> So are you saying that if I had libopenssl (or whatever the name is)
> installed and linked with Python, it would bypass the use of _md5 and
> _sha1, and call the hash functions in libopenssl instead?

Correct. Those modules aren't even built then. See openssl_ver in setup.py.

> And all the buildbots _do_ have it linked?

Most of them, yes, to be able to test openssl. You would have to check
each one individually to really know.

> That would indicate that the bots _aren't_ testing the code in _md5 and
> _sha1 at all. Perhaps one should be made to?

Perhaps. However, the buildbots can't test all combinations, anyway.
People will report problems in other combinations quickly. Hopefully,
they don't panic when they encounter a bug that only shows up on their
system.