Use of ML-KEM in the Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)
draft-ietf-lamps-cms-kyber-13
| Document | Type | Active Internet-Draft (lamps WG) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | PRAT Julien , Mike Ounsworth , Daniel Van Geest | ||
| Last updated | 2025-09-23 | ||
| Replaces | draft-ietf-lamps-kyber | ||
| RFC stream | Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) | ||
| Intended RFC status | Proposed Standard | ||
| Formats | |||
| Reviews | |||
| Additional resources | Mailing list discussion | ||
| Stream | WG state | Submitted to IESG for Publication | |
| Document shepherd | Russ Housley | ||
| Shepherd write-up | Show Last changed 2025-04-22 | ||
| IESG | IESG state | RFC Ed Queue | |
| Action Holders |
(None)
|
||
| Consensus boilerplate | Yes | ||
| Telechat date | (None) | ||
| Responsible AD | Deb Cooley | ||
| Send notices to | housley@vigilsec.com | ||
| IANA | IANA review state | IANA OK - Actions Needed | |
| IANA expert review state | Expert Reviews OK | ||
| RFC Editor | RFC Editor state | EDIT | |
| Details |
draft-ietf-lamps-cms-kyber-13
LAMPS J. Prat
Internet-Draft CryptoNext Security
Intended status: Standards Track M. Ounsworth
Expires: 27 March 2026 Entrust
D. Van Geest
CryptoNext Security
23 September 2025
Use of ML-KEM in the Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)
draft-ietf-lamps-cms-kyber-13
Abstract
Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) is a
quantum-resistant key-encapsulation mechanism (KEM). Three parameter
sets for the ML-KEM algorithm are specified by the US National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in FIPS 203. In order
of increasing security strength (and decreasing performance), these
parameter sets are ML-KEM-512, ML-KEM-768, and ML-KEM-1024. This
document specifies the conventions for using ML-KEM with the
Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS) using the KEMRecipientInfo
structure defined in "Using Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM)
Algorithms in the Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)" (RFC 9629).
About This Document
This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.
Status information for this document may be found at
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-lamps-cms-kyber/.
Discussion of this document takes place on the Limited Additional
Mechanisms for PKIX and SMIME (lamps) Working Group mailing list
(mailto:spasm@ietf.org), which is archived at
https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/spasm/. Subscribe at
https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/spasm/.
Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
https://github.com/lamps-wg/cms-kyber.
Status of This Memo
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
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This Internet-Draft will expire on 27 March 2026.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2025 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
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Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1. Conventions and Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2. ML-KEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Use of the ML-KEM Algorithm in the CMS . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1. RecipientInfo Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2. Underlying Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.1. Use of the HKDF-based Key Derivation Function . . . . 6
2.3. Certificate Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.4. SMIME Capabilities Attribute Conventions . . . . . . . . 7
3. Identifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
7.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
7.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Appendix A. ASN.1 Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Appendix B. Parameter Set Security and Sizes . . . . . . . . . . 14
Appendix C. ML-KEM CMS Authenticated-Enveloped-Data Example . . 15
C.1. Originator CMS Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
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C.2. Recipient CMS Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1. Introduction
The Module Lattice Key Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) is an IND-
CCA2-secure Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM) standardized in
[FIPS203] by the NIST PQC Project [NIST-PQ]. ML-KEM is the name
given to the final standardized version and is incompatible with pre-
standards versions, often called "Kyber".
[RFC9629] defines the KEMRecipientInfo structure for the use of KEM
algorithms for the CMS enveloped-data content type, the CMS
authenticated-data content type, and the CMS authenticated-enveloped-
data content type. This document specifies the direct use of ML-KEM
in the KEMRecipientInfo structure using each of the three parameter
sets from [FIPS203], namely MK-KEM-512, ML-KEM-768, and ML-KEM-1024.
It does not address or preclude the use of ML-KEM as part of any
hybrid scheme.
1.1. Conventions and Terminology
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
"OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
BCP14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
capitals, as shown here.
1.2. ML-KEM
ML-KEM is a lattice-based key encapsulation mechanism using Module
Learning with Errors as its underlying primitive, which is a
structured lattices variant that offers good performance and
relatively small and balanced key and ciphertext sizes. ML-KEM was
standardized with three parameter sets: ML-KEM-512, ML-KEM-768, and
ML-KEM-1024. The parameters for each of the security levels were
chosen to be at least as secure as a generic block cipher of 128,
192, or 256 bits, respectively. Appendix B provides more information
on ML-KEM security levels and sizes.
All KEM algorithms provide three functions: KeyGen(), Encapsulate(),
and Decapsulate().
