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Security COSE Internet-Draft This specification defines hybrid public-key encryption (HPKE) for use with CBOR Object Signing and Encryption (COSE). HPKE offers a variant of public-key encryption of arbitrary-sized plaintexts for a recipient public key. HPKE is a general encryption framework utilizing an asymmetric key encapsulation mechanism (KEM), a key derivation function (KDF), and an Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD) algorithm. This document defines the use of HPKE with COSE. Authentication for HPKE in COSE is provided by COSE-native security mechanisms or by the pre-shared key authenticated variant of HPKE. Discussion Venues Discussion of this document takes place on the CBOR Object Signing and Encryption Working Group mailing list (cose@ietf.org), which is archived at . Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at .

Introduction Hybrid public-key encryption (HPKE) is a scheme that provides public key encryption of arbitrary-sized plaintexts given a recipient's public key. This document defines the use of HPKE with COSE (, ) with the single-shot APIs defined in . Multiple invocations of Open() / Seal() on the same context, as discussed in are not supported. Algorithm identifiers follow a ciphersuite scheme in which a single COSE algorithm ID maps to the three algorithm IDs required for HPKE: the Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM), the Key Derivation Function (KDF), and the Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD) algorithm.

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 BCP 14 when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here. This specification uses the following abbreviations and terms:

• Content-encryption key (CEK), a described in .
• Hybrid Public Key Encryption (HPKE) is defined in .
• pkR is the public key of the recipient, as defined in .
• skR is the private key of the recipient, as defined in .
• Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM), see .
• Key Derivation Function (KDF), see .
• Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD), see .
• Additional Authenticated Data (AAD), see .

HPKE for COSE

Overview This specification supports two modes of using HPKE in COSE, namely:

• HPKE Integrated Encryption mode, where HPKE is used to encrypt the plaintext. This mode can only be used with a single recipient. provides the details.
• HPKE Key Encryption mode, where HPKE is used to encrypt a content encryption key (CEK), which then encrypts the content. This mode supports multiple recipients. provides the details.

Distinct algorithm identifiers are defined and registered that are specific to each COSE HPKE mode so that they are fully specified, as required by . Algorithm identifiers MUST only be used in the COSE HPKE mode that is specified for them. In both cases, the new COSE header parameter "ek" MUST be present. It contains the encapsulated KEM shared secret. The value of this parameter MUST be the "enc" value output by the HPKE Seal() operation, as defined in . The "ek" header parameter MUST be encoded as a CBOR byte string. HPKE defines several authentication modes, as described in Table 1 of . In COSE HPKE, only 'mode_base' and 'mode_psk' are supported. The mode is 'mode_psk' if the "psk_id" header parameter is present; otherwise, the mode defaults to 'mode_base'. 'mode_base' is described in , which only enables encryption to the holder of a given KEM private key. 'mode_psk' is described in , which authenticates using a pre-shared key.

HPKE Integrated Encryption Mode This mode applies if the COSE_Encrypt0 structure uses a COSE-HPKE algorithm and has no recipient structure(s). Because COSE-HPKE supports header protection, if the "alg" parameter is present, it MUST be included in the protected header and MUST be a COSE-HPKE algorithm. Although the use of the "kid" parameter in COSE_Encrypt0 is discouraged by RFC 9052, this document RECOMMENDS the use of the "kid" parameter (or other parameters) to explicitly identify the static recipient public key used by the sender. If the COSE_Encrypt0 structure includes a "kid" parameter, the recipient MAY use it to select the corresponding private key. When encrypting, the inputs to the HPKE Seal operation are set as follows:

• kem_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• pkR: The recipient public key, converted into an HPKE public key.
• kdf_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• info: Defaults to the empty string; externally provided information MAY be used instead.
• aad: MUST contain the byte string for the authenticated data structure according to the steps defined in Section 5.3 of RFC 9052.

For the Integrated Encryption mode the context string will be "Encrypt0". Externally provided AAD information MAY be provided and MUST be passed into the Enc_structure via the external_aad field.

• aead_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• pt: The raw message plaintext.

