[tor-bugs] #26431 [Core Tor/Stem]: Document a threat model for stem.client

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#26431: Document a threat model for stem.client
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     Reporter:  dmr            |      Owner:  atagar
         Type:  task           |     Status:  new
     Priority:  Medium         |  Milestone:
    Component:  Core Tor/Stem  |    Version:
     Severity:  Normal         |   Keywords:  client website
Actual Points:                 |  Parent ID:
       Points:                 |   Reviewer:
      Sponsor:                 |
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 It would be beneficial to document the threat model that `stem.client` is
 trying to meet (and thereby, probably some of the use cases envisioned for
 `stem.client`).

 From a network-fingerprint sense, it is unlikely that `stem.client` could
 ever match the fingerprint that little-t `tor` does, since `stem.client`
 is a pure-Python implementation. Some side-channel behavior in particular
 is likely to be extremely difficult to align, and different Python
 implementations would make this even harder.

 But how close should `stem.client` come, how closely should it track to
 `tor` development, and what should it take into account?

 Some of this discussion //may// ripple into updating the
 [[https://gitweb.torproject.org/torspec.git/tree/tor-spec.txt|tor-spec]]
 with some `SHOULD` statements.

 In general, it's important to document the threat model so that consumers
 of `stem.client` can know what to expect, and whether they should use
 `tor` in a controlled fashion instead.

 This threat model should become a living document that is maintained.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/26431>
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