The following summarizes these three functions for the ML-KEM
algorithm, referencing corresponding functions in [FIPS203]:
KeyGen() -> (ek, dk): Generate the public encapsulation key (ek) and
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a private decapsulation key (dk). [FIPS203] specifies two formats
for an ML-KEM private key: a 64-octet seed (d,z) and an (expanded)
private decapsulation key (dk). Algorithm 19 (ML-KEM.KeyGen())
from [FIPS203] generates the public encapsulation key (ek) and the
private decapsulation key (dk). As an alternative, when a seed
(d,z) is generated first and then the seed is expanded to get the
keys, algorithm 16 (ML-KEM.KeyGen_internal(d,z)) from [FIPS203]
expands the seed to ek and dk. See Section 6 of
[I-D.ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates] for private key encoding
considerations.
Encapsulate(ek) -> (c, ss): Given the recipient's public key (ek),
produce both a ciphertext (c) to be passed to the recipient and a
shared secret (ss) for use by the originator. Algorithm 20 (ML-
KEM.Encaps(ek)) from [FIPS203] is the encapsulation function for
ML-KEM.
Decapsulate(dk, c) -> ss: Given the private key (dk) and the
ciphertext (c), produce the shared secret (ss) for the recipient.
Algorithm 21 (ML-KEM.Decaps(dk,c)) from [FIPS203] is the
decapsulation function for ML-KEM. If the private key is stored
in seed form, ML-KEM.KeyGen_internal(d,z) may be needed as a first
step to compute dk. See Section 8 of
[I-D.ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates] for consistency considerations
if the private key was stored in both seed and expanded formats.
All security levels of ML-KEM use SHA3-256, SHA3-512, SHAKE128, and
SHAKE256 internally.
2. Use of the ML-KEM Algorithm in the CMS
The ML-KEM algorithm MAY be employed for one or more recipients in
the CMS enveloped-data content type [RFC5652], the CMS authenticated-
data content type [RFC5652], or the CMS authenticated-enveloped-data
content type [RFC5083]. In each case, the KEMRecipientInfo [RFC9629]
is used with the ML-KEM algorithm to securely transfer the content-
encryption key from the originator to the recipient.
Processing ML-KEM with KEMRecipientInfo follows the same steps as
Section 2 of [RFC9629]. To support the ML-KEM algorithm, a CMS
originator MUST implement the Encapsulate() function and a CMS
recipient MUST implement the Decapsulate() function.
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2.1. RecipientInfo Conventions
When the ML-KEM algorithm is employed for a recipient, the
RecipientInfo alternative for that recipient MUST be
OtherRecipientInfo using the KEMRecipientInfo structure as defined in
[RFC9629].
The fields of the KEMRecipientInfo have the following meanings:
version is the syntax version number; it MUST be 0.
rid identifies the recipient's certificate or public key.
kem identifies the KEM algorithm; it MUST contain one of id-alg-
ml-kem-512, id-alg-ml-kem-768, or id-alg-ml-kem-1024. These
identifiers are reproduced in Section 3.
kemct is the ciphertext produced for this recipient.
kdf identifies the key-derivation algorithm. Note that the Key
Derivation Function (KDF) used for CMS RecipientInfo process MAY
be different than the KDF used within the ML-KEM algorithm.
Implementations MUST support HKDF [RFC5869] with SHA-256
[FIPS180], using the id-alg-hkdf-with-sha256 KDF object identifier
[RFC8619]. As specified in [RFC8619], the parameter field MUST be
absent when this object identifier appears within the ASN.1 type
AlgorithmIdentifier. Implementations MAY support other KDFs as
well.
kekLength is the size of the key-encryption key in octets.
ukm is optional input to the key-derivation function. The secure
use of ML-KEM in CMS does not depend on the use of a ukm value, so
this document does not place any requirements on this value. See
Section 3 of [RFC9629] for more information about the ukm
parameter.
wrap identifies a key-encryption algorithm used to encrypt the
content-encryption key. Implementations supporting ML-KEM-512
MUST support the AES-Wrap-128 [RFC3394] key-encryption algorithm
using the id-aes128-wrap key-encryption algorithm object
identifier [RFC3565]. Implementations supporting ML-KEM-768 or
ML-KEM-1024 MUST support the AES-Wrap-256 [RFC3394] key-encryption
algorithm using the id-aes256-wrap key-encryption algorithm object
identifier [RFC3565]. Implementations MAY support other key-
encryption algorithms as well.
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Appendix C contains an example of establishing a content-encryption
key using ML-KEM in the KEMRecipientInfo type.