The outputs are used as follows:

• enc: MUST be placed raw into the "ek" (encapsulated key) parameter in the unprotected bucket.
• ct: MUST be used as layer ciphertext. If not using detached content, this is directly placed as ciphertext in COSE_Encrypt0 structure. Otherwise, it is transported separately and the ciphertext field is nil. See for a description of detached payloads.

If 'mode_psk' has been selected, then the "psk_id" parameter MUST be present. If 'mode_base' has been chosen, then the "psk_id" parameter MUST NOT be present. When decrypting, the inputs to the HPKE Open operation are set as follows:

• kem_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• skR: The recipient private key, converted into an HPKE private key.
• kdf_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• aead_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• info: Defaults to the empty string; externally provided information MAY be used instead.
• aad: MUST contain the byte string for the authenticated data structure according to the steps defined in Section 5.3 of RFC 9052. For the Integrated Encryption mode the context string will be "Encrypt0". Externally provided AAD information MAY be provided and MUST be passed into the Enc_structure via the external_aad field.
• enc: The contents of the layer "ek" parameter.
• ct: The contents of the layer ciphertext.

The plaintext output is the raw message plaintext. The COSE_Encrypt0 MAY be tagged or untagged. An example is shown in .

HPKE Key Encryption Mode This mode is selected if the COSE_recipient structure uses a COSE-HPKE algorithm. In this approach the following layers are involved:

• Layer 0 (corresponding to the COSE_Encrypt structure) contains the content (plaintext) encrypted with the CEK. This ciphertext may be detached, and if not detached, then it is included in the COSE_Encrypt structure.
• Layer 1 (corresponding to a recipient structure) contains parameters needed for HPKE to generate a shared secret used to encrypt the CEK. This layer conveys the encrypted CEK in the COSE_recipient structure using a COSE-HPKE algorithm. The unprotected header MAY contain the "kid" parameter to identify the static recipient public key that the sender has been using with HPKE.

This two-layer structure is used to encrypt content that can also be shared with multiple recipients at the expense of a single additional encryption operation. The content is encrypted once with the CEK, then the CEK is encrypted for each recipient.

Recipient_structure This section defines the Recipient_structure, which is used in place of COSE_KDF_Context for COSE-HPKE recipients. It MUST be used for COSE-HPKE recipients, as it provides integrity protection for recipient-protected header parameters. The Recipient_structure is modeled after the Enc_structure defined in , but is specific to COSE_recipient structures and MUST NOT be used with COSE_Encrypt. Furthermore, the use of COSE_KDF_Context is prohibited in COSE-HPKE; it MUST NOT be used.

• "next_layer_alg" is the algorithm ID of the COSE layer for which the COSE_recipient is encrypting a key. It is the algorithm that the key MUST be used with. This value MUST match the "alg" parameter in the next lower COSE layer.
• "recipient_protected_header" contains the protected header parameters from the COSE_recipient.
• "recipient_extra_info" contains any additional context the application wishes to include in the key derivation via the HPKE info parameter. If none, it is a zero-length string.

The Recipient_structure MUST be serialized deterministically in accordance with the Core Deterministic Encoding Requirements defined in . This requirement applies only to the Recipient_structure itself — the array and its four members. It does not extend into the byte-string wrapped protected headers.

COSE-HPKE Recipient Construction Because COSE-HPKE supports header protection, if the "alg" parameter is present, it MUST be in the protected header parameters and MUST be a COSE-HPKE algorithm. The protected header MAY contain the "kid" parameter to identify the static recipient public key that the sender used. Use of the "kid" parameter is RECOMMENDED to explicitly identify the static recipient public key used by the sender. Including it in the protected header parameters ensures that it is input into the key derivation function of HPKE. When encrypting, the inputs to the HPKE Seal operation are set as follows:

• kem_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• pkR: The recipient public key, converted into HPKE public key.
• kdf_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• aead_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• info: Deterministic encoding of the Recipient_structure. Externally provided context information MAY be provided and MUST be passed into the Recipient_structure via the recipient_extra_info field.
• aad: Defaults to the empty string; externally provided information MAY be used instead.
• pt: The CEK.

The outputs are used as follows:

• enc: MUST be placed raw into the "ek" (encapsulated key) parameter in the unprotected bucket.
• ct: MUST be placed raw in the ciphertext field in the COSE_recipient.

