



Messaging Layer Security                                       R. Robert
Internet-Draft                                                K. Kohbrok
Intended status: Informational                               Phoenix R&D
Expires: 23 April 2026                                   20 October 2025


                      Single Signature KeyPackages
           draft-kohbrok-mls-single-signature-keypackages-00

Abstract

   Single Signature KeyPackages improve the overhead of creating,
   transmitting and verifying MLS KeyPackages by removing one signature.

About This Document

   This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.

   The latest revision of this draft can be found at
   https://kkohbrok.github.io/draft-kohbrok-single-signature-
   keypackages/draft-kohbrok-mls-single-signature-keypackages.html.
   Status information for this document may be found at
   https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-kohbrok-mls-single-signature-
   keypackages/.

   Discussion of this document takes place on the Messaging Layer
   Security Working Group mailing list (mailto:mls@ietf.org), which is
   archived at https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/mls/.  Subscribe
   at https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/mls/.

   Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
   https://github.com/kkohbrok/draft-kohbrok-single-signature-
   keypackages.

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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   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."



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   This Internet-Draft will expire on 23 April 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
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Single Signature KeyPackages  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   3.  KeyPackage core hash component  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   4.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   5.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     5.1.  Component Type  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     5.2.  WireFormat  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   6.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5

1.  Introduction

   MLS KeyPackages require two signatures: One over the LeafNode and one
   over the KeyPackage around it.  This draft introduced a LeafNode
   component that contains a hash over the KeyPackage fields surrounding
   the LeafNode.  As a consequenve, verifying the LeafNode also verifies
   the KeyPackage.

   Saving a signature is significant, especially in the context of PQ-
   secure signature schemes such as ML-DSA, where signatures are
   multiple orders of magnitude larger than those of most non-PQ
   signature schemes.

2.  Single Signature KeyPackages

   A SingleSignatureKeyPackage (SSKP) functions much like a regular
   KeyPackage with two exceptions: It lacks the signature around the
   outer KeyPackage and requires a component inside the LeafNode that
   contains a hash of the KeyPackage around the inner LeafNode.



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   Since both parsing and processing of an SSKP is different from that
   of a regular KeyPackage, this document introduces a new WireFormat
   mls_single_signature_key_package and extends the select statement in
   the definition of MLSMessage in Section 6 of [RFC9420] as follows.

   struct {
     ...
     select (MLSMessage.wire_format) {
       ...
       case mls_single_signature_key_package:
           SingleSignatureKeyPackage key_package;
     };
   } MLSMessage;

   struct {
     ProtocolVersion version;
     CipherSuite cipher_suite;
     HPKEPublicKey init_key;
     Extension extensions<V>;
   } KeyPackageCore

   struct {
     KeyPackageCore core;
     LeafNode leaf_node;
   } SingleSignatureKeyPackage

   A SingleSignatureKeyPackage is created and processed like a regular
   KeyPackage with the following exceptions.

   *  The signature around the outer KeyPackage is omitted upon creation

   *  As there is no signature around the outer KeyPackage, verification
      is skipped during verification

   *  The app_data_dictionary in the leaf_node must contain a valid
      KeyPackageCoreHash as defined in Section 3 under the component_id
      TBD.

   The original purpose of the signature over the KeyPackage is now
   served by the signature over the LeafNode, which by inclusion of the
   KeyPackageCoreHash provides authenticity for both the LeafNode itself
   _and_ the KeyPackageCore around it.

3.  KeyPackage core hash component

   struct {
     opaque key_package_core_hash;
   } KeyPackageCoreHash



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   The KeyPackageCoreHashComponent can be created by hashing the TLS-
   serialized core of a SingleSignatureKeyPackage using the hash
   function of the LeafNode's ciphersuite.

   A KeyPackageCoreHash is only valid if two conditions are met.

   *  The leaf_node_source of the LeafNode is KeyPackage

   *  If the LeafNode is verified in the context of a
      SingleSignatureKeyPackage, the key_package_core_hash is the hash
      of the core of that SingleSignatureKeyPackage.

4.  Security Considerations

   Security considerations around SingleSignatureKeyPackages are the
   same as regular KeyPackages, except that content of the
   KeyPackageCore should not be trusted until the signature of the
   LeafNode was verified and the KeyPackageCoreHash validated.

5.  IANA Considerations

5.1.  Component Type

   This document requests the addition of a new Component Type under the
   heading of "Messaging Layer Security".

   *  Value: TBD

   *  key_package_core_hash

   *  Where: LN

   *  Recommended: Y

   *  Reference: TBD

5.2.  WireFormat

   This document requests the addition of a new WireFormat under the
   heading of "Messaging Layer Security".

   The mls_single_signature_key_package allows saving the creation and
   verification of a signature that is necessary when creating a regular
   KeyPackage.

   *  Value: TBD

   *  Name: mls_single_signature_key_package



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   *  Recommended: Y

   *  Reference: TBD

6.  Normative References

   [RFC9420]  Barnes, R., Beurdouche, B., Robert, R., Millican, J.,
              Omara, E., and K. Cohn-Gordon, "The Messaging Layer
              Security (MLS) Protocol", RFC 9420, DOI 10.17487/RFC9420,
              July 2023, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9420>.

Acknowledgments

   TODO acknowledge.

Authors' Addresses

   Raphael Robert
   Phoenix R&D
   Email: ietf@raphaelrobert.com


   Konrad Kohbrok
   Phoenix R&D
   Email: konrad@ratchet.ing


























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