2.2. Underlying Components
When ML-KEM is employed in the CMS, the underlying components used
within the KEMRecipientInfo structure SHOULD be consistent with a
minimum desired security level. Several security levels have been
identified in NIST SP 800-57 Part 1 [NIST.SP.800-57pt1r5].
If underlying components other than those specified in Section 2.1
are used, then the following table gives the minimum requirements on
the components used with ML-KEM in the KEMRecipientInfo type in order
to satisfy the KDF and key wrapping algorithm requirements from
Section 7 of [RFC9629]:
+==========+=============+==============+=====================+
| Security | Algorithm | KDF preimage | Symmetric key- |
| Strength | | strength | encryption strength |
+==========+=============+==============+=====================+
| 128-bit | ML-KEM-512 | 128-bit | 128-bit |
+----------+-------------+--------------+---------------------+
| 192-bit | ML-KEM-768 | 192-bit | 192-bit (*) |
+----------+-------------+--------------+---------------------+
| 256-bit | ML-KEM-1024 | 256-bit | 256-bit |
+----------+-------------+--------------+---------------------+
Table 1: ML-KEM KEMRecipientInfo component security levels
(*) In the case of AES Key Wrap, a 256-bit key is typically used
because AES-192 is not as commonly deployed.
2.2.1. Use of the HKDF-based Key Derivation Function
The HKDF function is a composition of the HKDF-Extract and HKDF-
Expand functions.
HKDF(salt, IKM, info, L)
= HKDF-Expand(HKDF-Extract(salt, IKM), info, L)
When used with KEMRecipientInfo, the salt parameter is unused, that
is it is the zero-length string "". The IKM, info and L parameters
correspond to the same KDF inputs from Section 5 of [RFC9629]. The
info parameter is independently generated by the originator and
recipient. Implementations MUST confirm that L is consistent with
the key size of the key-encryption algorithm.
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2.3. Certificate Conventions
RFC 5280 [RFC5280] specifies the profile for using X.509 Certificates
in Internet applications. A recipient static public key is needed
for ML-KEM, and the originator obtains that public key from the
recipient's certificate. The conventions for carrying ML-KEM public
keys are specified in [I-D.ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates].
2.4. SMIME Capabilities Attribute Conventions
Section 2.5.2 of [RFC8551] defines the SMIMECapabilities attribute to
announce a partial list of algorithms that an S/MIME implementation
can support. When constructing a CMS signed-data content type
[RFC5652], a compliant implementation MAY include the
SMIMECapabilities attribute that announces support for one or more of
the ML-KEM algorithm identifiers.
The SMIMECapability SEQUENCE representing the ML-KEM algorithm MUST
include one of the ML-KEM object identifiers in the capabilityID
field. When one of the ML-KEM object identifiers appears in the
capabilityID field, the parameters MUST NOT be present.
3. Identifiers
All identifiers used to indicate ML-KEM within the CMS are defined in
[CSOR] and [RFC8619] but reproduced here for convenience:
nistAlgorithms OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { joint-iso-ccitt(2)
country(16) us(840) organization(1) gov(101) csor(3)
nistAlgorithm(4) }
kems OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { nistAlgorithms 4 }
id-alg-ml-kem-512 OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { kems 1 }
id-alg-ml-kem-768 OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { kems 2 }
id-alg-ml-kem-1024 OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { kems 3 }
id-alg-hkdf-with-sha256 OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { iso(1)
member-body(2) us(840) rsadsi(113549) pkcs(1) pkcs-9(9)
smime(16) alg(3) 28 }
aes OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { joint-iso-itu-t(2) country(16) us(840)
organization(1) gov(101) csor(3) nistAlgorithms(4) 1 }
id-aes128-wrap OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { aes 5 }
id-aes256-wrap OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { aes 45 }
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4. Security Considerations
The Security Considerations sections of
[I-D.ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates] and [RFC9629] apply to this
specification as well.
For ongoing discussions of ML-KEM-specific security considerations,
refer to [I-D.sfluhrer-cfrg-ml-kem-security-considerations].
Implementations MUST protect the ML-KEM private key, the key-
encryption key, the content-encryption key, message-authentication
key, and the content-authenticated-encryption key. Of these keys,
all but the private key are ephemeral and MUST be wiped after use.
Disclosure of the ML-KEM private key could result in the compromise
of all messages protected with that key. Disclosure of the key-
encryption key, the content-encryption key, or the content-
authenticated-encryption key could result in compromise of the
associated encrypted content. Disclosure of the key-encryption key,
the message-authentication key, or the content-authenticated-
encryption key could allow modification of the associated
authenticated content.