When decrypting, the inputs to the HPKE Open operation are set as follows:

• kem_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• skR: The recipient private key, converted into HPKE private key.
• kdf_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• aead_id: From the ciphersuite. See .
• info: Deterministic encoding of the Recipient_structure. Externally provided context information MAY be provided and MUST be passed into the Recipient_structure via the recipient_extra_info field.
• aad: Defaults to the empty string; externally provided information MAY be used instead.
• ct: The contents of the layer ciphertext field.

The plaintext output is the CEK. It is not necessary to populate recipient_aad, as HPKE inherently mitigates the classes of attacks that COSE_KDF_Context, and SP800-56A are designed to address. COSE-HPKE use cases may still utilize recipient_aad for other purposes as needed; however, it is generally intended for small values such as identifiers, contextual information, or secrets. It is not designed for protecting large or bulk external data. Any bulk external data that requires protection should be handled at layer 0 using external_aad. The COSE_recipient structure is computed for each recipient. When encrypting the content at layer 0, the instructions in MUST be followed, including the calculation of the authenticated data structure. An example is shown in .

Security Design Rationale COSE-HPKE does not use COSE_KDF_Context, which is defined in , for the following reasons:

• HPKE is a well-analyzed and widely reviewed construction that already incorporates the protections provided by COSE_KDF_Context.
• The HPKE design avoids many of the weaknesses present in earlier key agreement protocols that COSE_KDF_Context was designed to mitigate.
• Use of the COSE_KDF_Context would introduce unnecessary complexity; many of the fields typically go unused.
• It is difficult to know what to put in the COSE_KDF_Context fields.

The algorithm identifier for the bulk content encryption algorithm can be manipulated, since it is neither integrity-protected nor incorporated into the key derivation. In particular, the layer 0 algorithm identifier is not integrity protected by the COSE_Recipient and is therefore not cryptographically bound to the key agreement algorithm. This class of attack has been demonstrated against CMS; a corresponding mitigation is described in . The "next_layer_alg" member of the Recipient_structure mitigates this attack by explicitly binding the bulk content encryption algorithm identifier with the COSE_Recipient. The "next_layer_alg" member is explicitly defined to identify the algorithm for the immediately following COSE layer. Such explicit layering semantics were not provided for the AlgorithmID field in COSE_KDF_Context, where the intended interpretation was ambiguous.

Key Representation The COSE_Key with the existing key types can be used to represent KEM private or public keys. When using a COSE_Key for COSE-HPKE, the following checks are made:

• If the "kty" field is "AKP", then the public and private keys SHALL be the raw HPKE public and private keys (respectively) for the KEM used by the algorithm.
• Otherwise, the key MUST be suitable for the KEM used by the algorithm. In case the "kty" parameter is "EC2" or "OKP", this means the value of "crv" parameter is suitable. The valid combinations of KEM, "kty" and "crv" for the algorithms defined in this document are shown in .
• If the "key_ops" field is present, it MUST include only "derive bits" for the private key and MUST be empty for the public key.

Examples of the COSE_Key for COSE-HPKE are shown in .

Ciphersuite Registration A ciphersuite is a set of cryptographic algorithms selected to achieve a specific security level. For COSE-HPKE, a single COSE algorithm ID represents a ciphersuite that maps to the following HPKE algorithm identifiers:

• KEM algorithm
• KDF algorithm
• AEAD algorithm

Each COSE algorithm ID registered for COSE-HPKE MUST indicate the three HPKE algorithm IDs mapped by the ciphersuite. The HPKE mode is determined by the presence or absence of the "psk_id" parameter and is therefore not explicitly indicated in the ciphersuite. For a list of ciphersuite registrations, please see . The following table summarizes the relationship between the ciphersuites registered in this document and the values registered in the HPKE IANA registry . The following list maps the ciphersuite labels to their textual description.

