tessl/npm-noble--hashes

Audited & minimal 0-dependency JS implementation of SHA, RIPEMD, BLAKE, HMAC, HKDF, PBKDF & Scrypt

Overview

Eval results

Files

PBKDF2: Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2

Name: tessl/npm-noble--hashes
Author: tessl

PBKDF2 derives cryptographic keys from passwords through repeated application of a pseudorandom function (HMAC). The iteration count makes brute-force attacks computationally expensive, providing protection for user passwords.

Imports

import { pbkdf2, pbkdf2Async } from '@noble/hashes/pbkdf2.js';
import { sha256, sha512 } from '@noble/hashes/sha2.js';
import { sha3_256 } from '@noble/hashes/sha3.js';

Capabilities

Synchronous PBKDF2

Blocks execution until complete. Suitable for server environments or when blocking is acceptable.

/**
 * PBKDF2 key derivation (synchronous)
 * @param hash - Hash function to use (e.g., sha256, sha512)
 * @param password - Password as string or Uint8Array
 * @param salt - Salt as string or Uint8Array (should be random, at least 16 bytes)
 * @param opts - Options
 * @param opts.c - Iteration count (>= 1, recommended: 100000+)
 * @param opts.dkLen - Desired key length in bytes (default: 32)
 * @returns Derived key
 */
function pbkdf2(
  hash: CHash,
  password: string | Uint8Array,
  salt: string | Uint8Array,
  opts: Pbkdf2Opt
): Uint8Array;

/**
 * Options for PBKDF2
 */
interface Pbkdf2Opt {
  /** Iteration count (>= 1) - higher is more secure but slower */
  c: number;
  /** Desired output length in bytes (default: 32) */
  dkLen?: number;
}

Asynchronous PBKDF2

Non-blocking, yields to event loop periodically. Recommended for browsers and UI applications.

/**
 * PBKDF2 key derivation (asynchronous)
 * @param hash - Hash function to use (e.g., sha256, sha512)
 * @param password - Password as string or Uint8Array
 * @param salt - Salt as string or Uint8Array (should be random, at least 16 bytes)
 * @param opts - Options
 * @param opts.c - Iteration count (>= 1, recommended: 100000+)
 * @param opts.dkLen - Desired key length in bytes (default: 32)
 * @param opts.asyncTick - Max milliseconds before yielding to event loop (default: 10)
 * @returns Promise resolving to derived key
 */
function pbkdf2Async(
  hash: CHash,
  password: string | Uint8Array,
  salt: string | Uint8Array,
  opts: Pbkdf2Opt
): Promise<Uint8Array>;

/**
 * Options for asynchronous PBKDF2
 */
interface Pbkdf2Opt {
  /** Iteration count (>= 1) - higher is more secure but slower */
  c: number;
  /** Desired output length in bytes (default: 32) */
  dkLen?: number;
  /** Max blocking time in ms before yielding (default: 10) */
  asyncTick?: number;
}

Usage Examples

Basic Password Hashing

import { pbkdf2 } from '@noble/hashes/pbkdf2.js';
import { sha256 } from '@noble/hashes/sha2.js';
import { randomBytes, bytesToHex, hexToBytes } from '@noble/hashes/utils.js';

// Generate random salt
const salt = randomBytes(16);

// Derive key from password
const key = pbkdf2(sha256, 'user-password', salt, {
  c: 100000,  // 100k iterations (recommended minimum)
  dkLen: 32   // 32-byte key
});

// Store salt and key for later verification
const saltHex = bytesToHex(salt);
const keyHex = bytesToHex(key);

// Verification
function verifyPassword(
  password: string,
  storedSalt: string,
  storedKey: string
): boolean {
  const salt = hexToBytes(storedSalt);
  const expectedKey = hexToBytes(storedKey);

  const derivedKey = pbkdf2(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: 100000,
    dkLen: 32
  });

  // Constant-time comparison
  if (derivedKey.length !== expectedKey.length) return false;

  let diff = 0;
  for (let i = 0; i < derivedKey.length; i++) {
    diff |= derivedKey[i] ^ expectedKey[i];
  }
  return diff === 0;
}

