Informational 15 Bitcoin Committed Oct 26, 2025 · 10:01 UTC

external/libsodium: remove

f3b227f8 View source ↗

Public commit record

What the developer wrote

Authored by Rusty Russell

70/100 · Adequate

external/libsodium: remove

We shipped our own because Ubuntu xenial (16.4) had an ancient one.

Changelog-Changed: Build: libsodium version >= 1.0.4 now required (released 2015-06-11)
Signed-off-by: Rusty Russell <rusty@rustcorp.com.au>

✓ Descriptive subject✓ Provides detailed explanatory context✓ Explains rationale or failure mode

The short version

What changed, and why it matters

This commit removes the bundled copy of the libsodium encryption library that Core Lightning previously shipped. Instead of building its own copy, the project now requires the operating system to provide libsodium version 1.0.4 or newer. This is a routine build-system cleanup, not a security fix or vulnerability.

Recommended action

No security action required. Ensure build environments install libsodium >= 1.0.4 as now documented.

Security signals we found

No strong security signals were identified.

Technical analysis

Evidence from the diff

The patch deletes the external/libsodium submodule, removes libsodium from the external build system, and updates CI and documentation to install the system libsodium-dev/libsodium package. configure now enforces HAVE_GOOD_LIBSODIUM=1 at configuration time, failing the build if a suitable system library is absent. No cryptographic code, APIs, or behavior changes are present in the diff.

Changed components

build system (configure, external/Makefile)CI workflows (.github/scripts/setup.sh, .github/workflows/bsd.yml, .github/workflows/macos.yaml)documentationexternal/libsodium submodule removal

Inspect captured patch +11 / −27

diff --git a/.github/scripts/setup.sh b/.github/scripts/setup.sh
index bc8cec9d..1e074763 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/setup.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/setup.sh
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ sudo apt-get -qq install --no-install-recommends --allow-unauthenticated -yy \
      libicu-dev \
      libpq-dev \
      libprotobuf-c-dev \
+     libsodium-dev \
      libsqlite3-dev \
      libssl-dev \
      libtool \
diff --git a/.github/workflows/bsd.yml b/.github/workflows/bsd.yml
index 630bed94..773cd325 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bsd.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bsd.yml
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ jobs:
             bash \
             gettext \
             sqlite3 \
+            libsodium \
             lowdown \
             pkgconf \
             jq \
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ jobs:
           git clone https://github.com/lightning/bolts.git ../bolts
           # fatal: unsafe repository ('/Users/runner/work/lightning/lightning' is owned by someone else)
           git config --global --add safe.directory `pwd`
-          for d in libsodium libwally-core gheap jsmn libbacktrace; do git config --global --add safe.directory `pwd`/external/$d; done
+          for d in libwally-core gheap jsmn libbacktrace; do git config --global --add safe.directory `pwd`/external/$d; done
           git submodule update --init --recursive
 
           ./configure CC="$CC" --disable-valgrind
diff --git a/.github/workflows/macos.yaml b/.github/workflows/macos.yaml
index 560e5674..71ca8e9d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/macos.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/macos.yaml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           export PATH="/usr/local/opt:/Users/runner/.local/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin/python3.10/bin:$PATH"
 
-          brew install gnu-sed autoconf automake libtool protobuf openssl lowdown
+          brew install gnu-sed autoconf automake libtool protobuf openssl lowdown libsodium
 
           # https://github.com/grpc/grpc/issues/31737#issuecomment-1323796842
           export GRPC_PYTHON_BUILD_SYSTEM_OPENSSL=1
diff --git a/.gitmodules b/.gitmodules
index a23dfd76..734acd9e 100644
--- a/.gitmodules
+++ b/.gitmodules
@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
 [submodule "daemon/jsmn"]
 	path = external/jsmn
 	url = https://github.com/zserge/jsmn
-[submodule "libsodium"]
-	path = external/libsodium
-	url = https://github.com/jedisct1/libsodium.git
 [submodule "external/libbacktrace"]
 	path = external/libbacktrace
 	url = https://github.com/ianlancetaylor/libbacktrace.git
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 0195172d..f69dc157 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -629,6 +629,11 @@ while IFS='=' read VAR VAL; do
     eval $VAR=\"$VAL\"
 done < $CONFIG_VAR_FILE.$$
 
+if [ "$HAVE_GOOD_LIBSODIUM" != 1 ]; then
+    echo "*** We need a libsodium >= 1.0.4 (released 2015-06-11)." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 if [ "$HAVE_SQLITE3" = 0 -a "$HAVE_POSTGRES" = 0 ]; then
     # I have no database yet I must schema!)
     echo "*** We need a database, but neither sqlite3 nor postgres found" >&2
diff --git a/doc/contribute-to-core-lightning/contribute-to-core-lightning.md b/doc/contribute-to-core-lightning/contribute-to-core-lightning.md
index 5e83adc3..0c5d2320 100644
--- a/doc/contribute-to-core-lightning/contribute-to-core-lightning.md
+++ b/doc/contribute-to-core-lightning/contribute-to-core-lightning.md
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ Here's a list of parts, with notes:
 
