I want to generate some tokens for client as http cookie
can I md5 them with salt and then use "<random token>"+"<md5>" as the token for they
can be verified in a cheap way
is it safe?
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What you're referring to is a message authentication code, or MAC. In general, you should avoid using Merkle-Dåmgard hash functions (such as MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-2) with a salt or key as a MAC because of length extension attacks, among others.
If you need to generate a MAC of data like this, you should use HMAC with a secure hash function (e.g., SHA-256), KMAC (related to SHA-3), or BLAKE2 with its keyed mode. If you're not sure what to do, HMAC-SHA-256 is a fine default.
While using MD5 or SHA-1 with HMAC to secure a message doesn't have known practical attacks, there is no good reason to use either MD5 or SHA-1 in a new design, and you should avoid them altogether for any purpose.
