



JOSE                                                            T. Reddy
Internet-Draft                                                     Nokia
Updates: 7516 (if approved)                                H. Tschofenig
Intended status: Standards Track                                   H-BRS
Expires: 20 August 2026                                      A. Banerjee
                                                                   Nokia
                                                               O. Steele
                                                            Tradeverifyd
                                                                M. Jones
                                                  Self-Issued Consulting
                                                        16 February 2026


  Use of Hybrid Public Key Encryption (HPKE) with JSON Web Encryption
                                 (JWE)
                    draft-ietf-jose-hpke-encrypt-16

Abstract

   This specification defines how to use Hybrid Public Key Encryption
   (HPKE) with JSON Web Encryption (JWE).  HPKE enables public key
   encryption of arbitrary-sized plaintexts to a recipient's public key,
   and provides security against adaptive chosen ciphertext attacks.
   This specification chooses a specific subset of the HPKE features to
   use with JWE.

   This specification updates RFC 7516 (JWE) to enable use of Integrated
   Encryption as a Key Management Mode.

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://ietf-wg-
   jose.github.io/draft-ietf-jose-hpke-encrypt/draft-ietf-jose-hpke-
   encrypt.html.  Status information for this document may be found at
   https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-jose-hpke-encrypt/.

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

   Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
   https://github.com/ietf-wg-jose/draft-ietf-jose-hpke-encrypt.






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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 20 August 2026.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2026 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
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   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  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   2.  Notational Conventions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   3.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   4.  Overview  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.1.  Encapsulated Secrets  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Integrated Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     5.1.  Integrated Encryption Algorithms using HPKE . . . . . . .   7
     5.2.  JWE Compact Serialization Example . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     5.3.  Flattened JWE JSON Serialization Example  . . . . . . . .   8
   6.  Key Encryption  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
     6.1.  Recipient_structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       6.1.1.  Recipient_structure Example . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     6.2.  Key Encryption Algorithms using HPKE  . . . . . . . . . .  10
     6.3.  General JWE JSON Serialization Example  . . . . . . . . .  10
   7.  Producing and Consuming JWEs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11



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     7.1.  Message Encryption  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     7.2.  Message Decryption  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   8.  Distinguishing Between JWS and JWE Objects  . . . . . . . . .  16
   9.  JWK Representations for JWE HPKE Keys . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     9.1.  JWK Representation of Key using JWE HPKE Ciphersuite  . .  17
   10. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     10.1.  Key Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     10.2.  JWT Best Current Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   11. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     11.1.  JSON Web Signature and Encryption Algorithms . . . . . .  18
       11.1.1.  HPKE-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
       11.1.2.  HPKE-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
       11.1.3.  HPKE-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
       11.1.4.  HPKE-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
       11.1.5.  HPKE-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
       11.1.6.  HPKE-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
       11.1.7.  HPKE-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
       11.1.8.  HPKE-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
       11.1.9.  HPKE-0-KE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
       11.1.10. HPKE-1-KE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
       11.1.11. HPKE-2-KE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
       11.1.12. HPKE-3-KE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
       11.1.13. HPKE-4-KE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
       11.1.14. HPKE-5-KE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
       11.1.15. HPKE-6-KE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
       11.1.16. HPKE-7-KE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
     11.2.  JSON Web Signature and Encryption Header Parameters  . .  24
       11.2.1.  ek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
       11.2.2.  psk_id . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
   12. Summary of Updates to RFC 7516 (JWE)  . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
   13. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
     13.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
     13.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
   Appendix A.  Keys Used in Examples  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
     A.1.  Integrated Encryption Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
     A.2.  Key Encryption Key  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
   Document History  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31

1.  Introduction

   Hybrid Public Key Encryption (HPKE) [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke] is a public
   key encryption (PKE) scheme that provides encryption of arbitrary-
   sized plaintexts to a recipient's public key.  This specification
   enables JSON Web Encryption (JWE) [RFC7516] to leverage HPKE,
   bringing support for HPKE encryption and KEMs to JWE, and the
   possibility of utilizing future HPKE algorithms.



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2.  Notational Conventions

   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.

3.  Terminology

   This specification uses the following abbreviations and terms:

   *  Content Encryption Key (CEK), Header Parameter, and JOSE Header,
      as defined in [RFC7516].

   *  Hybrid Public Key Encryption (HPKE), as defined in
      [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

   *  pkR is the public key of the recipient, as defined in
      [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

   *  skR is the private key of the recipient, as defined in
      [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

   *  Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM), per [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

   *  Key Derivation Function (KDF), per [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

   *  Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD); see
      [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke] and [RFC7516].

   *  Additional Authenticated Data (AAD); see [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke] and
      [RFC7516].

   This specification defines the following terms:

   Key Management Mode  A method of determining whether a Content
      Encryption Key (CEK) value is used and, if so, what CEK value to
      use.  Each method used for making these determinations uses a
      specific Key Management Mode.  Key Management Modes employed by
      this specification are Key Encryption, Key Wrapping, Direct Key
      Agreement, Key Agreement with Key Wrapping, Direct Encryption, and
      Integrated Encryption.

   Integrated Encryption  A Key Management Mode in which the plaintext
      is directly encrypted without the use of a Content Encryption Key
      (CEK).




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   The definition of Key Management Mode above replaces the one in JWE
   [RFC7516].

4.  Overview

   This specification defines the use of HPKE in JWE for two Key
   Management Modes:

   *  Key Encryption, and

   *  Integrated Encryption.

   It specifies the Integrated Encryption Key Management Mode and
   registers the corresponding JWE algorithm identifiers for both modes.
   Distinct JWE algorithms are defined for Key Encryption and Integrated
   Encryption so that they are fully specified, as required by
   [RFC9864].

