy control port authentication
✓ Specific, descriptive subject✓ Names a concrete action or component✓ Names security-relevant behavior explicitly! No meaningful explanatory body
The short version

What changed, and why it matters

This commit hardens how Sparrow Wallet talks to an external Tor proxy's control port. Previously, when asking Tor for a new identity, the app used an older authentication method that could send the contents of a secret cookie file over the local connection. The update switches to Tor's 'SAFECOOKIE' challenge-response authentication, verifies the server before revealing anything, and refuses to open the control connection unless the target address is on the local computer (loopback). This reduces the risk that a malicious or misconfigured remote proxy could steal the Tor cookie or abuse the control port.

Recommended action

Users relying on external Tor proxies should upgrade to the version containing this commit. Review any custom Tor proxy setups to ensure the ControlPort is bound to 127.0.0.1, since the new code will refuse remote control-port connections. No immediate incident response is indicated, but treat this as a worthwhile security hardening update.

Security signals we found

01

Switches Tor ControlPort authentication from legacy COOKIE to SAFECOOKIE HMAC challenge-response

02

Adds loopback-only restriction for external Tor ControlPort connections

03

Validates cookie file length and uses constant-time hash comparison

04

Verifies server hash before transmitting client hash to prevent leakage to unauthenticated peers

05

Adds explicit security-relevant comments describing the trust boundary

Risk score

Why this scored 59/100

Our methodology →
Potential impact 18/30
Exploitability 12/25
Stealth signal 10/15
Affected reach 8/15
Confidence 7/10
Evidence quality 4/5
Human-validated context

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