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From: "David A. Wheeler" <dwheeler AT dwheeler DOT com>
Reply-To: dwheeler AT dwheeler DOT com
To: "cygwin" <cygwin AT cygwin DOT com>
Subject: Cygwin website uses http: (not https:) for .exe downloads, allowing man-in-the-middle attack
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2015 17:31:38 -0500 (EST)
Message-Id: <E1YR6y2-0008G9-Gr@rmm6prod02.runbox.com>
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The Cygwin front web page ( https://www.cygwin.com/ ) says:
"Install it by running setup-x86.exe (32-bit installation) or setup-x86_64.exe (64-bit installation)."

However, both of the links to those .exe executables explicitly use "http://", and not "https://", even when you go to the https version of the Cygwin website.  This use of http: enables a man-in-the-middle attack on anyone trying to download the Cygwin installer.  In particular, a man-in-the-middle could maliciously modify the .exe, and there are many programs that can automatically insert malicious code into a Windows .exe file.

Please fix those links to use "https:", and not "http:".

You might also want to enable "HTTP Strict Transport Security" (HSTS) on the Cygwin website.

--- David A. Wheeler

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