XMSS: eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme

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Publisher: IETF
Doc Type: Informational
Abstract: This note describes the eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme (XMSS), a hash-based digital signature system that is based on existing descriptions in scientific literature. This note specifies Winternitz One-Time Signature Plus (WOTS+), a one-time signature scheme; XMSS, a single-tree scheme; and XMSS^MT, a multi-tree variant of XMSS. Both XMSS and XMSS^MT use WOTS+ as a main building block. XMSS provides cryptographic digital signatures without relying on the conjectured hardness of mathematical problems. Instead, it is proven that it only relies on the properties of cryptographic hash functions. XMSS provides strong security guarantees and is even secure when the collision resistance of the underlying hash function is broken. It is suitable for compact implementations, is relatively simple to implement, and naturally resists side-channel attacks. Unlike most other signature systems, hash-based signatures can so far withstand known attacks using quantum computers.
Publication Date: 2018-05-01
Status Note: Informational
DOI: 10.17487/RFC8391
Link: https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC8391
Author(s): Andreas Huelsing, Denis Butin, Stefan-Lukas Gazdag, Joost Rijneveld, Aziz Mohaisen
Keyword(s): Digital Signature, Cryptography, Post-quantum Cryptography, Hash-based Signatures, Merkle Signatures, Merkle Tree, Hash Function, Winternitz, Winternitz One-time Signature Scheme, WOTS, W-OTS, WOTS+, W-OTS+, XMSS-MT, Multi-tree XMSS

Latest version of IETF RFC 8391

Document Versions — IETF RFC 8391

▶ IETF RFC 8391 (2018-05-01)

THIS DOC [ACTIVE] [LATEST VERSION]

Normative Reference(s)

NIST FIPS 180-4 [Active]
NIST.FIPS.202 NOT IN REGISTRY
IETF RFC 2119 [Active*]
RFC4506 NOT IN REGISTRY
RFC8126 NOT IN REGISTRY
RFC8174 NOT IN REGISTRY

Bibliographic Reference(s)

10.1007-978-3-540-88403-3_5 NOT IN REGISTRY
10.1007-978-3-540-88702-7_3 NOT IN REGISTRY
10.1007-978-3-642-25405-5_8 NOT IN REGISTRY
10.1007-978-3-642-38553-7_10 NOT IN REGISTRY
10.1007-978-3-642-40588-4_14 NOT IN REGISTRY
10.1007-978-3-662-46800-5_15 NOT IN REGISTRY
10.1007-978-3-662-49384-7_15 NOT IN REGISTRY
10.26083-tuprints-00003651 NOT IN REGISTRY
10.48550-arXiv.1409.4081 NOT IN REGISTRY
IETF.draft-mcgrew-hash-sigs-11 NOT IN REGISTRY
ISBN.9780835713849 NOT IN REGISTRY

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IETF RFC 8391, XMSS: eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme. Available at https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC8391

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IETF RFC 8391, XMSS: eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme. Available at https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC8391

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IETF RFC 8391, XMSS: eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme. Available at https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC8391

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<span class="citation"><cite>IETF RFC 8391</cite>, XMSS: eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme. Available at <a href="https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC8391" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC8391</a></span>

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IETF RFC 8391, XMSS: eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme
doi: 10.17487/RFC8391
url: https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC8391

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Referenced By

IETF RFC 9231 [Active*]