   When the Key Management Mode is Integrated Encryption, HPKE is used
   to directly encrypt the plaintext, and the "enc" header parameter
   MUST NOT be included.  This specification updates the definition of
   the "enc" header parameter in Section 4.1.2 of [RFC7516] to require
   that it be omitted when Integrated Encryption is used.

   When the Key Management Mode is Key Encryption, HPKE is used to
   encrypt the Content Encryption Key (CEK).  In this mode, the "enc"
   header parameter is used as specified in JWE [RFC7516].  The HPKE
   AEAD encryption function used internally by HPKE is distinct from the
   JWE AEAD algorithm specified in "enc".

   In both Key Management Modes, the HPKE key encapsulation mechanism
   (KEM), key derivation function (KDF), and authenticated encryption
   with additional data (AEAD) encryption function utilized depend on
   the JWE algorithm used.

   HPKE supports two modes, which are described in Table 1 of
   [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].  In this specification, both "mode_base" and
   "mode_psk" are supported for both Key Management Modes.  When the
   "psk_id" header parameter is present, the HPKE mode is "mode_psk";
   otherwise, the HPKE mode is "mode_base".

   JWE supports two kinds of serializations:

   *  the JWE Compact Serialization described in Section 3.1 of
      [RFC7516], and

   *  the JWE JSON Serialization described in Section 3.2 of [RFC7516].




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   Certain JWE features are only supported in specific serializations.
   For example, the JWE Compact Serialization does not support:

   *  the additional authenticated data header parameter "aad",

   *  multiple recipients, and

   *  unprotected header parameters.

   Key Encryption can be used with the "aad" header parameter when using
   the JWE JSON Serialization.  Single recipient Key Encryption with no
   "aad" header parameter can be expressed in the JWE Compact
   Serialization.

4.1.  Encapsulated Secrets

   HPKE encapsulated secret is defined in Section 5 of
   [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

   When using Integrated Encryption, the JWE Encrypted Key of the sole
   recipient is the HPKE encapsulated secret.

   When using Key Encryption, each recipient's JWE Encrypted Key is the
   encrypted content encryption key, and the value of header parameter
   "ek" is the base64url encoding of the HPKE encapsulated secret.

5.  Integrated Encryption

   When using Integrated Encryption with HPKE:

   *  The protected header MUST contain an "alg" value that is an HPKE
      JWE algorithm using Integrated Encryption.

   *  The "enc" header parameter MUST NOT be present.  This is because
      no separate content encryption algorithm is used in this mode.

   *  The protected header parameter "psk_id" MAY be present.

   *  The protected header parameter "ek" MUST NOT be present.

   *  There MUST be exactly one recipient.

   *  The JWE Encrypted Key MUST be the encapsulated secret, as defined
      in Section 5 of [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

   *  The JWE Initialization Vector and JWE Authentication Tag MUST be
      the empty octet sequence.




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   *  The JWE AAD MAY be present when using the JWE JSON Serialization.

   *  The HPKE aad parameter MUST be set to the "Additional
      Authenticated Data encryption parameter" value specified in Step
      15 of Section 7.1.

   *  The HPKE info parameter defaults to the empty octet sequence;
      mutually known private information (a concept also utilized in
      [NIST.SP.800-56Ar3]) MAY be used instead so the application can
      include it during key derivation.

   *  The JWE Ciphertext is the ciphertext from the HPKE encryption, as
      defined in Section 5.2 of [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

5.1.  Integrated Encryption Algorithms using HPKE

   The following JWE algorithms using HPKE are defined for use with
   Integrated Encryption as the Key Management Mode:

+--------+----------------------------+-------------+------------------+
| "alg"  | HPKE KEM                   | HPKE KDF    | HPKE AEAD        |
+--------+----------------------------+-------------+------------------+
| HPKE-0 | DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256)  | HKDF-SHA256 | AES-128-GCM      |
| HPKE-1 | DHKEM(P-384, HKDF-SHA384)  | HKDF-SHA384 | AES-256-GCM      |
| HPKE-2 | DHKEM(P-521, HKDF-SHA512)  | HKDF-SHA512 | AES-256-GCM      |
| HPKE-3 | DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) | HKDF-SHA256 | AES-128-GCM      |
| HPKE-4 | DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) | HKDF-SHA256 | ChaCha20Poly1305 |
| HPKE-5 | DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512)   | HKDF-SHA512 | AES-256-GCM      |
| HPKE-6 | DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512)   | HKDF-SHA512 | ChaCha20Poly1305 |
| HPKE-7 | DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256)  | HKDF-SHA256 | AES-256-GCM      |
+--------+----------------------------+-------------+------------------+

      Figure 1: Algorithms using HPKE for Integrated Encryption

   The HPKE KEM, KDF, and AEAD values are chosen from the IANA HPKE
   registry [IANA.HPKE].

5.2.  JWE Compact Serialization Example

   Below is an example of a JWE using the Compact Serialization and
   Integrated Encryption with HPKE:

eyJhbGciOiJIUEtFLTAiLCJraWQiOiJ5Q25mYm1ZTVpjV3JLRHRfRGpOZWJSQ0IxdnhWb3F2NHVtSjRXSzhSWWprIn0.BLAJX8adrFsDKaoJAc3iy2dq-6jEH3Uv-bSgqIoDeREqpWglMoTS67XsXere1ZYxiQKEFU6MbWe8O7vmdlSmcUk..NcN9ew5aijn8W7piLVRU8r2cOP0JKqxOF4RllVsJM4qsAfVXW5Ka6so9zdUmXXNOXyCEk0wV_s8ICAnD4LbRa5TkhTeuhijIfAt9bQ2fMLOeyed3WyArs8yaMraa9Zbh4i6SaHunM7jU_xoz_N2WbykSOSySmCO49H4mP3jLW9L_TYQfeVfYsrB8clqokZ8h-3eQGNwmOPtkjWdpAfaHUsp4-HC9nRd6yrTU6mV65Nn2iYynu3Xkgy2Lm-kQKDavIEW3PBpEeiw6mtPJE9o8sT-0lZ9kpWtqog2XbNGEfjSOjujvNe1b0g4-FdNFMFO_fo0rxe902W1pGT7znv4Q-xBkIydK4ZwjiFN6dAXutnococ37A0Hr5esPLwHRTTrBFw.