• HPKE-0: Integrated Encryption with DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-1: Integrated Encryption with DHKEM(P-384, HKDF-SHA384) KEM, HKDF-SHA384 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-2: Integrated Encryption with DHKEM(P-521, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-3: Integrated Encryption with DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-4: Integrated Encryption with DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD.
• HPKE-5: Integrated Encryption with DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-6: Integrated Encryption with DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD.
• HPKE-7: Integrated Encryption with DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-0: Key Encryption with DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-1: Key Encryption with DHKEM(P-384, HKDF-SHA384) KEM, HKDF-SHA384 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-2: Key Encryption with DHKEM(P-521, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-3: Key Encryption with DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-4: Key Encryption with DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD.
• HPKE-5: Key Encryption with DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• HPKE-6: Key Encryption with DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD.
• HPKE-7: Key Encryption with DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.

As the list indicates, the ciphersuite labels have been abbreviated at least to some extent to strike a balance between readability and length. The ciphersuite list above is a minimal starting point. Additional ciphersuites can be registered into the already existing registry. For example, once post-quantum cryptographic algorithms have been standardized it might be beneficial to register ciphersuites for use with COSE-HPKE. Additionally, ciphersuites utilizing the compact encoding of the public keys, as defined in , may be standardized for use in constrained environments. As a guideline for ciphersuite submissions to the IANA COSE algorithm registry, the designated experts must only register combinations of (KEM, KDF, AEAD) triple that constitute valid combinations for use with HPKE, the KDF used should (if possible) match one internally used by the KEM, and components should not be mixed between global and national standards.

COSE_Keys for COSE-HPKE Ciphersuites The COSE-HPKE algorithm uniquely determines the KEM for which a COSE_Key is used. The following mapping table shows the valid combinations of the KEM used, COSE_Key type, and its curve/key subtype. This holds for COSE algorithms using either of the COSE HPKE modes (Integrated Encryption and Key Encryption).

COSE_Key Types and Curves for COSE-HPKE Ciphersuites

Examples This section provides a set of examples that show the HPKE Integrated Encryption Mode and the HPKE Key Encryption Mode, and illustrates the use of key representations for HPKE KEM.

COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption Mode This example assumes that a sender wants to communicate an encrypted payload to a single recipient, named "bob". An example of the HPKE Integrated Encryption Mode is shown in . Line breaks and comments have been inserted for better readability. This example uses the following:

• Suite: HPKE-0 (P-256 / HKDF-SHA256 / AES-128-GCM)
• Plaintext: "This is the content."
• External AAD: empty
• External Info: empty
• Recipient kid: "bob"

The ciphertext (hex) transmitted to "bob" is:

Hex-Encoding of COSE_Encrypt0

COSE_Encrypt0 pretty-printed:

COSE_Encrypt0 Example for HPKE

The following COSE Key was used in this example:

COSE Key

COSE HPKE Key Encryption Mode An example of key encryption using the COSE_Encrypt structure using HPKE is shown in below. Line breaks and comments have been inserted for better readability. This example uses the following input parameters:

• Content encryption algorithm: AES-128-GCM
• plaintext: "This is the content."
• kid:"bob"
• alg: HPKE-0-KE (assumed 46) - Key Encryption, DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256), KDF: HKDF-SHA256, AEAD: AES-128-GCM
• external aad and info are empty

The following COSE Key is used: As a pretty-printed version: As a result, the following COSE_Encrypt payload is produced: Pretty-printed, this hex-sequence has the following content:

Key Representation Examples of private and public KEM key representation are shown below.

Public Key for HPKE-0

Public Key Representation Example for HPKE-0

Private Key for HPKE-0

Private Key Representation Example for HPKE-0

KEM Public Key for HPKE-4

Public Key Representation Example for HPKE-4

Security Considerations This specification is based on HPKE and the security considerations of are therefore applicable also to this specification. Both HPKE and HPKE COSE assume that the sender possesses the recipient's public key. Therefore, some form of public key distribution mechanism is assumed to exist, but this is outside the scope of this document. HPKE relies on a source of randomness to be available on the device. Additionally, with the two layer structure the CEK is randomly generated and it MUST be ensured that the guidelines in for random number generation are followed. HPKE in Base mode does not offer authentication as part of the HPKE KEM. In this case COSE constructs like COSE_Sign, COSE_Sign1, COSE_Mac, or COSE_Mac0 can be used to add authentication. If COSE_Encrypt or COSE_Encrypt0 is used with a detached ciphertext then the subsequently applied integrity protection via COSE_Sign, COSE_Sign1, COSE_Mac, or COSE_Mac0 does not cover this detached ciphertext. Implementers MUST ensure that the detached ciphertext also experiences integrity protection. This is, for example, the case when an AEAD cipher is used to produce the detached ciphertext but may not be guaranteed by non-AEAD ciphers.

