Masterkey

Abstract

1. Introduction

masterkey is a simple, secure password manager written in Go. It uses xchacha20poly1305 for authenticated encryption and argon2id for key derivation. It stores credentials given a location, where each credential is represented by a Username and a Password. Locations, Usernames, and Passwords are always encrypted using a argon2id key derived from the input passphrase. Unlike password-store and a few other password managers, an attacker with access to the encrypted database can not discern exactly how many passwords are stored, the labels (locations) for the passwords, or the usernames associated with the passwords.

2. Objective

secure interactive password manager with xchacha20poly1305, argon2id, and Go

This project demonstrates how Go can be applied to a real-world Cybersecurity & Ethical Hacking problem.

4. Technology Stack

5. System Requirements

General requirements for this technology stack — check the README for exact versions.

• Go 1.20 or later
• Git (to clone the repository)

6. Installation & Setup

git clone https://github.com/avahowell/masterkey.git
cd masterkey

Full setup instructions are in the project README.

7. Future Enhancements

Suggested extensions you can add to make this your own project.

• Add logging and alert notifications (email / Telegram)
• Write a threat model document for the tool
• Package it with Docker for safe lab testing

8. Viva / Review Questions

Common questions examiners ask for projects in this domain.

1. Which threat or attack does this project defend against?
2. What detection or protection technique is used and what are its limits?
3. How are false positives and false negatives handled?
4. Which cryptographic algorithms or security standards are involved?
5. What legal and ethical rules apply when testing a tool like this?

9. Source Code & License

This project is developed by avahowell and published on GitHub under the Apache License 2.0. Please follow the license terms and credit the original author when you use or modify this code.