Additional considerations related to key management may be found in
[NIST.SP.800-57pt1r5].
The generation of private keys relies on random numbers, as does the
encapsulation function of ML-KEM. The use of inadequate pseudo-
random number generators (PRNGs) to generate these values can result
in little or no security. In the case of key generation, a random
32-byte seed is used to deterministically derive the key (with an
additional 32 bytes reserved as a rejection value). In the case of
encapsulation, a KEM is derived from the underlying ML-KEM public key
encryption algorithm by deterministically encrypting a random 32-byte
message for the public key. If the random value is weakly-chosen,
then an attacker may find it much easier to reproduce the PRNG
environment that produced the keys or ciphertext, searching the
resulting small set of possibilities for a matching public key or
ciphertext value, rather than performing a more complex algorithmic
attack against ML-KEM. The generation of quality random numbers is
difficult; see Section 3.3 of [FIPS203] for some additional
information.
ML-KEM encapsulation and decapsulation only outputs a shared secret
and ciphertext. Implementations MUST NOT use intermediate values
directly for any purpose.
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Implementations SHOULD NOT reveal information about intermediate
values or calculations, whether by timing or other "side channels",
otherwise an opponent may be able to determine information about the
keying data and/or the recipient's private key. Although not all
intermediate information may be useful to an opponent, it is
preferable to conceal as much information as is practical, unless
analysis specifically indicates that the information would not be
useful to an opponent.
Generally, good cryptographic practice employs a given ML-KEM key
pair in only one scheme. This practice avoids the risk that
vulnerability in one scheme may compromise the security of the other,
and may be essential to maintain provable security.
Parties can gain assurance that implementations are correct through
formal implementation validation, such as the NIST Cryptographic
Module Validation Program (CMVP) [CMVP].
5. IANA Considerations
For the ASN.1 Module in Appendix A, IANA is requested to assign an
object identifier (OID) for the module identifier (TBD1) with a
Description of "id-mod-cms-ml-kem-2024". The OID for the module
should be allocated in the "SMI Security for S/MIME Module
Identifier" registry (1.2.840.113549.1.9.16.0).
6. Acknowledgements
This document borrows heavily from [RFC9690], [FIPS203], and
[I-D.kampanakis-ml-kem-ikev2]. Thanks go to the authors of those
documents. "Copying always makes things easier and less error prone"
- RFC8411.
Thanks to Carl Wallace, Jonathan Hammel, and Sean Turner for the
detailed review and Carl Wallace and Philippe Cece for
interoperability testing for the examples.
7. References
7.1. Normative References
[CSOR] NIST, "Computer Security Objects Register", 20 August
2024, <https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/computer-security-
objects-register/algorithm-registration>.
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[FIPS180] Dang, Q. H. and NIST, "Secure Hash Standard", NIST Federal
Information Processing Standards Publications 180-4,
DOI 10.6028/NIST.FIPS.180-4, July 2015,
<https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/FIPS/
NIST.FIPS.180-4.pdf>.
[FIPS203] "Module-lattice-based key-encapsulation mechanism
standard", National Institute of Standards and Technology
(U.S.), DOI 10.6028/nist.fips.203, August 2024,
<https://doi.org/10.6028/nist.fips.203>.
[I-D.ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates]
Turner, S., Kampanakis, P., Massimo, J., and B.
Westerbaan, "Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure -
Algorithm Identifiers for the Module-Lattice-Based Key-
Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM)", Work in Progress,
Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates-11, 22
July 2025, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-
ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates-11>.
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119>.
[RFC3394] Schaad, J. and R. Housley, "Advanced Encryption Standard
(AES) Key Wrap Algorithm", RFC 3394, DOI 10.17487/RFC3394,
September 2002, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3394>.
[RFC3565] Schaad, J., "Use of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
Encryption Algorithm in Cryptographic Message Syntax
(CMS)", RFC 3565, DOI 10.17487/RFC3565, July 2003,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3565>.
[RFC5083] Housley, R., "Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)
Authenticated-Enveloped-Data Content Type", RFC 5083,
DOI 10.17487/RFC5083, November 2007,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5083>.
[RFC5280] Cooper, D., Santesson, S., Farrell, S., Boeyen, S.,
Housley, R., and W. Polk, "Internet X.509 Public Key
Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation List
(CRL) Profile", RFC 5280, DOI 10.17487/RFC5280, May 2008,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5280>.
[RFC5652] Housley, R., "Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)", STD 70,
RFC 5652, DOI 10.17487/RFC5652, September 2009,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5652>.