 - external/ - external libraries from other sources
   - libbacktrace - library to provide backtraces when things go wrong.
-  - libsodium - encryption library (should be replaced soon with built-in)
   - libwally-core - bitcoin helper library
   - secp256k1 - bitcoin curve encryption library within libwally-core
   - jsmn - tiny JSON parsing helper
diff --git a/doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md b/doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md
index 45974315..dfc064f0 100644
--- a/doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md
+++ b/doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ lightningd --network=testnet
 OS version: FreeBSD 11.1-RELEASE or above
 
 ```shell
-pkg install git python py39-pip gmake libtool gmp sqlite3 postgresql13-client gettext autotools lowdown
+pkg install git python py39-pip gmake libtool gmp sqlite3 postgresql13-client gettext autotools lowdown libsodium
 https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning.git
 pip install --upgrade pip
 pip3 install mako
diff --git a/external/Makefile b/external/Makefile
index 311c94bc..839cbac2 100644
--- a/external/Makefile
+++ b/external/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 SUBMODULES =					\
-	external/libsodium			\
 	external/libwally-core			\
 	external/gheap				\
 	external/jsmn				\
@@ -13,7 +12,6 @@ else
 TARGET_DIR := external/build-$(shell ${CC} -dumpmachine)
 endif
 
-LIBSODIUM_HEADERS := external/libsodium/src/libsodium/include/sodium.h
 LIBWALLY_HEADERS := external/libwally-core/include/wally_bip32.h		\
 			external/libwally-core/include/wally_core.h	\
 			external/libwally-core/include/wally_psbt.h	\
@@ -25,7 +23,7 @@ JSMN_HEADERS := external/jsmn/jsmn.h
 GHEAP_HEADERS := external/gheap/gheap.h
 LIBBACKTRACE_HEADERS := external/libbacktrace/backtrace.h
 
-EXTERNAL_HEADERS := $(LIBSODIUM_HEADERS) $(LIBWALLY_HEADERS) $(LIBSECP_HEADERS) $(JSMN_HEADERS) $(GHEAP_HEADERS) $(LIBBACKTRACE_HEADERS)
+EXTERNAL_HEADERS := $(LIBWALLY_HEADERS) $(LIBSECP_HEADERS) $(JSMN_HEADERS) $(GHEAP_HEADERS) $(LIBBACKTRACE_HEADERS)
 EXTERNAL_LIBS := ${TARGET_DIR}/libwallycore.a ${TARGET_DIR}/libsecp256k1.a ${TARGET_DIR}/libjsmn.a ${TARGET_DIR}/libbacktrace.a
 
 EXTERNAL_INCLUDE_FLAGS :=					\
@@ -36,14 +34,7 @@ EXTERNAL_INCLUDE_FLAGS :=					\
 	-I external/gheap/					\
 	-I ${TARGET_DIR}/libbacktrace-build
 
-ifneq ($(HAVE_GOOD_LIBSODIUM),1)
-EXTERNAL_INCLUDE_FLAGS += -I external/libsodium/src/libsodium/include \
-			  -I external/libsodium/src/libsodium/include/sodium \
-			  -I $(TARGET_DIR)/libsodium-build/src/libsodium/include
-EXTERNAL_LIBS += ${TARGET_DIR}/libsodium.a
-else
 LDLIBS += $(SODIUM_LDLIBS)
-endif
 
 ifeq ($(HAVE_ZLIB),1)
 LDLIBS += -lz
@@ -59,15 +50,6 @@ endif
 
 $(EXTERNAL_HEADERS): submodcheck
 
-# We build libsodium, since Ubuntu xenial has one too old.
-$(TARGET_DIR)/libsodium.a: $(TARGET_DIR)/libsodium-build/src/libsodium/libsodium.la
-	$(MAKE) -C $(TARGET_DIR)/libsodium-build DESTDIR=$$(pwd)/$(TARGET_DIR) install-exec
-
-$(TARGET_DIR)/libsodium-build/src/libsodium/libsodium.la: external/libsodium/src/libsodium/include/sodium.h
-	cd external/libsodium && ./autogen.sh
-	mkdir -p ${TARGET_DIR}/libsodium-build
-	cd $(TARGET_DIR)/libsodium-build && $(TOP)/libsodium/configure CC="$(CC)" CFLAGS="$(FUZZFLAGS)" LDFLAGS="$(FUZZFLAGS)" --enable-static=yes $(CROSSCOMPILE_OPTS) --enable-shared=no --prefix=/ --libdir=/ && $(MAKE)
-
 # libsecp included in libwally.
 # Wildcards here are magic.  See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2973445/gnu-makefile-rule-generating-a-few-targets-from-a-single-source-file
 $(TARGET_DIR)/libsecp256k1.% $(TARGET_DIR)/libwallycore.%: $(TARGET_DIR)/libwally-core-build/src/secp256k1/libsecp256k1.la $(TARGET_DIR)/libwally-core-build/src/libwallycore.la
@@ -117,6 +99,5 @@ external-clean:
 	$(RM) -rf $(TARGET_DIR)
 
 external-distclean:
-	make -C external/libsodium distclean || true
 	$(RM) -rf ${TARGET_DIR}/libbacktrace-build ${TARGET_DIR}/libsodium-build ${TARGET_DIR}/libwally-core-build ${TARGET_DIR}/jsmn-build
 	$(RM) -r `git status --ignored --porcelain external/libwally-core | grep '^!! ' | cut -c3-`

Risk score

Why this scored 15/100

Our methodology →

Potential impact 0/30

Exploitability 0/25

Stealth signal 0/15

Affected reach 0/15

Confidence 10/10

Evidence quality 5/5

Human-validated context

Community notes

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What the developer wrote

What changed, and why it matters

Security signals we found

Evidence from the diff

Changed components

Why this scored 15/100

Community notes

Related watches

Revert "doc: require Homebrew GNU make and gpatch on macOS"

Revert "tests: drop obsolete x-prefix in compacter-slow.sh"

doc: require Homebrew GNU make and gpatch on macOS