Towards FIPS 140-X Compliance

- MD5 usage addressed in iRODS 5.1.0:
- Signed zone keys for server-to-server authentication
- Introduced zone_key_signing_hash_scheme configuration
- Hashing rulebases and delay rules (SHA256)
- mockarchive resource physical paths (SHA256)
- Signed zone keys for server-to-server authentication
- Other MD5 usage: checksums and native authentication
irods authentication - Objectives and Features

New built-in authentication scheme with the following objectives:
- Secure password storage
- Time-limited, token-based authentication
- TLS required
- FIPS 140-X compliant (no MD5)
Opt-in for iRODS 5. Default for iRODS 6. native removed in iRODS 7.
irods authentication - Usage and Password Management

- Use password to get session token for authentication
- Users set "irods_authentication_scheme" to "irods"
- ~/.irods/.irods_secrets file holds returned session token
- Set user passwords as normal (no-scramble prevents MD5)
-
ipasswd --no-scramble
-
iadmin moduser alice password apass no-scramble
-
- irods auth passwords and tokens can be cleared
-
iadmin moduser alice remove_password
-
iadmin remove_session_tokens expired alice
-
- Script to clear legacy/native passwords packaged with 5.1.0
irods authentication - Grid Configurations

The following were added to the "authentication" namespace:
- password_hashing_parameters: JSON which configures KDF
- Key derivation "algorithm" (only scrypt supported)
- "parameters" are specific to the chosen algorithm
- scrypt: keylen, CPU/memory cost, block size, parallelization
- password_storage_mode: controls password-setting behavior
- "legacy" (default/native), "hashed" (irods), "both"
- token_lifetime_in_seconds: controls session timeouts (like TTL)
UGM 2026 - Technology Update (Alan)
By Alan King
UGM 2026 - Technology Update (Alan)
iRODS User Group Meeting 2026 - Technology Update (Alan)
- 11