# All Questions

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### How do I generate a session key using the Diffie Hellman algorithm?

How to generate a session key between two nodes in two different subnets when the nodes don't know each other directly, using diffie hellman algorithm?
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### Is XOR in a CBC-like mode secure?

Assuming that $K_{n}$, $P_{n}$, and $C_{n}$ are individual bytes of the key, plaintext, and ciphertext respectively. The first byte of ciphertext is computed like this: $C_{1} = K_{1} \oplus P_{1}$ ...
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### DIfferent inner and outer hash functions for NIST Recommended HMAC?

The NIST recommended HMAC uses $$\operatorname{HMAC}_k(text) = H_\mathrm{out}( (k \oplus \mathrm{opad}) \operatorname\| H_\mathrm{in}((k \oplus \mathrm{ipad}) \operatorname\| text) )$$ Is it ...
219 views

### Is there a known vulnerability when using identical key and salt with PBKDF2?

For optimum security, a random salt should be chosen for PBKDF2. I came across a scenario where I produce a hash of a random file that serves as the "password". Due to the nature of files, this has ...
318 views

### What type of hash functions provides non-malleability of hash digests?

I want to use a hash function for commitments. I don't want an attacker to construct a commitment related to a previously published (but still unopened) commitment. A simple deterministic commitment ...
248 views

### OCB - brute force against unknown IV

I read that brute force attacks against a plaintext encrypted in OCB with unkown key and IV has approximately the same complexity as an attack where only the key is unknown. Why is that ? Is there a ...
510 views

### Inverses in Truncated Polynomial Rings

I've been trying a long time to understand a thing which is obviously extremely simple, but I just can't get it. Read this, please: The NTRUEncrypt PKCS uses the ring of truncated polynomials $R$ ...
547 views

### KeeLoq showing that decryption is indeed the inverse of encryption

In some text I am reading, there is an exercise asking to show that KeeLoq decryption function is the inverse of the encryption function. Details about KeeLoq are given in the Wikipedia article. As I ...
144 views

### ZIP 2.0 encryption bruteforce attack

I have an old sourcecode backup from my DOS days stored in a ZIP 2.0 encrypted archive, but I lost the password. The password was written on a paper slip, but I remember that it consisted of 30+ ...
140 views

### Is appending the hash of the plaintext to the end of an encrypted message sufficient to ensure integrity?

Is appending the hash of the plaintext to the end of an encrypted message sufficient to ensure integrity? My reasoning is that the attacker doesn't know all the plaintext, so by having a hash, the ...
101 views

### How can I know when a file was signed?

I have been thinking about digitally signed documents (Word files and PDF files) and can not get over the fact about - how can I securely know when the file was signed? Scenario: If the date of the ...
67 views

### How do you create a large PRP from a small one?

How can you efficiently create a pseudorandom permutation with a large domain given a PRP with a small domain? Meaning: given an $n$-bit PRP, how can I create an $n k$-bit PRP? I'm only interested in ...
88 views

### What are options to compute DES retail MAC (aka ISO 9797-1 mode 3) under PKCS#11?

The DES retail MAC, also known as ISO 9797-1 mode 3 with DES, computes the MAC of a block of data using a 16-byte (112 bit) key. It can be seen as CBC-MAC using simple DES with the first half of the ...
72 views

### Entropy Loss of KDFs

Am I losing any entropy when using KDFs, such as the ones in NIST Special Publication 800-108? For example, can I derive 128-bit session keys from a (uniformly random) 128-bit master key?
92 views

### Multi-key decryption

Let's assume I want to send a secret message to $N$ recipients in an asymmetric way. My message could be encrypted with $N$ different public keys $p_i$ one after another and send to each user ...
162 views

### Luby-Rackoff theorem confusion

The Luby-Rackoff theorem states that if a round function is a secure pseudorandom function (PRF) then 3 rounds are sufficient to make the block cipher a pseudorandom permutation (PRP). PRPs are ...
140 views

### ECDSA with SHA256 and sepc192r1 curve: Impossible, or how to calculate $e$?

I need to use ECDSA as the signing algorithm and SHA256 for hashing the message. I'm running into troubles verifying the signature calculated on two different platform (one is BouncyCastle, another ...
123 views

### Using GMAC for Authentication without encrypting the message

I am pretty new to cryptography and have a sample of GCM mode of operation for AES. PFB the code ...
86 views

### Decrypting an encrypted text out of order

Does there exist a cipher that can be encrypted twice with two different keys and then decrypted twice using either key first? For example: ...
75 views

### Galois field step in XEX mode

I'm reading through the XEX mode spec, and I want to make sure I've understood the $\alpha^j$ step correctly: $X = E_K(I) \oplus \alpha^j$ $C = E_K(M \oplus X) \oplus X$ where: $M$ is the ...
92 views

### Is there a practical upper limit for password rehashing?

When using PBKDF2, is there a practical upper limit to the iteration count above which we lose security? Note: If you answer “No”, that's fine. But if you answer: “There can't be an upper limit“, ...
127 views

### Does adding a salt to the message before HMAC processing add any security?

An HMAC function is designed to verify message integrity, i.e., that the message has not been tampered with. It is generally (always?) implemented by using a hashing function ...
115 views

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### GCM encryption for 256-bit and 512-bit block ciphers

The Galois/Counter Mode of Operation (GCM) This paper describe using GCM mode with 128-bit and 64-bit block cipher. Can we use this mode for 256-bit and 512-bit block cipher?
135 views

### Proofs by reduction and times of adversaries

I have some difficulties to understand, when we construct a reduction, how we determine the time for the constructed adversary to break a target security property. In general these details are not ...