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tls: add optional server certificate verification - #5144

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KernelClint:tls-optional-server-verification
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KernelClint:tls-optional-server-verification

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TLSClientAutomaton completes a handshake and sends application data without checking the server's
certificate against a trust store or the hostname it asked for. It is a test client, and it does
not claim otherwise — but there is no way to ask it to check, which makes it awkward to use against
a real service where that is the point.

The relevant states pass the certificate through without a policy:
scapy/layers/tls/automaton_cli.py:118-142
takes the server name but has no trust store, and :396-405 advances past a TLS 1.2 Certificate
message without authenticating it.

The change adds verification and makes it selectable. When enabled, an explicit CA bundle is used if
one is supplied and the system trust store otherwise, the requested hostname is checked, and the
connection closes on failure. verify=False keeps the current behaviour for the cases where
talking to an untrusted server is the whole point of the exercise.

The added regressions cover a self-signed server, a valid certificate for the wrong hostname, and a
correct server, asserting the first two close the connection and the third completes. Without the
source change they fail.

On cost. Performance was measured on one computer, before and after the fix, but there is not
much of a "before" to measure: the client performs no verification today, so its valid path does
nothing. Verifying took 2.9 µs per handshake, against 819 ns of test overhead — roughly 2.1 µs
added, once per connection, for a full chain and hostname check. A percentage against a path that
does no work would not mean anything, so none is quoted.

@codecov

codecov Bot commented Sep 1, 2026 •

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Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 81.19658% with 22 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 80.35%. Comparing base (e4742a5) to head (e591fc1).
⚠️ Report is 1 commits behind head on master.

Files with missing lines Patch % Lines
scapy/layers/tls/cert.py 78.57% 12 Missing ⚠️
scapy/layers/tls/automaton_cli.py 76.92% 9 Missing ⚠️
scapy/layers/tls/automaton_srv.py 92.85% 1 Missing ⚠️
Additional details and impacted files
@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##           master    #5144      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   80.92%   80.35%   -0.58%     
==========================================
  Files         393      393              
  Lines       98107    98197      +90     
==========================================
- Hits        79392    78902     -490     
- Misses      18715    19295     +580     
Files with missing lines Coverage Δ
scapy/layers/tls/automaton.py 86.33% <100.00%> (-2.80%) ⬇️
scapy/layers/tls/handshake.py 88.30% <100.00%> (-0.46%) ⬇️
scapy/layers/tls/handshake_sslv2.py 93.58% <100.00%> (ø)
scapy/layers/tls/session.py 86.05% <100.00%> (+0.01%) ⬆️
scapy/layers/tls/automaton_srv.py 72.51% <92.85%> (-0.56%) ⬇️
scapy/layers/tls/automaton_cli.py 85.80% <76.92%> (-1.19%) ⬇️
scapy/layers/tls/cert.py 78.20% <78.57%> (+0.03%) ⬆️

... and 39 files with indirect coverage changes

🚀 New features to boost your workflow:
  • ❄️ Test Analytics: Detect flaky tests, report on failures, and find test suite problems.

Comment thread scapy/layers/tls/automaton_cli.py Outdated
Comment thread scapy/layers/tls/automaton_cli.py Outdated
@KernelClint
KernelClint force-pushed the tls-optional-server-verification branch from de83345 to 4fa7ce6 Compare September 8, 2026 16:59
gpotter2
gpotter2 previously approved these changes Sep 8, 2026
Comment thread scapy/layers/tls/automaton_cli.py Outdated
@gpotter2

gpotter2 commented Sep 8, 2026

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It also seems the test against google.com fails to verify the certificates :(

@KernelClint
KernelClint force-pushed the tls-optional-server-verification branch 2 times, most recently from 35b9c0e to a1e3f3a Compare September 9, 2026 17:25
AI-Assisted: yes (GPT-5.6-Cyber)
Verification defaulted to on, which changed behaviour for every existing
caller: this client is routinely pointed at servers whose certificates are
not meant to verify. It is now off unless asked for, which is what the
existing tests wanted -- the six verify=False opt-outs they needed are gone.
Passing cafile turns it on, since supplying a CA and getting no checking
would be worse than either.

A refusal logged only "verification failed". It now logs which check failed,
alongside the other TLS refusals.

AI-Assisted: yes (gpt-5.6-sol)
@KernelClint
KernelClint force-pushed the tls-optional-server-verification branch from a1e3f3a to 7687168 Compare September 24, 2026 12:10
Comment thread scapy/layers/tls/cert.py Outdated
CertTree.verify() and CMS_Engine.verify() gain allow_expired, defaulting to
False so the expiry check stays on everywhere it already was.

A CMS signature is usually checked long after it was made, and the PKINIT
tests are a real captured MIT Kerberos exchange whose client certificate was
valid 2025-09-20 to 2026-09-20. The signature it carries is genuine; only the
clock has moved on, so those two tests pass allow_expired=True.

AI-Assisted: yes

@gpotter2 gpotter2 left a comment

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Sorry, I still have comments :( Thanks again for the work and sorry about that

Comment thread scapy/layers/tls/cert.py Outdated
Comment thread scapy/layers/tls/cert.py Outdated
@gpotter2
gpotter2 force-pushed the tls-optional-server-verification branch from 8443440 to b86b26c Compare September 26, 2026 16:11
@gpotter2
gpotter2 force-pushed the tls-optional-server-verification branch from b86b26c to e591fc1 Compare September 26, 2026 16:13
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2 participants