How to decrypt Hash Password in Laravel? [SOLVED]


Laravel

Author: Steve Alila
Reviewer: Deepak Prasad

In Laravel, you can't "decrypt" hashed passwords due to the one-way nature of hashing algorithms such as Bcrypt and Argon2 used in Laravel's Hash facade. Hashing is specifically designed to be irreversible to protect sensitive data. Rather than decrypting, Laravel's built-in functions like Hash::check() are used to compare a plaintext password with its hashed version. When a user tries to log in, you take the plaintext password they submit, hash it, and compare it to the stored hash in your database. If the hashes match, the password is correct, even though you never actually "decrypted" the original hash. Remember, the purpose of hashing isn't to later retrieve the original data, but to check if the original data matches the hashed data. This is the security principle followed by Laravel and other secure systems.

 

Encryption vs Hashing

Hashing, used for storing passwords in Laravel, is a one-way function. It takes an input and returns a fixed-size string of bytes, typically a digest. It's impossible to retrieve the original input value from the hash output, making it suitable for password storage. When a user enters a password, it's hashed and compared to the stored hash. If they match, the password is correct. Laravel uses hashing algorithms like Bcrypt and Argon2, which also incorporate salts for added security.

On the other hand, encryption is a two-way function. It transforms data into another format in such a way that it can only be read if decrypted. Unlike hashing, encrypted data can be returned to its original form if you possess the correct decryption key. Encryption is used in Laravel to safely store and transmit sensitive data, like API tokens or personal information.

 

Hashing in Laravel

Hashing is the process of converting plain text into a fixed-length string of characters using a one-way mathematical algorithm. Hashing is a popular technique for securing passwords and other sensitive data in web applications because it is irreversible, meaning that the original data cannot be retrieved from the hash.

In Laravel, the Hash class provides a simple way to generate and compare hashes for passwords and other sensitive data. The Hash class uses the Bcrypt and Argon2 algorithms.

Bcrypt is a widely-used and highly secure hashing algorithm. It generates a random salt for each hash to prevent attackers from using precomputed hash tables to crack passwords.

On the other hand, Argon is a newer algorithm that was specifically designed to address some of the weaknesses of other password hashing algorithms. It uses a memory-hard function that makes it resistant to brute-force attacks using specialized hardware. It has built-in protection against side-channel attacks. Also, Argon2 can be customized to different threat models, making it a versatile algorithm for password storage.

To hash a password or other sensitive data in Laravel, you can use the make method of the Hash class:

$hashed = Hash::make('your_password');

The make method generates a hash for the input string and returns the hash as a string. You can then store the hashed string in your database or other storage medium.

How to decrypt Hash Password in Laravel? [SOLVED]

You can also use a helper function from bcrypt.

$hashed = bcrypt('your_password');

You can use the check method of the Hash class to verify a plaintext password against its hashed value.

if (Hash::check('your_password', $hashed)) {
    // Password is correct
} else {
    // Password is incorrect
}

The check method takes two arguments: the plain text input and the hashed value to compare against. If the input matches the hash, the method returns true; otherwise, it returns false.

Besides, you check if it is necessary to rehash a password using the needsRehash method.

if (Hash::needsRehash($hashed))
{
    $hashed = Hash::make('your_password');
}

Although hashing is an effective technique for securing passwords and other sensitive data, it has limitations. Hashing is a one-way process, meaning that once data is hashed, it cannot be recovered in its original form. Therefore, you should use encryption instead to store data that needs to be decrypted later.

 

Use Hash::check() to check for password match

In Laravel, the Hash::check() function is used to compare a plain-text value against a hashed value to see if they match. This is often used in login processes, to check if the password entered by the user matches the hashed password stored in the database.

<?php

$password = 'user-password'; // this should be the password entered by the user

$hashedPassword = $user->password; // assuming $user is an instance of User model and 'password' is the hashed password stored in the database

if (Hash::check($password, $hashedPassword)) {
    // The passwords match...
    echo "The passwords match";
} else {
    // The passwords do not match...
    echo "The passwords do not match";
}

In this example, Hash::check() takes the plain-text password and the hashed password, hashes the plain-text password with the same salt used for the hashed password, and then compares them. If they match, it returns true, else it returns false.