   The key used for this example is in Appendix A.1.






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5.3.  Flattened JWE JSON Serialization Example

   Below is an example of a JWE using the Flattened JSON Serialization
   and Integrated Encryption with HPKE:

{
  "ciphertext": "LabI8_KIPDbymUSbyVctj8AfISXQ07sMt1xQ1lrS-0heU2jjejpQIK75K1KXcvwn15E6Kil_tJ6LBcYCu02O1H8_aooJGuoLw1vEzQn16h498YX9e2SA2IcVrJTkcCjL7YpF9fsAF3JEzGfsmmrpZPPVdxCn7g8dkGRcyulnHrNvBu4BFtub-URtf-nYCFIJHZ4k-ul9fDddquicFzCxQonx66-ZX5nbj6azHG65tAZntd6VFkRgihdxTvIpvTS4gfulQeKyShbiw-OCJNbzFdEnOKEMnsyqRjwG7iVrFEilFAMsvLJ14-lcuR5btIkUntIwlnsfUa2Ytk33znCfAFN0wYukdDvJe-V0nnNUFlOeLyYV0eEGisgC9dQQ1kFu3g",
  "encrypted_key": "BAOlZ-VnbhQu4NOlTlDAVYwUJB-Q6YcWwnRNWK6YLSiHHlW4rN0qUzBJ3Rc2_y8nkasn8nUVGBzdq7OhdKKiLq4",
  "aad": "VGhlIEZlbGxvd3NoaXAgb2YgdGhlIFJpbmc",
  "protected": "eyJhbGciOiJIUEtFLTAiLCJraWQiOiJ5Q25mYm1ZTVpjV3JLRHRfRGpOZWJSQ0IxdnhWb3F2NHVtSjRXSzhSWWprIn0"
}

   The key used for this example is in Appendix A.1.

6.  Key Encryption

   When using the JWE JSON Serialization, recipients using Key
   Encryption with HPKE can be added alongside other recipients (e.g.,
   those using ECDH-ES+A128KW or RSA-OAEP-256), since HPKE is used to
   encrypt the Content Encryption Key (CEK).

   When using Key Encryption with HPKE:

   *  The "alg" header parameter MUST be a HPKE JWE algorithm using Key
      Encryption.

   *  The header parameter "psk_id" MAY be present.

   *  The header parameter "ek" MUST be present and contain the
      base64url-encoded HPKE encapsulated secret.

   *  The HPKE aad parameter defaults to the empty octet sequence.

   *  The HPKE info parameter is set to the value of the
      Recipient_structure defined below.

   *  THE HPKE plaintext MUST be set to the CEK.

   *  The recipient's JWE Encrypted Key is the ciphertext from the HPKE
      Encryption, as defined in Section 5.2 of [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke].

6.1.  Recipient_structure

   The Recipient_structure used as the value of the HPKE info parameter
   when performing Key Encryption with HPKE provides context information
   used in key derivation.  To ensure compactness and interoperability,
   this structure is encoded in a binary format.  The encoding is as
   follows:



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   Recipient_structure = ASCII("JOSE-HPKE rcpt") ||
                         BYTE(255) ||
                         ASCII(content_encryption_alg) ||
                         BYTE(255) ||
                         recipient_extra_info

   Where:

   *  ASCII("JOSE-HPKE rcpt"): A fixed ASCII string identifying the
      context of the structure.

   *  BYTE(255): A separator byte (0xFF) used to delimit fields.

   *  ASCII(content_encryption_alg): Identifies the content encryption
      algorithm with which the HPKE-encrypted Content Encryption Key
      (CEK) is used.  Its value MUST be the "enc" (encryption algorithm)
      header parameter value in the JOSE Header.  This field provides
      JWE context information to the HPKE key schedule, which ensures
      that the encapsulated secret is bound to the selected content
      encryption algorithm.

   *  BYTE(255): A separator byte (0xFF) used to delimit fields.

   *  recipient_extra_info: An octet string containing additional
      context information that the application includes in the key
      derivation.  Mutually known private information (a concept also
      utilized in [NIST.SP.800-56Ar3]) MAY be used in this input
      parameter.  If no additional context information is provided, this
      field MUST be the empty octet sequence.

   Note that Integrated Encryption does not use the Recipient_structure
   because the JWE Protected Header and JWE AAD are included in the HPKE
   aad value, which binds these parameters to the ciphertext.

6.1.1.  Recipient_structure Example

   The Recipient_structure encoded in binary as specified in
   Section 6.1, and using the field values (content_encryption_alg =
   "A128GCM", recipient_extra_info = ""), results in the following byte
   sequence:

   "JOSE-HPKE rcpt\xffA128GCM\xff"

   The corresponding hexadecimal representation is:

   4a4f53452d48504b452072637074ff4131323847434dff





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   This value is used as the HPKE info parameter when performing Key
   Encryption with HPKE.

