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constant-time
A coding discipline where execution timing never varies based on secret data.
Constant-time programming avoids branches, memory accesses, or early exits that depend on secret bytes, because any such variation can leak the secret through timing. It is a discipline applied consistently across a security library rather than a one-off fix. The practical payoff is that an attacker with a stopwatch learns nothing.
See also
- constant-time equalA comparison that checks whether two secret values match without stopping early on the first difference.
- blindingA trick where a secret operation is scrambled with a random value first, so its timing or power use reveals nothing about the secret.
Referenced by
blinding · ChaCha20-Poly1305 · constant time · constant-time equal · CSPRNG