# Is the first version of the Message-Digest algorithm by Ronald Rivest publically available?

Diving into the history and evolution of the Message-Digest algorithm by Ronald Rivest, I have been able to track back papers from MD6 down to MD2. Yet, somehow I can not seem to be able to find any papers, specifications or even the slightest indications of MD1.

As the numbering (MD2, MD4, MD5, MD6) seems to be a constant, it would be logic to expect that MD1 did exist at some point in the past. Since I can not find anything related, I'm reaching out for help...

Has MD1 ever been published or was MD2 indeed the first Message-Digest algorithm that Ronald Rivest showed to the world? And if MD1 has been published, where can I find that publication (or a copy of it)?

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The talk page on Wikipedia has some information, if you haven't seen it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AMD4. It suggests MD1 as such never existed, but was instead just MD (and was never published) and that MD3 was a failed experiment; apparently there exists a specification somewhere (I cannot find the referenced document 1335: MD2, MD4, MD5, SHA and other hash functions. M.J.B. Robshaw). The best way to know would be to send the author an email, though :p –  Thomas Aug 31 at 10:54
@Thomas [+1] For that wikipedia talk page link. Obviously, I'm not the first one stumbling over the MD(1) question. Couldn't find any trace of 1335 though. Anyway, I just pushed the send button on that email... not that I have high hopes in receiving a reply though. (They probably get flooded with emails daily.) But in case I receive a reply, I'll be sure to post any usable, related, contained information here. I can't imagine having a better reference than the original source. ;) –  e-sushi Aug 31 at 13:15
Keeping you updated: until today, I have not received a single reply from Mr. Rivest's office. –  e-sushi Sep 15 at 1:45

Since I have not received any reply from Mr. Rivest's office after bugging them with a total of four emails in four weeks, I have no other option than to give up on hoping I ever receive a replyfrom his office.

After spending 6 weeks hunting down information all over the internet (and not receiving any reply to my emails), I am currently suspecting that MD1 has indeed never been published. I base this on the fact that another algorithm — MD3 — never made it beyond the experimental status either… due to problems with it's algorithm. It could well be MD1 faced similar issues and also never made it beyond the lab. Another reason for suspecting this is that all RFCs were published in April 1992. If there had been any "beyond lab" MD1, I'm pretty sure it would have been published together with the other MD papers. My best guess is that MD2 was born out of failed MD1 experiments.

Yet, my suspicions might also be completely wrong. As said: I was not able to find any papers or hard facts in relation to MD1. Should you ever find reliable information about MD1, please post it as an answer. I will gladly unaccept my own answer to accept any answer that's able to present verifiable information and/or a publication/paper/book/whatever related to MD1.

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