SQLCipher 3.0.0 Release

2013-11-11 17:14:25 -0500

We're excited to announce that SQLCipher 3 is now available. This release includes several substantial improvements:

• New default key derivation iteration count of 64,000, a 16x PBKDF2 work factor increase over the previous version
• New PRAGMA cipher_migrate, a simple utility command to upgrade an existing 1.x or 2x. database in place
• New sqlite3_key_v2 and sqlite3_rekey_v2 functions to allow keying and rekeying of named databases
• New ATTACH behavior, requiring an explicit key to be passed for encrypted databases
• Extended Raw Key/Salt feature, making it possible to set both the encryption key and database salt via a raw key specification
• Based on SQLite 3.8.0.2, a recent stable release of SQLite

Detailed notes about the differences are available in the original SQLCipher 3 beta announcement post.

It's important to note that these key derivation changes enable a much higher level of security than previous versions though, by default, SQLCipher 3 will not open older database. To enable backwards-compatibility, it is possible to adjust settings at runtime or migrate older databases:

1. To open an older database using SQLCipher 3, set the KDF iterations back to the old value of 4000 using PRAGMA kdf_iter = 4000
2. To attach and export data to a new database, use the sqlcipher_export() convenience function
3. To migrate and upgrade an existing database in place, use the new PRAGMA cipher_migrate feature

Finally, as a result of the increased key derivation count, users may notice that opening and keying a database takes longer in SQLCipher 3 than with previous release. Noticeable performance issues can almost always be avoided by ensuring that applications do not frequently open and close connections. That said, while we strongly recommend using the new default KDF settings, it is possible to set the default back to 4,000 iterations before any databases are open by calling the global PRAGMA cipher_default_kdf_iter = 4000; before invoking the SQLCipher library.

The latest source code can be found in the official project repository, and SQLCipher Commercial Edition libraries are already available in the SQLCipher Store. Commercial edition customers with CipherCare may contact us with their original order number for details on how to download an update.

Please take a look, try out the new library changes, and let us know if you have any feedback. Thanks!