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[RFC5869] Krawczyk, H. and P. Eronen, "HMAC-based Extract-and-Expand
Key Derivation Function (HKDF)", RFC 5869,
DOI 10.17487/RFC5869, May 2010,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5869>.
[RFC5911] Hoffman, P. and J. Schaad, "New ASN.1 Modules for
Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS) and S/MIME", RFC 5911,
DOI 10.17487/RFC5911, June 2010,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5911>.
[RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.
[RFC8551] Schaad, J., Ramsdell, B., and S. Turner, "Secure/
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) Version 4.0
Message Specification", RFC 8551, DOI 10.17487/RFC8551,
April 2019, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8551>.
[RFC8619] Housley, R., "Algorithm Identifiers for the HMAC-based
Extract-and-Expand Key Derivation Function (HKDF)",
RFC 8619, DOI 10.17487/RFC8619, June 2019,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8619>.
[RFC9629] Housley, R., Gray, J., and T. Okubo, "Using Key
Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM) Algorithms in the
Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)", RFC 9629,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9629, August 2024,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9629>.
[X680] ITU-T, "Information technology - Abstract Syntax Notation
One (ASN.1): Specification of basic notation", ITU-T
Recommendation X.680, ISO/IEC 8824-1:2021, February 2021,
<https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.680>.
7.2. Informative References
[CMVP] National Institute of Standards and Technology,
"Cryptographic Module Validation Program", 2016,
<https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-module-
validation-program>.
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[I-D.kampanakis-ml-kem-ikev2]
Kampanakis, P. and G. Ravago, "Post-quantum Hybrid Key
Exchange with ML-KEM in the Internet Key Exchange Protocol
Version 2 (IKEv2)", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
draft-kampanakis-ml-kem-ikev2-09, 4 November 2024,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-kampanakis-
ml-kem-ikev2-09>.
[I-D.sfluhrer-cfrg-ml-kem-security-considerations]
Fluhrer, S., Dang, Q., Mattsson, J. P., Milner, K., and D.
Shiu, "ML-KEM Security Considerations", Work in Progress,
Internet-Draft, draft-sfluhrer-cfrg-ml-kem-security-
considerations-03, 15 May 2025,
<https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-sfluhrer-
cfrg-ml-kem-security-considerations-03>.
[NIST-PQ] National Institute of Standards and Technology, "Post-
Quantum Cryptography Project", 20 December 2016,
<https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-
cryptography>.
[NIST.SP.800-57pt1r5]
Barker, E. and NIST, "Recommendation for key
management:part 1 - general", NIST Special Publications
(General) 800-57pt1r5, DOI 10.6028/NIST.SP.800-57pt1r5,
May 2020,
<https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/
NIST.SP.800-57pt1r5.pdf>.
[RFC9690] Housley, R. and S. Turner, "Use of the RSA-KEM Algorithm
in the Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS)", RFC 9690,
DOI 10.17487/RFC9690, February 2025,
<https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9690>.
Appendix A. ASN.1 Module
This appendix includes the ASN.1 module [X680] for ML-KEM. This
module imports objects from [RFC5911], [RFC9629], [RFC8619],
[I-D.ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates].
<CODE BEGINS>
CMS-ML-KEM-2024
{ iso(1) member-body(2) us(840) rsadsi(113549) pkcs(1)
pkcs-9(9) smime(16) modules(0) id-mod-cms-ml-kem-2024(TBD1) }
DEFINITIONS IMPLICIT TAGS ::= BEGIN
EXPORTS ALL;
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IMPORTS
SMIME-CAPS
FROM AlgorithmInformation-2009 -- [RFC5911]
{ iso(1) identified-organization(3) dod(6) internet(1)
security(5) mechanisms(5) pkix(7) id-mod(0)
id-mod-algorithmInformation-02(58) }
KEM-ALGORITHM
FROM KEMAlgorithmInformation-2023 -- [RFC9629]
{ iso(1) identified-organization(3) dod(6) internet(1)
security(5) mechanisms(5) pkix(7) id-mod(0)
id-mod-kemAlgorithmInformation-2023(109) }
kda-hkdf-with-sha256
FROM HKDF-OID-2019 -- [RFC8619]
{ iso(1) member-body(2) us(840) rsadsi(113549) pkcs(1)
pkcs-9(9) smime(16) modules(0) id-mod-hkdf-oid-2019(68) }
kwa-aes128-wrap, kwa-aes256-wrap
FROM CMSAesRsaesOaep-2009 -- [RFC5911]
{ iso(1) member-body(2) us(840) rsadsi(113549)
pkcs(1) pkcs-9(9) smime(16) modules(0)