6.2.  Key Encryption Algorithms using HPKE

   The following JWE algorithms using HPKE are defined for use with Key
   Encryption as the Key Management Mode:

+-----------+----------------------------+-------------+------------------+
| "alg"     | HPKE KEM                   | HPKE KDF    | HPKE AEAD        |
+-----------+----------------------------+-------------+------------------+
| HPKE-0-KE | DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256)  | HKDF-SHA256 | AES-128-GCM      |
| HPKE-1-KE | DHKEM(P-384, HKDF-SHA384)  | HKDF-SHA384 | AES-256-GCM      |
| HPKE-2-KE | DHKEM(P-521, HKDF-SHA512)  | HKDF-SHA512 | AES-256-GCM      |
| HPKE-3-KE | DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) | HKDF-SHA256 | AES-128-GCM      |
| HPKE-4-KE | DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) | HKDF-SHA256 | ChaCha20Poly1305 |
| HPKE-5-KE | DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512)   | HKDF-SHA512 | AES-256-GCM      |
| HPKE-6-KE | DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512)   | HKDF-SHA512 | ChaCha20Poly1305 |
| HPKE-7-KE | DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256)  | HKDF-SHA256 | AES-256-GCM      |
+-----------+----------------------------+-------------+------------------+

          Figure 2: Algorithms using HPKE for Key Encryption

   The HPKE KEM, KDF, and AEAD values are chosen from the IANA HPKE
   registry [IANA.HPKE].

6.3.  General JWE JSON Serialization Example

   Below is an example of a JWE using the General JSON Serialization and
   Key Encryption with HPKE:

{
  "ciphertext": "uF1XBbVZWhYm_pDbeJvI_fkuqFJiKd1WMP3O_BAGOP-LkpTLE3Et2VQNcOpPAIBfyx8rUzshGqiOFOWzcoWZ3mIwYuDvvAW3-P1RCS8Dtq70JRvahO5O8sAN1vzJg8_dyBPnwsQY6Cy3RhMD6sSSCjjSw0FYmmx67IiI2zJ6Wr8z69k0f34ZTh43k4C-pTwaUSvjl2XI_YrUgdDVYmY_MJ5vmlPTcceMaefP8Onz_fx5xOcGfnVBVz2gpMQPuQL8k5Rk5KJvPGfFfN6hrgWkK_LDzi4lrfnIrvNsk3BCBeZPpc-n19-u7W4-GQxLjAlVyMHeGk5K4tU6gHB8PnnQ4ND5ZTtyXrJWQW-Qr1iFev6g",
  "iv": "mLiHjYaQA42nPm1L",
  "recipients": [
    {
      "encrypted_key": "hU6b0hp4-y4ZoK1Qz8YWmDmqDmgTto3HW25-RyPhcLU",
      "header": {
        "alg": "HPKE-0-KE",
        "kid": "9CfUPiGcAcTp7oXgVbDStw2FEjka-_KHU_i-X3XMCEA",
        "ek": "BGWPWLoD5BUjFEDIjMS-yvtcCXBn5A-kuv2RjzUY_2hKUjgZINqtEy1aHZ8dWxAiyApV5JafG76W8O_yZzy5T54"
      }
    }
  ],
  "tag": "K22C64ZhFABEu2S2F00PLg",
  "aad": "VGhlIEZlbGxvd3NoaXAgb2YgdGhlIFJpbmc",
  "protected": "eyJlbmMiOiJBMTI4R0NNIn0"
}



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   The key used for this example is in Appendix A.2.

7.  Producing and Consuming JWEs

   Sections 5.1 (Message Encryption) and 5.2 (Message Decryption) of
   [RFC7516] are replaced by the following sections, which add
   processing rules for using Integrated Encryption as the Key
   Management Mode.

7.1.  Message Encryption

   The message encryption process is as follows.  The order of the steps
   is not significant in cases where there are no dependencies between
   the inputs and outputs of the steps.

   1.   Determine the Key Management Mode employed by the algorithm used
        to determine the Content Encryption Key value.  (This is the
        algorithm recorded in the alg (algorithm) Header Parameter of
        the resulting JWE.)

   2.   When Key Wrapping, Key Encryption, or Key Agreement with Key
        Wrapping are employed, generate a random CEK value to use for
        subsequent steps unless one was already generated for a
        previously processed recipient, in which case, let that be the
        one used for subsequent steps.  See [RFC4086] for considerations
        on generating random values.  The CEK MUST have a length equal
        to that required for the content encryption algorithm.

   3.   When Direct Key Agreement or Key Agreement with Key Wrapping are
        employed, use the key agreement algorithm to compute the value
        of the agreed upon key.  When Direct Key Agreement is employed,
        let the CEK be the agreed upon key.  When Key Agreement with Key
        Wrapping is employed, the agreed upon key will be used to wrap
        the CEK.

   4.   When Key Wrapping, Key Encryption, or Key Agreement with Key
        Wrapping are employed, encrypt the CEK to the recipient and let
        the result be the JWE Encrypted Key.

   5.   When Direct Key Agreement or Direct Encryption are employed, let
        the JWE Encrypted Key be the empty octet sequence.

   6.   When Direct Encryption is employed, let the CEK be the shared
        symmetric key.

   7.   When Integrated Encryption is employed, let the JWE Encrypted
        Key be as specified by the Integrated Encryption algorithm.




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   8.   Compute the encoded key value BASE64URL(JWE Encrypted Key).

   9.   If the JWE JSON Serialization is being used, repeat this process
        (steps 1-8) for each recipient.

   10.  Generate a random JWE Initialization Vector of the correct size
        for the content encryption algorithm (if required for the
        algorithm); otherwise, let the JWE Initialization Vector be the
        empty octet sequence.

   11.  Compute the encoded Initialization Vector value BASE64URL(JWE
        Initialization Vector).

   12.  If a zip parameter was included, compress the plaintext using
        the specified compression algorithm and let M be the octet
        sequence representing the compressed plaintext; otherwise, let M
        be the octet sequence representing the plaintext.

