pqc-combo v0.1.0 NO KAT TEST

Pure Rust Post-Quantum Cryptography Library with FIPS 140-3 Support

A production-ready, no_std compatible cryptography library implementing NIST-standardized post-quantum algorithms with optional FIPS 140-3 compliance features.

🌐 Website: www.pqc-combo.com
📦 Crate: crates.io/crates/pqc-combo
📖 Documentation: docs.rs/pqc-combo
🔗 Repository: github.com/AaronSchnacky1/pqc-combo

✨ Features

🧪 Testing

cargo test --features std
cargo test --features "std,ml-kem,ml-dsa"
cargo test --features "std,fips_140_3"
cargo test --all-features

cargo test --no-default-features
cargo test --no-default-features --features alloc
cargo test --no-default-features --features "alloc,aes-gcm"

cargo bench
cargo bench --features "std,ml-kem,ml-dsa"
cargo bench keygen
cargo bench ML-KEM

Cryptographic Algorithms

• ML-KEM-1024 (Kyber) - FIPS 203, Security Level 5

  • Key Encapsulation Mechanism for secure key exchange
  • 1568-byte public keys, 3168-byte private keys
  • 32-byte shared secrets

• ML-DSA-65 (Dilithium) - FIPS 204, Security Level 3

  • Digital signature algorithm for authentication
  • 1952-byte public keys, 4032-byte private keys
  • 3309-byte signatures

• AES-256-GCM - FIPS 197 & SP 800-38D

  • Authenticated encryption with associated data
  • Optional feature for hybrid encryption schemes

FIPS 140-3 Compliance Features

When the fips_140_3 feature is enabled, the library includes:

• ✅ Pre-Operational Self-Tests (POST)

  • Cryptographic Algorithm Self-Tests (CASTs) for hash functions
  • Known Answer Tests (KATs) for ML-KEM and ML-DSA
  • Pair-wise Consistency Tests (PCTs) for key generation

• ✅ State Machine

  • Enforces proper initialization before cryptographic operations
  • States: Uninitialized → POST → Operational → Error

• ✅ CSP Controls

  • Prevents plaintext export of secret keys in FIPS mode
  • Automatic key zeroization on drop
  • Keys only accessible through approved APIs

Platform Support

• ✅ no_std + no_alloc - Bare metal / embedded systems
• ✅ no_std + alloc - Embedded with allocator
• ✅ std - Full standard library with OS RNG

🚀 Quick Start

Add to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
pqc-combo = "0.1"

Basic Usage

use pqc_combo::*;

// Key Encapsulation (KEM)
let keys = KyberKeys::generate_key_pair();
let (ciphertext, shared_secret_sender) = encapsulate_shared_secret(&keys.pk);
let shared_secret_receiver = decapsulate_shared_secret(&keys.sk, &ciphertext);
assert_eq!(shared_secret_sender, shared_secret_receiver);

// Digital Signatures
let (pk, sk) = generate_dilithium_keypair();
let message = b"Hello, Post-Quantum World!";
let signature = sign_message(&sk, message);
assert!(verify_signature(&pk, message, &signature));

FIPS 140-3 Mode

use pqc_combo::*;

// Run Pre-Operational Self-Tests
run_post().expect("POST failed");

// Generate keys with Pair-wise Consistency Test
let keys = KyberKeys::generate_key_pair_with_pct()
    .expect("PCT failed");

// Use keys normally
let (ct, ss) = encapsulate_shared_secret(&keys.pk);

no_std Usage

#![no_std]

use pqc_combo::*;

// Bring your own entropy source
let seed: [u8; 64] = get_hardware_entropy();

// Generate keys from seed
let keys = KyberKeys::generate_key_pair_with_seed(seed);

📋 Feature Flags

Configuration Examples

# Default: Full featured with std
pqc-combo = "0.1"

# FIPS mode
pqc-combo = { version = "0.1", features = ["fips_140_3"] }

# Minimal no_std
pqc-combo = { version = "0.1", default-features = false, features = ["ml-kem", "ml-dsa"] }

# no_std with allocator and AES
pqc-combo = { version = "0.1", default-features = false, features = ["alloc", "ml-kem", "ml-dsa", "aes-gcm"] }

🔒 Security

Algorithm Security Levels

• ML-KEM-1024: NIST Security Level 5 (equivalent to AES-256)
• ML-DSA-65: NIST Security Level 3 (equivalent to AES-192)
• AES-256-GCM: 256-bit security

Implementation Security

• ✅ Pure Rust - Memory safety guaranteed by Rust
• ✅ Constant-time operations - Via libcrux implementations
• ✅ Automatic zeroization - Secret keys cleared on drop
• ✅ No unsafe code - In the public API surface
• ✅ FIPS 140-3 ready - Self-tests and state machine included

Security Considerations

• RNG Quality: Use hardware RNG in production environments
• Side-channel resistance: Implementations use constant-time operations where possible
• Key management: Secret keys are automatically zeroized, but ensure proper key lifecycle management
• Not yet certified: FIPS 140-3 certification is in progress

See SECURITY.md for more details.

📊 Performance

Measured on modern x86_64 hardware (November 2024):

Key Insights:

• 🚀 All operations complete in under 100 microseconds
• 🚀 ML-KEM is faster than RSA-2048 for key exchange
• 🚀 ML-DSA is competitive with ECDSA for signatures
• 🚀 Pure Rust with no performance compromises

Run cargo bench to measure on your hardware. See PERFORMANCE_BENCHMARKS.md for detailed analysis.

🛠️ Development Status

✅ Completed

• Pure Rust implementations via libcrux
• no_std support (bare metal to full std)
• ML-KEM-1024 (Kyber) implementation
• ML-DSA-65 (Dilithium) implementation
• AES-256-GCM integration
• FIPS 140-3 state machine
• Pair-wise Consistency Tests (PCT)
• Hash function CASTs
• Known Answer Tests (KATs) for ML-KEM and ML-DSA
• CSP controls and zeroization
• Comprehensive test suite

🚧 In Progress

• FIPS 140-3 certification documentation
• Additional algorithm support (ML-KEM-768, ML-DSA-87)

📝 Planned

• C FFI wrapper (separate crate)
• Python bindings
• WebAssembly support
• Hardware acceleration
• Formal verification

📚 Documentation

• API Documentation: Run cargo doc --open
• FIPS 140-3 Security Policy: See docs/FIPS_140_3_SECURITY_POLICY.md
• FIPS 140-3 User Guide: See docs/FIPS_140_3_USER_GUIDE.md
• Testing Guide: See docs/TESTING_GUIDE.md
• Security Policy: See SECURITY.md
• Changelog: See CHANGELOG.md

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• libcrux - Pure Rust cryptographic implementations
• NIST - Post-quantum cryptography standardization
• Rust Crypto - Cryptographic primitives ecosystem

📧 Contact

Author: Aaron Schnacky
Email: aaronschnacky@gmail.com
Website: www.pqc-combo.com
GitHub: @AaronSchnacky1

For security issues, please see SECURITY.md for responsible disclosure process.

⚠️ Disclaimer

This software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. While it implements NIST-standardized algorithms and includes FIPS 140-3 compliance features, it has not yet completed FIPS 140-3 certification. Use in production environments should be evaluated based on your specific security requirements.

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