IANA Considerations This document requests IANA to add new values to the 'COSE Algorithms' and to the 'COSE Header Parameters' registries.

COSE Algorithms Registry

HPKE-0

• Name: HPKE-0
• Value: TBD1 (Assumed: 35)
• Description: COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption using DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-1

• Name: HPKE-1
• Value: TBD3 (Assumed: 37)
• Description: COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption using DHKEM(P-384, HKDF-SHA384) KEM, HKDF-SHA384 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-2

• Name: HPKE-2
• Value: TBD5 (Assumed: 39)
• Description: COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption using DHKEM(P-521, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-3

• Name: HPKE-3
• Value: TBD7 (Assumed: 41)
• Description: COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption using DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-4

• Name: HPKE-4
• Value: TBD8 (Assumed: 42)
• Description: COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption using DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-5

• Name: HPKE-5
• Value: TBD9 (Assumed: 43)
• Description: COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption using DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-6

• Name: HPKE-6
• Value: TBD10 (Assumed: 44)
• Description: COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption using DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-7

• Name: HPKE-7
• Value: TBD13 (Assumed: 45)
• Description: COSE HPKE Integrated Encryption using DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-0-KE

• Name: HPKE-0-KE
• Value: TBD14 (Assumed: 46)
• Description: COSE HPKE Key Encryption using DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-1-KE

• Name: HPKE-1-KE
• Value: TBD15 (Assumed: 47)
• Description: COSE HPKE Key Encryption using DHKEM(P-384, HKDF-SHA384) KEM, HKDF-SHA384 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-2-KE

• Name: HPKE-2-KE
• Value: TBD16 (Assumed: 48)
• Description: COSE HPKE Key Encryption using DHKEM(P-521, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-3-KE

• Name: HPKE-3-KE
• Value: TBD17 (Assumed: 49)
• Description: COSE HPKE Key Encryption using DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-4-KE

• Name: HPKE-4-KE
• Value: TBD18 (Assumed: 50)
• Description: COSE HPKE Key Encryption using DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-5-KE

• Name: HPKE-5-KE
• Value: TBD19 (Assumed: 51)
• Description: COSE HPKE Key Encryption using DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-6-KE

• Name: HPKE-6-KE
• Value: TBD20 (Assumed: 52)
• Description: COSE HPKE Key Encryption using DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

HPKE-7-KE

• Name: HPKE-7-KE
• Value: TBD21 (Assumed: 53)
• Description: COSE HPKE Key Encryption using DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD.
• Capabilities: [kty]
• Change Controller: IESG
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]
• Recommended: Yes

COSE Header Parameters

ek Header Parameter

• Name: ek
• Label: TBD11 (Assumed: -4)
• Value type: bstr
• Value Registry: N/A
• Description: HPKE encapsulated key
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]

psk_id Header Parameter

• Name: psk_id
• Label: TBD12 (Assumed: -5)
• Value type: bstr
• Value Registry: N/A
• Description: A key identifier (kid) for the pre-shared key as defined in
• Reference: [[TBD: This RFC]]