id-mod-cms-aes-02(38) }
id-alg-ml-kem-512, id-alg-ml-kem-768, id-alg-ml-kem-1024,
pk-ml-kem-512, pk-ml-kem-768, pk-ml-kem-1024
FROM X509-ML-KEM-2024 -- [I-D.ietf-lamps-kyber-certificates]
{ iso(1) identified-organization(3) dod(6)
internet(1) security(5) mechanisms(5) pkix(7) id-mod(0)
id-mod-x509-ml-kem-2025(121) };
--
-- ML-KEM Key Encapsulation Mechanism Algorithms
--
kema-ml-kem-512 KEM-ALGORITHM ::= {
IDENTIFIER id-alg-ml-kem-512
PARAMS ARE absent
PUBLIC-KEYS { pk-ml-kem-512 }
UKM ARE optional
SMIME-CAPS { IDENTIFIED BY id-alg-ml-kem-512 } }
kema-ml-kem-768 KEM-ALGORITHM ::= {
IDENTIFIER id-alg-ml-kem-768
PARAMS ARE absent
PUBLIC-KEYS { pk-ml-kem-768 }
UKM ARE optional
SMIME-CAPS { IDENTIFIED BY id-alg-ml-kem-768 } }
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kema-ml-kem-1024 KEM-ALGORITHM ::= {
IDENTIFIER id-alg-ml-kem-1024
PARAMS ARE absent
PUBLIC-KEYS { pk-ml-kem-1024 }
UKM ARE optional
SMIME-CAPS { IDENTIFIED BY id-alg-ml-kem-1024 } }
-- Updates for the SMIME-CAPS Set from RFC 5911
SMimeCapsSet SMIME-CAPS ::=
{ kema-ml-kem-512.&smimeCaps |
kema-ml-kem-768.&smimeCaps |
kema-ml-kem-1024.&smimeCaps |
kda-hkdf-with-sha256.&smimeCaps |
kwa-aes128-wrap.&smimeCaps |
kwa-aes256-wrap.&smimeCaps,
... }
END
<CODE ENDS>
Appendix B. Parameter Set Security and Sizes
Instead of defining the strength of a quantum algorithm in a
traditional manner using the imprecise notion of bits of security,
NIST has defined security levels by picking a reference scheme, which
NIST expects to offer notable levels of resistance to both quantum
and classical attack. To wit, a KEM algorithm that achieves NIST PQC
security must require computational resources to break IND-CCA2
security comparable or greater than that required for key search on
AES-128, AES-192, and AES-256 for Levels 1, 3, and 5, respectively.
Levels 2 and 4 use collision search for SHA-256 and SHA-384 as
reference.
+=============+=======+==========+==========+============+========+
| Parameter | Level | Encap. | Decap. | Ciphertext | Shared |
| Set | | Key Size | Key Size | Size | Secret |
| | | | | | Size |
+=============+=======+==========+==========+============+========+
| ML-KEM-512 | 1 | 800 | 1632 | 768 | 32 |
+-------------+-------+----------+----------+------------+--------+
| ML-KEM-768 | 3 | 1184 | 2400 | 1088 | 32 |
+-------------+-------+----------+----------+------------+--------+
| ML-KEM-1024 | 5 | 1568 | 3168 | 1568 | 32 |
+-------------+-------+----------+----------+------------+--------+
Table 2: ML-KEM parameter sets, NIST Security Level, and sizes
in bytes
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Appendix C. ML-KEM CMS Authenticated-Enveloped-Data Example
This example shows the establishment of an AES-128 content-encryption
key using:
* ML-KEM-512;
* KEMRecipientInfo key derivation using HKDF with SHA-256; and
* KEMRecipientInfo key wrap using AES-128-KEYWRAP.
In real-world use, the originator would encrypt the content-
encryption key in a manner that would allow decryption with their own
private key as well as the recipient's private key. This is omitted
in an attempt to simplify the example.
C.1. Originator CMS Processing
Alice obtains Bob's ML-KEM-512 public key:
-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----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-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
Bob's ML-KEM-512 public key has the following key identifier:
599788C37AED400EE405D1B2A3366AB17D824A51
Alice generates a shared secret and ciphertext using Bob's ML-KEM-512
public key:
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Shared secret:
7DF12D412AE299A24FDE6D7C3BB8E3194C80AD3C733DCF2775E09FE8BEDB86D8
Ciphertext: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 encodes the CMSORIforKEMOtherInfo:
3010300B0609608648016503040105020110
Alice derives the key-encryption key from the shared secret and
CMSORIforKEMOtherInfo using HKDF with SHA-256:
CF453A3E2BAE0A78701B8206C185A008
Alice randomly generates a 128-bit content-encryption key:
C5153005588269A0A59F3C01943FDD56
Alice uses AES-128-KEYWRAP to encrypt the content-encryption key with
the key-encryption key:
C050E4392F9C14DD0AC2220203F317D701F94F9DD92778F5
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Alice encrypts the padded content using AES-128-GCM with the content-
encryption key and encodes the AuthEnvelopedData (using
KEMRecipientInfo) and ContentInfo, and then sends the result to Bob.