 

Encryption in Laravel

Encryption is the process of converting plain text into a scrambled form using a mathematical algorithm and a secret key. Unlike hashing, encryption is reversible, meaning that the original data can be retrieved from the encrypted form using the secret key.

In Laravel, encryption is provided by the Illuminate\Support\Facades\Crypt facade. The facade provides an easy-to-use interface for encrypting and decrypting data. Laravel uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256 and AES-128) encryption algorithm.

AES is a widely-used and highly secure encryption algorithm. It encrypts data before assigning it a message encryption code (MAC). MAC ensures the underlying value does not get modified once encrypted.

 

Encryption

To encrypt data in Laravel, you can use Crypt class' encryptString method or encrypt function:

$encrypted_value = Crypt::encryptString($request->token)
$encrypted_password = Crypt::encrypt('your_password');

The encryptString method takes a string as an argument and returns an encrypted version of the string using the application's configured encryption key. We have called the method with the token value retrieved from the Request object.

The encrypt function takes a plain text input and returns an encrypted string. The encryption key used to encrypt the data is derived from the APP_KEY value in your .env file. If the APP_KEY value is changed, any encrypted data may become irrecoverable.

You must have set the key configuration option in the config/app.php file to use Laravel's encrypter. The key's value originates from the APP_KEY environment set in the .env file.

app key for hash laravel decrypt

You can generate the key's value using key:generate command.

php artisan key:generate

The command uses PHP's secure random bytes generator. The resulting key, generated during new installation, is unique for every Laravel application.

 

Decryption

To decrypt data in Laravel, you can use the Hash class' decryptString or decrypt methods.

$decrypted = Crypt::decryptString($encrypted_value);
$decrypted_password = Crypt::decrypt($encrypted_password);

The decryptString method takes an encrypted string as an argument and returns the original, decrypted value of the string using the application's configured encryption key. It throws an exception (Illuminate\Contracts\Encryption\DecryptException) if the value cannot be properly decrypted.

Similarly, the decrypt method takes an encrypted string and returns the decrypted plain text. If the input string is not a valid encrypted string or the decryption key is incorrect, the function will throw an exception.

How to decrypt Hash Password in Laravel? [SOLVED]

 

Conclusion

In Laravel, hashed passwords cannot be decrypted due to the one-way nature of hashing algorithms like Bcrypt and Argon2. Instead of decrypting, Laravel uses functions like Hash::check() to compare a plaintext password with a hashed version. Hashing is intended to protect sensitive data and is not designed to be reversible. Encryption, unlike hashing, is a two-way function where data can be returned to its original form using a decryption key. While hashing is used for password verification, encryption is used to maintain data confidentiality. The Hash::check() function is used to verify if the entered password, when hashed, matches the stored hashed password. The function returns true if they match and false if they don't, providing a secure method to verify user credentials without exposing sensitive password data.

This tutorial discussed two important methods that Laravel provides for hashing and encryption: the Hash class and the Crypt facade.

The Hash class provides a convenient API for generating secure hashes of passwords and other sensitive data. Laravel uses the bcrypt algorithm to generate these hashes, which are designed to be slow and computationally expensive to crack, making them more secure than simple plaintext passwords.

The Crypt facade, on the other hand, provides methods for encrypting and decrypting data using Laravel's built-in encryption features. This makes it easy to store and retrieve sensitive data in a secure manner, without having to worry about the complexities of encryption and decryption.

 

Further Reading

How to decrypt or view Hash Password in Laravel?
How to decrypt Hash Password in Laravel - php

 

Steve Alila

Steve Alila

He specializes in web design, WordPress development, and data analysis, with proficiency in Python, JavaScript, and data extraction tools. Additionally, he excels in web API development, AI integration, and data presentation using Matplotlib and Plotly. You can connect with him on his LinkedIn profile.

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