Maya Secure User Setup Checksum Verification

Keeping a trail of what scripts were initialized during startup.

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MAYA SECURE SETUP CHECKLIST

If you are interested, I can expand on this topic. I can write a to sanitize environment variables before launch, or provide code to cryptographically sign the manifest file using the cryptography Python library. Let me know how you would like to proceed. maya secure user setup checksum verification

Ensuring only administrators can modify startup scripts.

: Set Maya to restrict script execution from non-standard directories.

Set network-hosted script directories and manifest files to read-only for general studio users. Only your deployment pipeline or Pipeline Administrator should have write access. Keeping a trail of what scripts were initialized

To ensure a secure setup, practitioners should follow these steps: Enable the Security Tool : Download the official Security Tools for Autodesk Maya and ensure MayaScanner.py MayaScannerCB.py are set to in the Plug-in Manager. Regular Verification : Manually check the contents of your userSetup.py file located in your local documents folder (e.g., Documents/maya/[version]/scripts ) to ensure no suspicious statements or obfuscated code have been added. Use Preferences

Ensuring Integrity: A Comprehensive Guide to Maya Secure User Setup and Checksum Verification

). When you open an infected scene, it may attempt to inject code into your startup scripts to spread to other files or corrupt your installation. For maximum protection, it is recommended to keep this feature enabled and use the official Security Tools for Autodesk Maya to scan for known threats. Are you seeing this checksum alert Let me know how you would like to proceed

import os import sys import hashlib from maya import utils # Configuration TARGET_SCRIPT = "/path/to/pipeline_environment.py" EXPECTED_HASH = "INSERT_YOUR_GENERATED_HASH_HERE" def verify_and_execute(): # 1. Check if the target initialization script exists if not os.path.exists(TARGET_SCRIPT): raise FileNotFoundError(f"Security Error: Critical setup script missing at TARGET_SCRIPT") # 2. Calculate the current checksum of the file sha256_hash = hashlib.sha256() with open(TARGET_SCRIPT, "rb") as f: for byte_block in iter(lambda: f.read(4096), b""): sha256_hash.update(byte_block) current_hash = sha256_hash.hexdigest() # 3. Verify integrity if current_hash != EXPECTED_HASH: # Halt execution to protect the pipeline raise PermissionError( f"SECURITY ALERT: Checksum mismatch on TARGET_SCRIPT!\n" f"Expected: EXPECTED_HASH\n" f"Received: current_hash\n" "Execution halted. Potential script tampering detected." ) # 4. Safely execute the verified script if hashes match print("[Security] Checksum verification passed. Loading environment...") exec(open(TARGET_SCRIPT).read(), globals()) # Execute via Maya's idle queue to ensure the UI and core systems are ready utils.executeDeferred(verify_and_execute) Use code with caution. Studio-Level Scaling: Centralized Manifests

Before understanding checksum verification, one must grasp the "Secure User Setup" (SUS) environment. Unlike a standard login flow, SUS refers to the first-time registration or credential reset phase on a new device. This includes:

Malicious scripts disguised as legitimate tools can inject code into a user’s local userSetup.py . The next time Maya boots, the code runs without user intervention or visibility.

Whether you launch Maya through a (like ShotGrid/Flow, Rez, or a custom wrapper)

This article outlines how to enable and enforce checksum-based integrity checks during Maya Secure user creation and modification.