The Base64-encoded result is:
-----BEGIN CMS-----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-----END CMS-----
This result decodes to:
0 994: SEQUENCE {
4 11: OBJECT IDENTIFIER
: authEnvelopedData (1 2 840 113549 1 9 16 1 23)
17 977: [0] {
21 973: SEQUENCE {
25 1: INTEGER 0
28 888: SET {
32 884: [4] {
36 11: OBJECT IDENTIFIER '1 2 840 113549 1 9 16 13 3'
49 867: SEQUENCE {
53 1: INTEGER 0
56 20: [0]
: 59 97 88 C3 7A ED 40 0E E4 05 D1 B2 A3 36 6A B1
: 7D 82 4A 51
78 11: SEQUENCE {
80 9: OBJECT IDENTIFIER '2 16 840 1 101 3 4 4 1'
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: }
91 768: OCTET STRING
: 3E A4 0F C6 CA 09 0E 2C 8A F7 6E 27 27 AB 38 E0
: 65 2D 95 15 98 6F E1 86 82 7F E8 4E 59 6E 42 1B
: 85 FD 45 9C C7 89 97 37 2C 9D E3 1D 19 1B 39 C1
: D5 A3 EB 6D DB 56 AA DE DE 76 5C C3 90 FD BB C2
: F8 8C B1 75 68 1D 42 01 B8 1C CD FC B2 4F EF 13
: AF 2F 5A 1A BC F8 D8 AF 38 4F 02 A0 10 A6 E9 19
: F1 98 7A 5E 9B 1C 0E 2D 3F 07 F5 8A 9F A5 39 CE
: 86 CC 14 99 10 A1 69 2C 0C A4 CE 0E CE 4E EE D2
: E6 69 9C B9 76 33 24 52 DE 4A 2E B5 CA 61 F7 B0
: 81 33 0C 34 79 8E F7 12 A2 4E 59 C3 3C EA 1F 1F
: 9E 6D 4F BF 37 43 A3 84 67 43 00 11 33 6F 62 D8
: 70 79 2B 86 6B EF CD 1D 1B 36 5B ED 19 52 67 3D
: 3A 5B 0C 20 B3 86 B4 EF D1 CF 63 FD 37 6B D4 7C
: CC 46 AC 4D D8 EC 66 B0 47 C4 C9 5A CF F1 CF D0
: 28 A4 19 B0 02 FD A1 B6 17 CB A6 1D 2E 91 CF E8
: FF FB CB 8F FD 4D 5F 6A D8 B1 58 C2 19 E3 6D C5
: 14 05 DC 0C 0B 23 49 79 AC 65 8E 72 BD DF 1B 67
: 73 B9 6B 2A E3 E4 D0 7B E8 60 48 04 0C 01 67 43
: 6F A8 39 E7 52 9B 00 CC 9A B5 5A 2F 25 DB 63 CC
: 9F 55 75 94 E6 91 C1 1E 55 3D 4A 3E BC 76 0F 5F
: 19 E5 FE 14 48 38 B4 C7 D1 59 1D A9 B5 D4 67 49
: 4F D9 CA C5 2C C5 50 40 60 39 9D BD B7 22 98 EB
: 9A 4C 01 7B 00 78 6F DC 7D 9D 7A A5 7A DB B8 B6
: 1C 34 DE 1E 28 8B 2A B7 28 17 1D CE 14 3C D1 69
: 53 F9 84 C1 AE D5 59 E5 6B AA 0C E6 58 D3 2C CE
: 42 F4 40 75 04 CD 7A 57 9A D0 EF 9B 77 13 5E AA
: 39 B6 F9 3A 3A 2E 59 97 80 7F 06 36 1C 83 F4 E6
: 7F 8E 3F 9C F6 83 16 01 15 14 F5 D8 5A 18 1C EA
: D7 14 CD 49 40 E4 EB AC 01 D6 65 28 DA 32 F8 9C
: EA 04 28 E8 EB CA DC F8 AA 18 8C 9F 62 E8 5B 19
: 57 65 5B 7F E2 B8 D7 97 3B 7A 72 26 B6 6D 93 BF
: 7B 23 2F 3D CF 65 3C 84 B4 EC F1 A9 92 0D B1 94
: 9A D7 50 B5 46 A5 55 2A 20 E5 49 09 71 9B 8C 0C
: 07 05 6F CB 7E 57 4A D2 A3 2E C9 50 01 DD E8 44
: 81 BE 77 D0 39 ED 5B F7 42 62 EC F3 98 1F 1B 00
: D3 36 6A 9C 2E 06 1C 47 E2 41 A0 61 C6 24 95 60
: D2 B8 44 6A 48 0C 38 C2 8B A9 89 D9 F6 8A DC 4B