   13.  Create the JSON object(s) containing the desired set of Header
        Parameters, which together comprise the JOSE Header: one or more
        of the JWE Protected Header, the JWE Shared Unprotected Header,
        and the JWE Per-Recipient Unprotected Header.

   14.  Compute the Encoded Protected Header value BASE64URL(UTF8(JWE
        Protected Header)).  If the JWE Protected Header is not present
        (which can only happen when using the JWE JSON Serialization and
        no protected member is present), let this value be the empty
        string.

   15.  Let the Additional Authenticated Data encryption parameter be
        ASCII(Encoded Protected Header).  However, if a JWE AAD value is
        present (which can only be the case when using the JWE JSON
        Serialization), instead let the Additional Authenticated Data
        encryption parameter be ASCII(Encoded Protected Header || '.' ||
        BASE64URL(JWE AAD)).

   16.  If Integrated Encryption is not being employed, encrypt M using
        the CEK, the JWE Initialization Vector, and the Additional
        Authenticated Data value using the specified content encryption
        algorithm to create the JWE Ciphertext value and the JWE
        Authentication Tag (which is the Authentication Tag output from
        the encryption operation).

   17.  If Integrated Encryption is being employed, encrypt M using the
        specified Integrated Encryption algorithm to create the JWE
        Ciphertext value.  Let the JWE Authentication Tag be the empty
        octet sequence.




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   18.  Compute the encoded ciphertext value BASE64URL(JWE Ciphertext).

   19.  Compute the encoded Authentication Tag value BASE64URL(JWE
        Authentication Tag).

   20.  If a JWE AAD value is present, compute the encoded AAD value
        BASE64URL(JWE AAD).

   21.  Create the desired serialized output.  The Compact Serialization
        of this result is the string BASE64URL(UTF8(JWE Protected
        Header)) || '.' || BASE64URL(JWE Encrypted Key) || '.' ||
        BASE64URL(JWE Initialization Vector) || '.' || BASE64URL(JWE
        Ciphertext) || '.' || BASE64URL(JWE Authentication Tag).  The
        JWE JSON Serialization is described in Section 7.2 of [RFC7516].

7.2.  Message Decryption

   The message decryption process is the reverse of the encryption
   process.  The order of the steps is not significant in cases where
   there are no dependencies between the inputs and outputs of the
   steps.  If any of these steps fail, the encrypted content cannot be
   validated.

   When there are multiple recipients, it is an application decision
   which of the recipients' encrypted content must successfully validate
   for the JWE to be accepted.  In some cases, encrypted content for all
   recipients must successfully validate or the JWE will be considered
   invalid.  In other cases, only the encrypted content for a single
   recipient needs to be successfully validated.  However, in all cases,
   the encrypted content for at least one recipient MUST successfully
   validate or the JWE MUST be considered invalid.




















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   1.   Parse the JWE representation to extract the serialized values
        for the components of the JWE.  When using the JWE Compact
        Serialization, these components are the base64url-encoded
        representations of the JWE Protected Header, the JWE Encrypted
        Key, the JWE Initialization Vector, the JWE Ciphertext, and the
        JWE Authentication Tag, and when using the JWE JSON
        Serialization, these components also include the base64url-
        encoded representation of the JWE AAD and the unencoded JWE
        Shared Unprotected Header and JWE Per-Recipient Unprotected
        Header values.  When using the JWE Compact Serialization, the
        JWE Protected Header, the JWE Encrypted Key, the JWE
        Initialization Vector, the JWE Ciphertext, and the JWE
        Authentication Tag are represented as base64url-encoded values
        in that order, with each value being separated from the next by
        a single period ('.') character, resulting in exactly four
        delimiting period characters being used.  The JWE JSON
        Serialization is described in Section 7.2 of [RFC7516].

   2.   Base64url decode the encoded representations of the JWE
        Protected Header, the JWE Encrypted Key, the JWE Initialization
        Vector, the JWE Ciphertext, the JWE Authentication Tag, and the
        JWE AAD, following the restriction that no line breaks,
        whitespace, or other additional characters have been used.

   3.   Verify that the octet sequence resulting from decoding the
        encoded JWE Protected Header is a UTF-8-encoded representation
        of a completely valid JSON object conforming to [RFC8259]; let
        the JWE Protected Header be this JSON object.

   4.   If using the JWE Compact Serialization, let the JOSE Header be
        the JWE Protected Header.  Otherwise, when using the JWE JSON
        Serialization, let the JOSE Header be the union of the members
        of the JWE Protected Header, the JWE Shared Unprotected Header
        and the corresponding JWE Per-Recipient Unprotected Header, all
        of which must be completely valid JSON objects.  During this
        step, verify that the resulting JOSE Header does not contain
        duplicate Header Parameter names.  When using the JWE JSON
        Serialization, this restriction includes that the same Header
        Parameter name also MUST NOT occur in distinct JSON object
        values that together comprise the JOSE Header.

   5.   Verify that the implementation understands and can process all
        fields that it is required to support, whether required by this
        specification, by the algorithms being used, or by the crit
        Header Parameter value, and that the values of those parameters
        are also understood and supported.





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   6.   Determine the Key Management Mode employed by the algorithm
        specified by the alg (algorithm) Header Parameter.

   7.   If using Integrated Encryption, Direct Encryption or Direct Key
        Agreement, verify that there is exactly one recipient.

   8.   Verify that the JWE uses a key known to the recipient.

   9.   When Direct Key Agreement or Key Agreement with Key Wrapping are
        employed, use the key agreement algorithm to compute the value
        of the agreed upon key.  When Direct Key Agreement is employed,
        let the CEK be the agreed upon key.  When Key Agreement with Key
        Wrapping is employed, the agreed upon key will be used to
        decrypt the JWE Encrypted Key.

