wp_hash( string $data, string $scheme = 'auth', string $algo = 'md5' ): string
- Since
- 2.0.3, 6.8.0
- Source
wp-includes/pluggable.php:2713
Description
The default algorithm is md5 but can be changed to any algorithm supported by hash_hmac(). Use the hash_hmac_algos() function to check the supported algorithms.
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 6.8.0
- PHP
- 7.4–8.6-dev
- 6.7.7
- 6.8.8
- 6.9.7
- 7.0.4
- 7.1.0
Present in every tracked release (6.7.7 to 7.1.0), and compiles on PHP 7.4 through 8.6-dev.
Parameters
$datastring- Plain text to hash.
$schemestringoptional- Authentication scheme (auth, secure_auth, logged_in, nonce).Default:
'auth' $algostringoptional- Hashing algorithm to use. Default: 'md5'.Default:
'md5'
Return value
string- Hash of $data.
Performance profile
How much work a call to wp_hash() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.
- Cost class
- Moderate
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 15–21
- Plugin surface
- None
- Called by
- 11
Reads stored settings via get_site_option(), cached per request but not free on a cold cache.
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 27.
Nothing here hands control to plugin code.
11 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What it touches
- hookthird-party callbacks
apply_filters()one call below wp_hash() - optionnetwork option
get_site_option()one call below wp_hash()
Further down the call graph this can also reach cache, serialize, transient and query. Those are the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.
What one call costs · 2 distinct outcomes
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost wp_hash() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
$algo | 15 | wp_salt(), hash_hmac() |
!$algo | 21 | wp_salt(), __(), sprintf() |
Across PHP versions
| PHP | Compiled | Executed | Branches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6-dev | 27 | 15–21 | 1 | |
| 8.5 | 27 | 15–21 | 1 | |
| 8.4 | 27 | 15–21 | 1 | 4 fewer instructions than PHP 8.3 |
| 8.3 | 31 | 19–25 | 1 | 8 fewer instructions than PHP 8.2 |
| 8.2 | 39 | 21–33 | 1 | |
| 8.1 | 39 | 21–33 | 1 | |
| 7.4 | 39 | 21–33 | 1 |
An instruction is not a fixed amount of time, so a matching count is not necessarily the same speed; what it rules out is a difference in the work itself.
Uses · 3
Used by · 11
- WP_Customize_Nav_Menus::hash_nav_menu_args()Hashes (hmac) the nav menu arguments to ensure they are not tampered with when submitted in the Ajax request.
- WP_Customize_Widgets::get_instance_hash_key()Retrieves MAC for a serialized widget instance string.
- WP_REST_Widget_Types_Controller::encode_form_data()An RPC-style endpoint which can be used by clients to turn user input in a widget admin form into an encoded instance object.
- WP_REST_Widgets_Controller::prepare_item_for_response()Prepares the widget for the REST response.
- WP_REST_Widgets_Controller::save_widget()Saves the widget in the request object.
- render_block_core_legacy_widget()Renders the 'core/legacy-widget' block.
- wp_create_nonce()Creates a cryptographic token tied to a specific action, user, user session, and window of time.
- wp_generate_auth_cookie()Generates authentication cookie contents.
- wp_get_unapproved_comment_author_email()Gets unapproved comment author's email.
- wp_validate_auth_cookie()Validates authentication cookie.
- wp_verify_nonce()Verifies that a correct security nonce was used with time limit.
Source code
function wp_hash( $data, $scheme = 'auth', $algo = 'md5' ) { $salt = wp_salt( $scheme ); // Ensure the algorithm is supported by the hash_hmac function. if ( ! in_array( $algo, hash_hmac_algos(), true ) ) { throw new InvalidArgumentException( sprintf( /* translators: 1: Name of a cryptographic hash algorithm. 2: List of supported algorithms. */ __( 'Unsupported hashing algorithm: %1$s. Supported algorithms are: %2$s' ), $algo, implode( ', ', hash_hmac_algos() ) ) ); } return hash_hmac( $algo, $data, $salt ); }Changelog
Introduced in 2.0.3. One change between 6.7.7 and 7.1.0.
Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.
$algo added.verified against source$algo parameter was added.from the docblockAbout this page
- Parsed data
- Generated from the wordpress-develop 6.9.7 tag, from
src/wp-includes/pluggable.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it. - Corrections
- Something wrong on this page? Report it and it gets fixed in the next regeneration.