References Normative References In many standards track documents several words are used to signify the requirements in the specification. These words are often capitalized. This document defines these words as they should be interpreted in IETF documents. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. RFC 2119 specifies common key words that may be used in protocol specifications. This document aims to reduce the ambiguity by clarifying that only UPPERCASE usage of the key words have the defined special meanings. The Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR) is a data format whose design goals include the possibility of extremely small code size, fairly small message size, and extensibility without the need for version negotiation. These design goals make it different from earlier binary serializations such as ASN.1 and MessagePack. This document obsoletes RFC 7049, providing editorial improvements, new details, and errata fixes while keeping full compatibility with the interchange format of RFC 7049. It does not create a new version of the format. This document describes a scheme for hybrid public key encryption (HPKE). This scheme provides a variant of public key encryption of arbitrary-sized plaintexts for a recipient public key. It also includes three authenticated variants, including one that authenticates possession of a pre-shared key and two optional ones that authenticate possession of a key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) private key. HPKE works for any combination of an asymmetric KEM, key derivation function (KDF), and authenticated encryption with additional data (AEAD) encryption function. Some authenticated variants may not be supported by all KEMs. We provide instantiations of the scheme using widely used and efficient primitives, such as Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) key agreement, HMAC-based key derivation function (HKDF), and SHA2. This document is a product of the Crypto Forum Research Group (CFRG) in the IRTF. Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR) is a data format designed for small code size and small message size. There is a need to be able to define basic security services for this data format. This document defines the CBOR Object Signing and Encryption (COSE) protocol. This specification describes how to create and process signatures, message authentication codes, and encryption using CBOR for serialization. This specification additionally describes how to represent cryptographic keys using CBOR. This document, along with RFC 9053, obsoletes RFC 8152. Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR) is a data format designed for small code size and small message size. There is a need to be able to define basic security services for this data format. This document defines a set of algorithms that can be used with the CBOR Object Signing and Encryption (COSE) protocol (RFC 9052). This document, along with RFC 9052, obsoletes RFC 8152. Informative References Randomness is a crucial ingredient for Transport Layer Security (TLS) and related security protocols. Weak or predictable "cryptographically secure" pseudorandom number generators (CSPRNGs) can be abused or exploited for malicious purposes. An initial entropy source that seeds a CSPRNG might be weak or broken as well, which can also lead to critical and systemic security problems. This document describes a way for security protocol implementations to augment their CSPRNGs using long-term private keys. This improves randomness from broken or otherwise subverted CSPRNGs. This document is a product of the Crypto Forum Research Group (CFRG) in the IRTF. This specification refers to cryptographic algorithm identifiers that fully specify the cryptographic operations to be performed, including any curve, key derivation function (KDF), and hash functions, as being "fully specified". It refers to cryptographic algorithm identifiers that require additional information beyond the algorithm identifier to determine the cryptographic operations to be performed as being "polymorphic". This specification creates fully-specified algorithm identifiers for registered JSON Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) and CBOR Object Signing and Encryption (COSE) polymorphic algorithm identifiers, enabling applications to use only fully-specified algorithm identifiers. It deprecates those polymorphic algorithm identifiers. This specification updates RFCs 7518, 8037, and 9053. It deprecates polymorphic algorithms defined by RFCs 8037 and 9053 and provides fully-specified replacements for them. It adds to the instructions to designated experts in RFCs 7518 and 9053. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise This document describes enhancements to the Hybrid Public Key Encryption standard published by CFRG. These include use of "compact representation" of relevant public keys, support for key-wrapping, and two ways to address the use of HPKE on lossy networks: a determinstic, nonce-less AEAD scheme, and use of a rolling sequence number with existing AEAD schemes. Vigil Security, LLC This document specifies the derivation of the content-encryption key or the content-authenticated-encryption key in the Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS) using HMAC-based Extract-and-Expand Key Derivation Function (HKDF) with SHA-256. The use of this mechanism provides protection against where the attacker manipulates the content-encryption algorithm identifier or the content-authenticated- encryption algorithm identifier. IANA

Contributors We would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to the design of embedding the HPKE output into the COSE structure following a long and lively mailing list discussion:

• Richard Barnes
• Ilari Liusvaara

Finally, we would like to thank Russ Housley and Brendan Moran for their contributions to the draft as co-authors of initial versions.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank John Mattsson, Mike Prorock, Michael Richardson, Thomas Fossati, and Göran Selander for their contributions to the specification.

Testvectors The testvectors use the following input:

• Plaintext: "hpke test payload"
• AAD: "external-aad"
• Info: "external-info"
• HPKE AAD: "external-hpke-aad"

AAD is the COSE Enc_structure.external_aad. It is used as AAD for the COSE AEAD in Encrypt0/Encrypt (Layer 0). HPKE AAD is the HPKE AAD for CEK wrap/unwrap in Key Encryption (Layer 1). It is only passed to the HPKE Seal/Open of the CEK.