png-parser 0.1.70

High-performance Rust-powered tool to inspect, strip metadata, and hide messages in PNG files.

PNG Parser (WASM & Python)

A high-performance PNG steganography and parsing engine written in Rust. Securely hide, read, and manage encrypted messages within PNG files using a unified core available for both JavaScript (WebAssembly) and Python.

📦 Available Packages

Platform	Installation	Status
JS / WASM	npm i @pranjalpanging/png-parser	✅ Published
Python	pip install png-parser	✅ Published

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✨ Features

• Zero-Overwrite Steganography: Uses custom stEg ancillary chunks that don't affect image pixels or quality.
• Optional AES-256-GCM Encryption: Secure your messages with industrial-grade encryption (PBKDF2 key derivation).
• Automatic Detection: Smart logic automatically detects if a message is plain text or encrypted during reading.
• Blazing Fast: Core logic implemented in Rust for maximum speed and memory safety.
• Valid PNG Structure: Files remain 100% compliant with PNG standards and open in any standard viewer.

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🐍 Python Usage

1. Hiding a Message

You can hide a message as plain text or encrypt it by simply providing a password.

import png_parser

# Option A: Simple hiding (Plain Text)
png_parser.hide("input.png", "Hello World")

# Option B: Secure hiding (AES-256-GCM Encryption)
png_parser.hide("input.png", "Top Secret Data", password="my_secure_password")

2. Reading a Message

Extract the hidden data from the image.The parser detects the encryption flag. If you try to read an encrypted message without a password, it will return an error.

import png_parser

# Decrypting an encrypted message
secret = png_parser.read("input.png", password="my_secure_password")
print(f"Decoded: {secret}")

# Reading a plain text message
plain = png_parser.read("input.png")
print(f"Decoded: {plain}")

3. Deleting the Secret

Remove the hidden chunks and restore the PNG to its original state.

import png_parser

status = png_parser.delete("my_image.png")
print(status)

🛠 Technical Details

The tool manipulates the PNG Chunk Layer. Every PNG starts with an 8-byte signature, followed by chunks like IHDR, IDAT, and IEND.

Security Protocol:

1. Ancillary Chunk: We insert a non-critical chunk (stEg). Per PNG spec, viewers skip chunks they don't recognize.
2. Security Flag: The first byte of the chunk payload is a flag:

• 0x00: Plain-text UTF-8 data.
• 0x01: AES-GCM Payload (16-byte Salt + 12-byte Nonce + Ciphertext).

3. Key Derivation: We use PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 100,000 iterations to derive keys from passwords, providing strong resistance against brute-force attacks.

🏗 Development

To build this project from source:

• Rust (Cargo)
• Maturin (for Python: pip install maturin)
• wasm-pack (for JS: npm install -g wasm-pack)

Build Python:

maturin develop

Build WASM:

wasm-pack build --target web

Pranjal Panging

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License