   10.  When Key Wrapping, Key Encryption, or Key Agreement with Key
        Wrapping are employed, decrypt the JWE Encrypted Key to produce
        the CEK.  The CEK MUST have a length equal to that required for
        the content encryption algorithm.  Note that when there are
        multiple recipients, each recipient will only be able to decrypt
        JWE Encrypted Key values that were encrypted to a key in that
        recipient's possession.  It is therefore normal to only be able
        to decrypt one of the per-recipient JWE Encrypted Key values to
        obtain the CEK value.  Also, see Section 11.5 of [RFC7516] for
        security considerations on mitigating timing attacks.

   11.  When Direct Key Agreement or Direct Encryption are employed,
        verify that the JWE Encrypted Key value is an empty octet
        sequence.

   12.  When Direct Encryption is employed, let the CEK be the shared
        symmetric key.

   13.  If Integrated Encryption is not being employed, record whether
        the CEK could be successfully determined for this recipient or
        not.

   14.  If the JWE JSON Serialization is being used, repeat this process
        (steps 4-13) for each recipient contained in the representation.

   15.  Compute the Encoded Protected Header value BASE64URL(UTF8(JWE
        Protected Header)).  If the JWE Protected Header is not present
        (which can only happen when using the JWE JSON Serialization and
        no protected member is present), let this value be the empty
        string.






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   16.  Let the Additional Authenticated Data encryption parameter be
        ASCII(Encoded Protected Header).  However, if a JWE AAD value is
        present (which can only be the case when using the JWE JSON
        Serialization), instead let the Additional Authenticated Data
        encryption parameter be ASCII(Encoded Protected Header || '.' ||
        BASE64URL(JWE AAD)).

   17.  If Integrated Encryption is not being employed, decrypt the JWE
        Ciphertext using the CEK, the JWE Initialization Vector, the
        Additional Authenticated Data value, and the JWE Authentication
        Tag (which is the Authentication Tag input to the calculation)
        using the content encryption algorithm specified in the "enc"
        header parameter, returning the decrypted plaintext and
        validating the JWE Authentication Tag in the manner specified
        for the algorithm, rejecting the input without emitting any
        decrypted output if the JWE Authentication Tag is incorrect.

   18.  If Integrated Encryption is being employed, verify that no "enc"
        header parameter is present.

   19.  If Integrated Encryption is being employed, decrypt the JWE
        Ciphertext using the specified Integrated Encryption algorithm,
        returning the decrypted plaintext in the manner specified for
        the algorithm, rejecting the input without emitting any
        decrypted output if the decryption fails.

   20.  If a zip parameter was included, uncompress the decrypted
        plaintext using the specified compression algorithm.

   21.  If there was no recipient for which all of the decryption steps
        succeeded, then the JWE MUST be considered invalid.  Otherwise,
        output the plaintext.  In the JWE JSON Serialization case, also
        return a result to the application indicating for which of the
        recipients the decryption succeeded and failed.

   Finally, note that it is an application decision which algorithms may
   be used in a given context.  Even if a JWE can be successfully
   decrypted, unless the algorithms used in the JWE are acceptable to
   the application, it SHOULD consider the JWE to be invalid.

8.  Distinguishing Between JWS and JWE Objects

   Section 9 of [RFC7516] is updated to delete the last bullet, which
   says:







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   *  The JOSE Header for a JWS can also be distinguished from the JOSE
      Header for a JWE by determining whether an enc (encryption
      algorithm) member exists.  If the enc member exists, it is a JWE;
      otherwise, it is a JWS.

   The deleted test no longer works when Integrated Encryption is used.

   The other methods of distinguishing between JSON Web Signature (JWS)
   [RFC7515] and JSON Web Encryption (JWE) [RFC7516] objects continue to
   work.

9.  JWK Representations for JWE HPKE Keys

   The JSON Web Key (JWK) [RFC7517] representations for keys used with
   the JWE algorithms defined in this specification are as follows.  The
   valid combinations of the "alg", "kty", and "crv" in the JWK are
   shown in Figure 3.

   +--------------------------------------+-------+--------+
   | "alg" values                         | "kty" | "crv"  |
   +--------------------------------------+-------+--------+
   | HPKE-0, HPKE-0-KE, HPKE-7, HPKE-7-KE | EC    | P-256  |
   | HPKE-1, HPKE-1-KE                    | EC    | P-384  |
   | HPKE-2, HPKE-2-KE                    | EC    | P-521  |
   | HPKE-3, HPKE-3-KE, HPKE-4, HPKE-4-KE | OKP   | X25519 |
   | HPKE-5, HPKE-5-KE, HPKE-6, HPKE-6-KE | OKP   | X448   |
   +--------------------------------------+-------+--------+

          Figure 3: JWK Types and Curves for JWE HPKE Ciphersuites

9.1.  JWK Representation of Key using JWE HPKE Ciphersuite

   The example below is a JWK representation of a public and private key
   used with Integrated Encryption as the Key Management Mode:

   {
     "kty": "OKP",
     "crv": "X25519",
     "x": "3pPHgcHYVYpOpB6ISwHdoPRB6jNgd8mM4nRyyj4H3aE",
     "d": "nWGxne0tAiV8Hk6kcy4rN0wMskjl9yND0N3Xeho9n6g",
     "kid": "recipient-key-1",
     "alg": "HPKE-3",
     "use": "enc"
   }







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10.  Security Considerations

   This specification uses HPKE and the security considerations of
   [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke] are therefore applicable.

   HPKE assumes the sender is in possession of the public key of the
   recipient and HPKE JOSE makes the same assumptions.  Hence, some form
   of public key distribution mechanism is assumed to exist but outside
   the scope of this document.

   HPKE in Base mode does not offer authentication as part of the HPKE
   KEM.