Asynchronous Password Hashing (Browser-Friendly)

import { pbkdf2Async } from '@noble/hashes/pbkdf2.js';
import { sha256 } from '@noble/hashes/sha2.js';
import { randomBytes } from '@noble/hashes/utils.js';

async function hashPasswordAsync(password: string): Promise<{
  salt: Uint8Array;
  key: Uint8Array;
}> {
  const salt = randomBytes(16);

  // Non-blocking - UI remains responsive
  const key = await pbkdf2Async(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: 100000,
    dkLen: 32,
    asyncTick: 10  // Yield every 10ms
  });

  return { salt, key };
}

async function verifyPasswordAsync(
  password: string,
  salt: Uint8Array,
  expectedKey: Uint8Array
): Promise<boolean> {
  const derivedKey = await pbkdf2Async(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: 100000,
    dkLen: 32
  });

  // Constant-time comparison
  if (derivedKey.length !== expectedKey.length) return false;

  let diff = 0;
  for (let i = 0; i < derivedKey.length; i++) {
    diff |= derivedKey[i] ^ expectedKey[i];
  }
  return diff === 0;
}

Encryption Key from Password

import { pbkdf2 } from '@noble/hashes/pbkdf2.js';
import { sha256 } from '@noble/hashes/sha2.js';
import { randomBytes } from '@noble/hashes/utils.js';

interface EncryptionKey {
  key: Uint8Array;
  salt: Uint8Array;
}

function deriveEncryptionKey(password: string): EncryptionKey {
  const salt = randomBytes(16);

  const key = pbkdf2(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: 100000,
    dkLen: 32
  });

  return { key, salt };
}

function restoreEncryptionKey(password: string, salt: Uint8Array): Uint8Array {
  return pbkdf2(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: 100000,
    dkLen: 32
  });
}

// Usage
const { key: encKey, salt } = deriveEncryptionKey('my-secret-password');

// Later, restore key from password and salt
const restoredKey = restoreEncryptionKey('my-secret-password', salt);

Multiple Keys from One Password

import { pbkdf2 } from '@noble/hashes/pbkdf2.js';
import { sha256 } from '@noble/hashes/sha2.js';
import { hkdf } from '@noble/hashes/hkdf.js';
import { utf8ToBytes } from '@noble/hashes/utils.js';

function deriveMultipleKeys(
  password: string,
  salt: Uint8Array
): {
  encryptionKey: Uint8Array;
  authKey: Uint8Array;
  signingKey: Uint8Array;
} {
  // Step 1: PBKDF2 to strengthen password
  const masterKey = pbkdf2(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: 100000,
    dkLen: 32
  });

  // Step 2: HKDF to derive multiple keys
  const encryptionKey = hkdf(
    sha256,
    masterKey,
    salt,
    utf8ToBytes('encryption'),
    32
  );

  const authKey = hkdf(
    sha256,
    masterKey,
    salt,
    utf8ToBytes('authentication'),
    32
  );

  const signingKey = hkdf(
    sha256,
    masterKey,
    salt,
    utf8ToBytes('signing'),
    32
  );

  return { encryptionKey, authKey, signingKey };
}

Password Storage Format

import { pbkdf2Async } from '@noble/hashes/pbkdf2.js';
import { sha256 } from '@noble/hashes/sha2.js';
import { randomBytes, bytesToHex, hexToBytes } from '@noble/hashes/utils.js';

interface PasswordHash {
  algorithm: string;
  iterations: number;
  salt: string;
  hash: string;
}

async function hashPassword(password: string): Promise<PasswordHash> {
  const salt = randomBytes(16);
  const iterations = 100000;

  const hash = await pbkdf2Async(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: iterations,
    dkLen: 32
  });

  return {
    algorithm: 'pbkdf2-sha256',
    iterations: iterations,
    salt: bytesToHex(salt),
    hash: bytesToHex(hash)
  };
}

async function verifyPassword(
  password: string,
  stored: PasswordHash
): Promise<boolean> {
  if (stored.algorithm !== 'pbkdf2-sha256') {
    throw new Error('Unsupported algorithm');
  }

  const salt = hexToBytes(stored.salt);
  const expectedHash = hexToBytes(stored.hash);

  const derivedHash = await pbkdf2Async(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: stored.iterations,
    dkLen: expectedHash.length
  });

  // Constant-time comparison
  if (derivedHash.length !== expectedHash.length) return false;

  let diff = 0;
  for (let i = 0; i < derivedHash.length; i++) {
    diff |= derivedHash[i] ^ expectedHash[i];
  }
  return diff === 0;
}