: BA F2 A2 0B 47 E4 92 31 28 C7 23 42 D5 97 FD A2
: 59 DE 0B 83 C2 05 6D 6B 77 E7 99 B3 19 32 4A A5
: 0B 1D 65 9C 2A 56 02 9B 74 53 C5 F3 BA 52 43 D9
: FA 74 9D 91 7C 40 D9 D1 01 E4 53 BC 8B 10 E4 2A
: 7C 08 93 23 C0 26 F7 83 E1 00 B9 FA 6E 70 14 42
: 4D A6 FA 37 92 BC 95 7E E8 21 9D 01 6B 77 3F 28
: FE DC C9 62 A4 85 AB AF FE C0 23 28 19 71 E2 9A
: A6 89 83 9E CF D2 61 9E 92 28 7C D2 30 DB 26 A2
: 50 7C C5 00 EB 1C 7A 52 93 B5 FE 91 7A E2 9B F1
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: AD 35 01 24 F8 A3 11 63 52 14 B4 11 DB 9F 67 D3
: B8 5B D7 15 01 85 37 EA 45 B4 1F 41 B4 C6 60 51
863 13: SEQUENCE {
865 11: OBJECT IDENTIFIER
: hkdfWithSha256 (1 2 840 113549 1 9 16 3 28)
: }
878 1: INTEGER 16
881 11: SEQUENCE {
883 9: OBJECT IDENTIFIER
: aes128-wrap (2 16 840 1 101 3 4 1 5)
: }
894 24: OCTET STRING
: C0 50 E4 39 2F 9C 14 DD 0A C2 22 02 03 F3 17 D7
: 01 F9 4F 9D D9 27 78 F5
: }
: }
: }
920 58: SEQUENCE {
922 9: OBJECT IDENTIFIER data (1 2 840 113549 1 7 1)
933 30: SEQUENCE {
935 9: OBJECT IDENTIFIER
: aes128-GCM (2 16 840 1 101 3 4 1 6)
946 17: SEQUENCE {
948 12: OCTET STRING 5C A5 74 68 B8 1B F0 3B 8D A7 18 6C
962 1: INTEGER 16
: }
: }
965 13: [0] 94 C8 68 9A 99 D2 C3 8E 19 2F A6 BA 08
: }
980 16: OCTET STRING 5C F1 78 6C 57 C7 40 2B 54 FC 93 C3 0A 4A 45 33
: }
: }
: }
C.2. Recipient CMS Processing
Bob's ML-KEM-512 private key:
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
MFQCAQAwCwYJYIZIAWUDBAQBBEKAQAABAgMEBQYHCAkKCwwNDg8QERITFBUWFxgZ
GhscHR4fICEiIyQlJicoKSorLC0uLzAxMjM0NTY3ODk6Ozw9Pj8=
-----END PRIVATE KEY-----
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Bob decapsulates the ciphertext in the KEMRecipientInfo to get the
ML-KEM-512 shared secret, encodes the CMSORIforKEMOtherInfo, derives
the key-encryption key from the shared secret and the DER-encoded
CMSORIforKEMOtherInfo using HKDF with SHA-256, uses AES-128-KEYWRAP
to decrypt the content-encryption key with the key-encryption key,
and decrypts the encrypted contents with the content-encryption key,
revealing the plaintext content:
Hello, world!
Authors' Addresses
Julien Prat
CryptoNext Security
16, Boulevard Saint-Germain
75005 Paris
France
Email: julien.prat@cryptonext-security.com
Mike Ounsworth
Entrust Limited
2500 Solandt Road -- Suite 100
Ottawa, Ontario K2K 3G5
Canada
Email: mike.ounsworth@entrust.com
Daniel Van Geest
CryptoNext Security
16, Boulevard Saint-Germain
75005 Paris
France
Email: daniel.vangeest@cryptonext-security.com
Prat, et al. Expires 27 March 2026 [Page 20]