   HPKE relies on a source of randomness being available on the device.
   In Key Agreement with Key Wrapping mode, the CEK has to be randomly
   generated.  The guidance on randomness in [RFC4086] applies.

10.1.  Key Management

   A single key MUST NOT be used with multiple KEM algorithms.  Each key
   and its associated HPKE algorithm suite, comprising the KEM, KDF, and
   AEAD, SHOULD be managed independently.  This separation prevents
   unintended interactions or vulnerabilities between algorithms,
   ensuring the integrity and security guarantees of each algorithm are
   preserved.  Additionally, the same key SHOULD NOT be used for both
   Key Encryption and Integrated Encryption, as it may introduce
   security risks.  It creates algorithm confusion, increases the
   potential for key leakage, cross-suite attacks, and improper handling
   of the key.

10.2.  JWT Best Current Practices

   The guidance in [RFC8725] about encryption is also pertinent to this
   specification.

11.  IANA Considerations

11.1.  JSON Web Signature and Encryption Algorithms

   The following entries are added to the IANA "JSON Web Signature and
   Encryption Algorithms" registry [IANA.JOSE] established by [RFC7518]:

11.1.1.  HPKE-0

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-0






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   *  Algorithm Description: Integrated Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF and AES-128-GCM
      AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 5.1 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.2.  HPKE-1

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-1

   *  Algorithm Description: Integrated Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(P-384, HKDF-SHA384) KEM, HKDF-SHA384 KDF, and AES-256-GCM
      AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 5.1 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.3.  HPKE-2

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-2

   *  Algorithm Description: Integrated Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(P-521, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM
      AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 5.1 of [[ this specification ]]




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   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.4.  HPKE-3

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-3

   *  Algorithm Description: Integrated Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM
      AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 5.1 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.5.  HPKE-4

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-4

   *  Algorithm Description: Integrated Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and
      ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 5.1 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.6.  HPKE-5

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-5

   *  Algorithm Description: Integrated Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM
      AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"




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   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 5.1 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.7.  HPKE-6

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-6

   *  Algorithm Description: Integrated Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(X448, HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and
      ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 5.1 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.8.  HPKE-7

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-7

   *  Algorithm Description: Integrated Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(P-256, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-256-GCM
      AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 5.1 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.9.  HPKE-0-KE

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-0-KE




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   *  Algorithm Description: Key Encryption with HPKE using DHKEM(P-256,
      HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF and AES-128-GCM AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 6.2 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.10.  HPKE-1-KE

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-1-KE

   *  Algorithm Description: Key Encryption with HPKE using DHKEM(P-384,
      HKDF-SHA384) KEM, HKDF-SHA384 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 6.2 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.11.  HPKE-2-KE

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-2-KE

   *  Algorithm Description: Key Encryption with HPKE using DHKEM(P-521,
      HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 6.2 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]





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11.1.12.  HPKE-3-KE

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-3-KE

   *  Algorithm Description: Key Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-128-GCM
      AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 6.2 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.13.  HPKE-4-KE

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-4-KE

   *  Algorithm Description: Key Encryption with HPKE using
      DHKEM(X25519, HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and
      ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 6.2 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.14.  HPKE-5-KE

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-5-KE

   *  Algorithm Description: Key Encryption with HPKE using DHKEM(X448,
      HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF



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   *  Specification Document(s): Section 6.2 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.15.  HPKE-6-KE

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-6-KE

   *  Algorithm Description: Key Encryption with HPKE using DHKEM(X448,
      HKDF-SHA512) KEM, HKDF-SHA512 KDF, and ChaCha20Poly1305 AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 6.2 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.1.16.  HPKE-7-KE

   *  Algorithm Name: HPKE-7-KE

   *  Algorithm Description: Key Encryption with HPKE using DHKEM(P-256,
      HKDF-SHA256) KEM, HKDF-SHA256 KDF, and AES-256-GCM AEAD

   *  Algorithm Usage Location(s): "alg"

   *  JOSE Implementation Requirements: Optional

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 6.2 of [[ this specification ]]

   *  Algorithm Analysis Documents(s): [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

11.2.  JSON Web Signature and Encryption Header Parameters

   The following entries are added to the IANA "JSON Web Key Parameters"
   registry [IANA.JOSE]:

11.2.1.  ek

   *  Header Parameter Name: "ek"





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   *  Header Parameter Description: A base64url-encoded encapsulated
      secret, as defined in Section 5 of [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

   *  Header Parameter Usage Location(s): JWE

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 4.1 of [[ this specification ]]

11.2.2.  psk_id

   *  Header Parameter Name: "psk_id"

   *  Header Parameter Description: A base64url-encoded key identifier
      (kid) for the pre-shared key, as defined in Section 5.1.2 of
      [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]

   *  Header Parameter Usage Location(s): JWE

   *  Change Controller: IETF

   *  Specification Document(s): Section 4 of [[ this specification ]]

12.  Summary of Updates to RFC 7516 (JWE)

   This specification updates JSON Web Encryption (JWE) [RFC7516] as
   follows:

   *  Adds the Integrated Encryption Key Management Mode and
      correspondingly updates the Key Management Mode definition
      (Section 3).

   *  Updates the "enc" header parameter to be absent when Integrated
      Encryption is used in (Section 4).

   *  Replaces the Message Encryption procedure (Section 7.1).

   *  Replaces the Message Decryption procedure (Section 7.2).

   *  Updates the methods for distinguishing between JWS and JWE objects
      (Section 8).

13.  References

13.1.  Normative References






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   [I-D.ietf-hpke-hpke]
              Barnes, R., Bhargavan, K., Lipp, B., and C. A. Wood,
              "Hybrid Public Key Encryption", Work in Progress,
              Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-hpke-hpke-02, 4 November 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-hpke-
              hpke-02>.

