Maya Secure User Setup Checksum Verification [new]

To create a new user with automatic checksum verification:

If you find these alerts frequent or intrusive, you can manage the security settings through the Maya interface: Access Preferences Windows > Settings/Preferences > Preferences Security Tab : Navigate to the section on the left sidebar. Disable/Enable : Uncheck the box for "Read and execute 'userSetup' scripts"

Malicious files, plugins, or downloaded 3D scenes can silently drop unauthorized userSetup.py or userSetup.mel files into local script directories. Because Maya runs these files automatically without user intervention, an attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution, compromise local assets, or infect the broader studio network. Step 1: Enforcing a Secure User Setup maya secure user setup checksum verification

Beyond code adjustments, you must configure Maya's internal security preferences to prevent malicious scene files from executing embedded script nodes. 1. Enable Native Script Node Security

To implement this security layer, navigate to Windows > Settings/Preferences > Preferences and then to the Security category. Under the section, locate the following settings: To create a new user with automatic checksum

Checksum verification uses cryptographic hash functions (such as SHA-256) to generate a unique, fixed-size string of characters representing the exact contents of a file.

def verify_checksum(file_path, expected_hash): sha256 = hashlib.sha256() with open(file_path, 'rb') as f: for block in iter(lambda: f.read(4096), b''): sha256.update(block) computed_hash = sha256.hexdigest() return computed_hash == expected_hash Step 1: Enforcing a Secure User Setup Beyond

First, write your production initialization script and save it to a secure network location (e.g., /net/pipeline/prod/userSetup_core.py ). Use Python's built-in hashlib library to generate its SHA-256 signature.