Mark Cox
VP Security at Apache Software Foundation
United Kingdom
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolMark Cox is a veteran open source security leader with over 30 years of experience shaping the backbone of the web, from co-founding the Apache Software Foundation to founding and steering the OpenSSL project. As VP Security at Apache and long-time head of Red Hat’s product security team, he blends deep hands-on cryptographic engineering (notably core OpenSSL BN fixes and mitigations for PKCS #1 v1.5 attacks) with strategic vulnerability response and CVE stewardship. He has repeatedly led cross-industry initiatives—serving on the CVE Program board and the OpenSSF governing board—to improve how open source software is secured and coordinated. Based in Scotland, Mark is also an active maker and community evangelist who brings a practitioner’s curiosity (and occasional cosplay) to hard security problems. His PhD in Internet Security underpins a rare mix of academic rigor and decades of production engineering.
30 years of coding experience
29 years of employment as a software developer
Sinfin Community SchoolDoctor of Philosophy (PhD) Internet Security, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Internet Security at University of Bradford
Github Skills (17)
ssl10
tls1210
decryption10
c1110
tls1310
c1710
security10
mtls10
openssl10
cryptography10
libtls10
apache-http-server10
encryption10
rsa9
http9
Programming languages (13)
Github contributions (5)
apache/httpd
Mar 1996 - Oct 2012
Mirror of Apache HTTP Server. Issues: http://issues.apache.org
Role in this project:
Backend Developer
Backend DeveloperContributions:151 commits in 16 years 10 months
Contributions summary:Mark contributed to the Apache HTTP Server project by modifying documentation, adding modules, and fixing security vulnerabilities. They added and updated module documentation, and added new functionality. The user fixed a security flaw in the `mod_rewrite` module, demonstrating an understanding of security practices and the codebase. The user's work also extended to general configuration and installation documentation.
apache-httpapacheapache-http-serverhttpdhtaccess
openssl/openssl
Mar 2018 - Jul 2022
TLS/SSL and crypto library
Role in this project:Back-end Developer / Security Engineer
Back-end Developer / Security EngineerContributions:4 PRs, 45 comments, 5 issues in 4 years 5 months
Contributions summary:Mark primarily contributed to the OpenSSL library, focusing on bug fixes and improvements to core cryptographic functions. Their work involved addressing issues within the BN (BIGNUM) code, which directly impacts certificate verification and other essential operations. The user's commits also incorporated new functions to enhance security, particularly addressing vulnerabilities like PKCS #1 v1.5 signature attacks and buffer overflows, and they also included changes to the compression code and version handling.
crypto-librarycryptographyssltlscrypto
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