wrong md5 checksum

[kkwweett]

Hi,

the download page (http://www.python.org/download/releases/3.0/) for
Python 3000 shows :

9119625244b17aa 35ed94b655a2b21 35 13491200 python-3.0b1.msi

but I got

9119625244a57aa 35ed94b655a2b21 35 13491200 python-3.0b1.msi

(44a57 rather than 44b17 )

with several md5 checkers ( MdChecker (http://getmd5checker.com/) or a C
prog I've written)

what's wrong ?

[kkwweett]

Re: wrong md5 checksum

kkwweett a écrit :

Hi,
>
the download page (http://www.python.org/download/releases/3.0/) for
Python 3000 shows :
>
9119625244b17aa 35ed94b655a2b21 35 13491200 python-3.0b1.msi
>
but I got
>
9119625244a57aa 35ed94b655a2b21 35 13491200 python-3.0b1.msi
>
(44a57 rather than 44b17 )
>
with several md5 checkers ( MdChecker (http://getmd5checker.com/) or a C
prog I've written)

Wrong md5 checksum even with Python2.5 :


import md5
m=md5.new()
message=open("p ython-3.0b1.msi","rb" ).read()
m.update(messag e)
m.hexdigest()

Answer : '9119625244a57a a35ed94b655a2b2 135'


Does anyone know what can be done to decide wether the file is corrupted
or the checksum given is wrong ?

[Peter Pearson]

Re: wrong md5 checksum

On Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:54:05 +0200, kkwweett <kkwweett@hotma il.frwrote:

kkwweett a écrit :

>Hi,
>>
>the download page (http://www.python.org/download/releases/3.0/) for
>Python 3000 shows :
>>
>9119625244b17a a35ed94b655a2b2 135 13491200 python-3.0b1.msi
>>
>but I got
>>
>9119625244a57a a35ed94b655a2b2 135 13491200 python-3.0b1.msi
>>
>(44a57 rather than 44b17 )
>>

[snip]

Does anyone know what can be done to decide wether the file is corrupted
or the checksum given is wrong ?

For what it's worth, md5sum (GNU coreutils) 5.93 agrees with
your result.

This interesting almost-agreement could result from

A. an error in the software that computed the value for the web page,
B. a transcription error in putting the checksum on the web page,
C. accidental corruption of the file, or
D. a deliberate attempt to substitute a file with a similar MD5 sum.

Possibility C is unlikely, but would be the most exciting
development in cryptology this year. If C turns out to be the
explanation, I hope someone will make sure sci.crypt gets told.
Possibility D would be awfully interesting, too.

--
To email me, substitute nowhere->spamcop, invalid->net.

[kkwweett]

Re: wrong md5 checksum

>
A. an error in the software that computed the value for the web page,
B. a transcription error in putting the checksum on the web page,
C. accidental corruption of the file, or
D. a deliberate attempt to substitute a file with a similar MD5 sum.
>

It seems that the answer is probably B. But, according to the release
website manager, a mystery remains :

http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-3000/2008-July/014281.html

[Terry Reedy]

Re: wrong md5 checksum



kkwweett wrote:

>

>>
> A. an error in the software that computed the value for the web page,
> B. a transcription error in putting the checksum on the web page,
> C. accidental corruption of the file, or
> D. a deliberate attempt to substitute a file with a similar MD5 sum.
>>

>
It seems that the answer is probably B. But, according to the release
website manager, a mystery remains :
>
http://mail.python.org/pipermail/pyt...ly/014281.html

Marcin Kowalczyk pointed out in a follow-up to the above that the
replacement of 'a5' with 'b1' could have been part of a global
search/replace that would have been correct everywhere else on the page.
Thus case C. Barry remembers doing some such.

Lesson. Take care with blind global replacements.