New submission from Gregory P. Smith <g...@krypto.org>:

The announcement email list 
(https://mail.python.org/archives/list/python-announce-l...@python.org/) and 
other places we make announcements beyond just the release pages like 
https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-3101/ should include a list of 
sha256 hashes of the release binaries in the announcement text.

This serves as an alternative confirmation that nothing has changed as such 
announcements are widely distributed and archived by independent parties and 
individuals and can thus convey a level of trust that a hash listed on the 
downloads page cannot (where an attacker would simply modify both).

Yes there is a gpg signature on the downloads. I encourage people to use that.  
But this provides an alternate distributed mechanism to verify that nothing has 
changed at all since the release announcement.  Something a gpg signature 
cannot fully do (consider this protection against the possibility of new signed 
binary being put into its place by a compromised key/signer/builder/RM before 
anyone happens to notice and poke around).

A simple table of:

filename.tar.gz | sha256 hash
filename.msi | sha256 hash
filename.dmg | sha256 hash
...

At the end of the announcement email/post would suffice.

Less of an issue on source packages as those can be verified against the git 
repo. But it's nice for people to know if binaries change without an 
announcement and explanation and is easy for us to provide.

Bonus points if the release announcement email body itself is signed (if that 
is even feasible per our release signing GPG key management).

[context: see recent python-dev subject: Python release announcement format]

----------
messages: 408579
nosy: gregory.p.smith
priority: deferred blocker
severity: normal
status: open
title: Include sha256 hashes of release downloads in announcement communications
versions: Python 3.10, Python 3.11, Python 3.9

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Python tracker <rep...@bugs.python.org>
<https://bugs.python.org/issue46077>
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