// Serialization for database storage
function serializePasswordHash(hash: PasswordHash): string {
  return `${hash.algorithm}$${hash.iterations}$${hash.salt}$${hash.hash}`;
}

function parsePasswordHash(serialized: string): PasswordHash {
  const [algorithm, iterations, salt, hash] = serialized.split('$');
  return {
    algorithm,
    iterations: parseInt(iterations),
    salt,
    hash
  };
}

Adaptive Iteration Count

import { pbkdf2 } from '@noble/hashes/pbkdf2.js';
import { sha256 } from '@noble/hashes/sha2.js';
import { randomBytes } from '@noble/hashes/utils.js';

function calibrateIterations(targetMs: number = 100): number {
  const testSalt = randomBytes(16);
  const testPassword = 'test-password';

  // Binary search for iteration count
  let low = 10000;
  let high = 1000000;
  let best = 100000;

  while (high - low > 10000) {
    const mid = Math.floor((low + high) / 2);
    const start = performance.now();

    pbkdf2(sha256, testPassword, testSalt, { c: mid, dkLen: 32 });

    const elapsed = performance.now() - start;

    if (elapsed < targetMs) {
      low = mid;
    } else {
      high = mid;
      best = mid;
    }
  }

  return best;
}

// Usage: determine optimal iteration count for this device
const optimalIterations = calibrateIterations(100); // Target 100ms
console.log('Optimal iterations:', optimalIterations);

Technical Details

PBKDF2 Algorithm

PBKDF2 applies a pseudorandom function (HMAC) iteratively:

DK = PBKDF2(PRF, Password, Salt, c, dkLen)

T_i = F(Password, Salt, c, i) where i = 1, 2, ..., ceiling(dkLen / hLen)

F(Password, Salt, c, i) = U_1 ⊕ U_2 ⊕ ... ⊕ U_c

U_1 = PRF(Password, Salt || INT_32_BE(i))
U_2 = PRF(Password, U_1)
U_c = PRF(Password, U_{c-1})

DK = T_1 || T_2 || ... || T_ceiling(dkLen/hLen)<0..dkLen-1>

Parameter Selection

Iteration Count (c):

Minimum: 100,000 (OWASP 2023 recommendation for PBKDF2-SHA256)
Recommended: 600,000+ for password storage (OWASP 2023)
Enterprise: 1,000,000+
Trade-off: Higher is more secure but slower

Time on Apple M4 (2024):

100,000 iterations: ~40ms
600,000 iterations: ~240ms
1,000,000 iterations: ~400ms

Salt Length:

Minimum: 16 bytes (128 bits)
Recommended: 32 bytes (256 bits)
Must be random and unique per password
Can be stored in plaintext alongside hash

Output Length (dkLen):

Minimum: 16 bytes (128 bits)
Recommended: 32 bytes (256 bits)
Should match your security requirements

Hash Function Selection

SHA-256 (recommended):

Widely supported
Good balance of security and performance
FIPS compliant

SHA-512:

Better security margin
Faster on 64-bit platforms
Longer output (64 bytes default)

SHA-3 variants:

Alternative design
Good for defense in depth
Slightly slower

import { pbkdf2 } from '@noble/hashes/pbkdf2.js';
import { sha256, sha512 } from '@noble/hashes/sha2.js';
import { sha3_256 } from '@noble/hashes/sha3.js';

const password = 'my-password';
const salt = randomBytes(16);

// Different hash functions
const key256 = pbkdf2(sha256, password, salt, { c: 100000, dkLen: 32 });
const key512 = pbkdf2(sha512, password, salt, { c: 100000, dkLen: 32 });
const keySha3 = pbkdf2(sha3_256, password, salt, { c: 100000, dkLen: 32 });

Security Considerations

Salt Requirements:

Must be cryptographically random
Must be unique per password
Should be at least 16 bytes
Can be stored in plaintext
Prevents rainbow table attacks
Prevents parallel attacks on multiple passwords

Iteration Count:

Higher count increases attack cost linearly
Should be as high as user experience allows
Should be increased over time as hardware improves
Store iteration count with hash for upgradability

Password Input:

