



Network Working Group                                         V. Smyslov
Internet-Draft                                                ELVIS-PLUS
Intended status: Standards Track                                  Y. Nir
Expires: 30 March 2026                                 Dell Technologies
                                                       26 September 2025


 Using Classic McEliece in the Internet Key Exchange Protocol Version 2
                                (IKEv2)
                draft-smyslov-ipsecme-ikev2-mceliece-00

Abstract

   This document specifies how Classic McEliece Key Encapsulation
   Mechanism (KEM) is used in IKEv2.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
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   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 30 March 2026.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2025 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.





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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Terminology and Notation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   3.  Classic McEliece KEM  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   4.  Using Classic McEliece in IKEv2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   6.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   7.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     8.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     8.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4

1.  Introduction

2.  Terminology and Notation

   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 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

   It is assumed that readers are familiar with the IKEv2 protocol
   [RFC7296].

3.  Classic McEliece KEM

4.  Using Classic McEliece in IKEv2

5.  Security Considerations

6.  IANA Considerations

7.  Acknowledgements

8.  References

8.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.






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   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

   [RFC7296]  Kaufman, C., Hoffman, P., Nir, Y., Eronen, P., and T.
              Kivinen, "Internet Key Exchange Protocol Version 2
              (IKEv2)", STD 79, RFC 7296, DOI 10.17487/RFC7296, October
              2014, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7296>.

   [RFC7383]  Smyslov, V., "Internet Key Exchange Protocol Version 2
              (IKEv2) Message Fragmentation", RFC 7383,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7383, November 2014,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7383>.

   [RFC9242]  Smyslov, V., "Intermediate Exchange in the Internet Key
              Exchange Protocol Version 2 (IKEv2)", RFC 9242,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9242, May 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9242>.

   [RFC9370]  Tjhai, CJ., Tomlinson, M., Bartlett, G., Fluhrer, S., Van
              Geest, D., Garcia-Morchon, O., and V. Smyslov, "Multiple
              Key Exchanges in the Internet Key Exchange Protocol
              Version 2 (IKEv2)", RFC 9370, DOI 10.17487/RFC9370, May
              2023, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9370>.

   [I-D.josefsson-mceliece]
              Josefsson, S., "Classic McEliece", Work in Progress,
              Internet-Draft, draft-josefsson-mceliece-03, 7 July 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-josefsson-
              mceliece-03>.

   [I-D.nir-ipsecme-big-payload]
              Nir, Y., "A Larger Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2)
              Payload", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-nir-
              ipsecme-big-payload-06, 14 September 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-nir-ipsecme-
              big-payload-06>.

8.2.  Informative References

   [RFC9329]  Pauly, T. and V. Smyslov, "TCP Encapsulation of Internet
              Key Exchange Protocol (IKE) and IPsec Packets", RFC 9329,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9329, November 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9329>.

   [I-D.smyslov-ipsecme-ikev2-reliable-transport]
              Smyslov, V. and T. Reddy.K, "Separate Transports for IKE
              and ESP", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-smyslov-



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              ipsecme-ikev2-reliable-transport-04, 15 April 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-smyslov-
              ipsecme-ikev2-reliable-transport-04>.

Authors' Addresses

   Valery Smyslov
   ELVIS-PLUS
   Russian Federation
   Email: svan@elvis.ru


   Yoav Nir
   Dell Technologies
   9 Andrei Sakharov St
   Haifa 3190500
   Israel
   Email: ynir.ietf@gmail.com

































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