Accept strings or Uint8Array
Strings are UTF-8 encoded internally
No password length limit
Longer passwords are not slower

Constant-Time Comparison: Always compare hashes in constant time to prevent timing attacks:

function constantTimeEqual(a: Uint8Array, b: Uint8Array): boolean {
  if (a.length !== b.length) return false;
  let diff = 0;
  for (let i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
    diff |= a[i] ^ b[i];
  }
  return diff === 0;
}

Performance Benchmarks

Apple M4 (2024), PBKDF2-SHA256, c=2^18 (262,144 iterations):

Synchronous: ~197ms
Asynchronous: ~200ms (slightly slower due to yielding)

Iteration count vs time (SHA-256):

100,000: ~40ms
250,000: ~100ms
500,000: ~200ms
1,000,000: ~400ms

PBKDF2 vs Alternatives

vs Scrypt:

PBKDF2: Less memory-hard, faster
Scrypt: Memory-hard, better against ASICs/GPUs
Use Scrypt when stronger protection needed

vs Argon2:

PBKDF2: Simple, widely supported
Argon2: Modern, memory-hard, configurable
Use Argon2 for new systems if available

vs bcrypt:

PBKDF2: Standard, flexible, any hash function
bcrypt: Fixed cost, limited input size
PBKDF2 generally preferred for new systems

When to use PBKDF2:

Need wide compatibility
FIPS compliance required
Simple key derivation
Resource-constrained environments

When to use alternatives:

Need maximum security (use Argon2)
Protect against GPU/ASIC attacks (use Scrypt or Argon2)
High-security password storage (use Argon2id)

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Low iteration count

// BAD: Too few iterations
const weak = pbkdf2(sha256, password, salt, { c: 1000 });

// GOOD: Sufficient iterations
const strong = pbkdf2(sha256, password, salt, { c: 100000 });

Pitfall 2: Non-random or short salt

// BAD: Static or predictable salt
const bad = pbkdf2(sha256, password, 'static-salt', { c: 100000 });

// GOOD: Random salt per password
const salt = randomBytes(16);
const good = pbkdf2(sha256, password, salt, { c: 100000 });

Pitfall 3: Timing attack in comparison

// BAD: Early exit reveals information
function badCompare(a: Uint8Array, b: Uint8Array): boolean {
  if (a.length !== b.length) return false;
  for (let i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
    if (a[i] !== b[i]) return false; // Timing leak!
  }
  return true;
}

// GOOD: Constant-time comparison
function goodCompare(a: Uint8Array, b: Uint8Array): boolean {
  if (a.length !== b.length) return false;
  let diff = 0;
  for (let i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
    diff |= a[i] ^ b[i];
  }
  return diff === 0;
}

Migration and Upgrades

interface StoredPassword {
  iterations: number;
  salt: string;
  hash: string;
}

async function verifyAndUpgrade(
  password: string,
  stored: StoredPassword,
  minIterations: number = 100000
): Promise<{ valid: boolean; upgraded?: StoredPassword }> {
  // Verify with stored parameters
  const salt = hexToBytes(stored.salt);
  const expectedHash = hexToBytes(stored.hash);

  const derivedHash = await pbkdf2Async(sha256, password, salt, {
    c: stored.iterations,
    dkLen: expectedHash.length
  });

  let diff = 0;
  for (let i = 0; i < derivedHash.length; i++) {
    diff |= derivedHash[i] ^ expectedHash[i];
  }

  const valid = diff === 0;

  // Upgrade if valid and iterations too low
  if (valid && stored.iterations < minIterations) {
    const newSalt = randomBytes(16);
    const newHash = await pbkdf2Async(sha256, password, newSalt, {
      c: minIterations,
      dkLen: 32
    });

    return {
      valid: true,
      upgraded: {
        iterations: minIterations,
        salt: bytesToHex(newSalt),
        hash: bytesToHex(newHash)
      }
    };
  }

  return { valid };
}

References

RFC 2898: PKCS #5: Password-Based Cryptography Specification Version 2.0
RFC 8018: PKCS #5: Password-Based Cryptography Specification Version 2.1
OWASP Password Storage Cheat Sheet: Current recommendations
NIST SP 800-132: Recommendation for Password-Based Key Derivation

Install with Tessl CLI

npx tessl i tessl/npm-noble--hashes@2.0.0

docs