   [IANA.JOSE]
              IANA, "JSON Web Signature and Encryption Algorithms",
              n.d., <https://www.iana.org/assignments/jose>.

   [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/rfc/rfc2119>.

   [RFC7516]  Jones, M. and J. Hildebrand, "JSON Web Encryption (JWE)",
              RFC 7516, DOI 10.17487/RFC7516, May 2015,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7516>.

   [RFC7517]  Jones, M., "JSON Web Key (JWK)", RFC 7517,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7517, May 2015,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7517>.

   [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/rfc/rfc8174>.

   [RFC8259]  Bray, T., Ed., "The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data
              Interchange Format", STD 90, RFC 8259,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8259, December 2017,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8259>.

   [RFC8725]  Sheffer, Y., Hardt, D., and M. Jones, "JSON Web Token Best
              Current Practices", BCP 225, RFC 8725,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8725, February 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8725>.

13.2.  Informative References

   [I-D.ietf-cose-hpke]
              Tschofenig, H., Steele, O., Daisuke, A., Lundblade, L.,
              and M. B. Jones, "Use of Hybrid Public-Key Encryption
              (HPKE) with CBOR Object Signing and Encryption (COSE)",
              Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-cose-hpke-21,
              2 February 2026, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/
              draft-ietf-cose-hpke-21>.




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   [IANA.HPKE]
              IANA, "Hybrid Public Key Encryption (HPKE)", n.d.,
              <https://www.iana.org/assignments/hpke>.

   [NIST.SP.800-56Ar3]
              National Institute of Standards and Technology,
              "Recommendation for Pair-Wise Key-Establishment Schemes
              Using Discrete Logarithm Cryptography, NIST Special
              Publication 800-56A Revision 3", April 2018,
              <https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/
              NIST.SP.800-56Ar3.pdf>.

   [RFC4086]  Eastlake 3rd, D., Schiller, J., and S. Crocker,
              "Randomness Requirements for Security", BCP 106, RFC 4086,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC4086, June 2005,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4086>.

   [RFC7515]  Jones, M., Bradley, J., and N. Sakimura, "JSON Web
              Signature (JWS)", RFC 7515, DOI 10.17487/RFC7515, May
              2015, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7515>.

   [RFC7518]  Jones, M., "JSON Web Algorithms (JWA)", RFC 7518,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7518, May 2015,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7518>.

   [RFC9864]  Jones, M.B. and O. Steele, "Fully-Specified Algorithms for
              JSON Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) and CBOR Object
              Signing and Encryption (COSE)", RFC 9864,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9864, October 2025,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9864>.

Appendix A.  Keys Used in Examples

A.1.  Integrated Encryption Key

   This private key and its implied public key are used for the
   Integrated Encryption example in Section 5.2 and Section 5.3:

   {
     "kty": "EC",
     "use": "enc",
     "alg": "HPKE-0",
     "kid": "yCnfbmYMZcWrKDt_DjNebRCB1vxVoqv4umJ4WK8RYjk",
     "crv": "P-256",
     "x": "gixQJ0qg4Ag-6HSMaIEDL_zbDhoXavMyKlmdn__AQVE",
     "y": "ZxTgRLWaKONCL_GbZKLNPsW9EW6nBsN4AwQGEFAFFbM",
     "d": "g2DXtKapi2oN2zL_RCWX8D4bWURHCKN2-ZNGC05ZaR8"
   }



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A.2.  Key Encryption Key

   This private key and its implied public key are used for the Key
   Encryption example in Section 6.3:

   {
     "kty": "EC",
     "use": "enc",
     "alg": "HPKE-0-KE",
     "kid": "9CfUPiGcAcTp7oXgVbDStw2FEjka-_KHU_i-X3XMCEA",
     "crv": "P-256",
     "x": "WVKOswXQAgntIrLSYlwkyaU1dIE-FIhrbTEotFgMwIA",
     "y": "jpZT1WNmQH752Bh_pDK41IhLkiXLj-15wR4ZBZ-MWFk",
     "d": "MeCnMF65SaRVZ11Gf1Weacx3H9SdzO7MtWcDXvHWNv8"
   }

Acknowledgments

   This specification leverages text from [I-D.ietf-cose-hpke].  We
   would like to thank Richard Barnes, Brian Campbell, Matt Chanda,
   Ilari Liusvaara, Neil Madden, Aaron Parecki, Filip Skokan, and
   Sebastian Stenzel for their contributions to the specification.

Document History

   -16

   *  Change uses of Key Establishment Mode to Key Management Mode to
      align with JWE terminology.

   -15

   *  Defined the Integrated Encryption Key Establishment Mode and
      updated JWE to enable its use.

   *  Specified distinct algorithms for use with Key Encryption and
      Integrated Encryption so that they are fully-specified.

   *  Updated the Message Encryption and Message Decryption procedures
      from JWE.

   *  Said that JWS and JWE objects can no longer be distinguished by
      the presence of an "enc" header parameter.

   *  Many editorial improvements.

   -14




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   *  Added HPKE-7.

   *  Update to Recipient_structure.

   *  Removed text related to apu and apv.

   *  Updated description of mutually known private information.

   -13

   *  Removed orphan text about AKP kty field

   *  Fixed bug in "include-fold" syntax

   *  Switched reference from RFC 9180 to draft-ietf-hpke-hpke

   *  Editorial improvements to abstract and introduction.

   *  Removed Section 8.2 "Static Asymmetric Authentication in HPKE"

   -12

   *  Added the Recipient_structure

   -11

   *  Fix too long lines

   -10

   *  Addressed WGLC review comments by Neil Madden and Sebastian
      Stenzel.

   -09

   *  Corrected examples.

   -08

   *  Use "enc":"int" for integrated encryption.

   *  Described reasons for excluding authenticated HPKE.

   *  Stated that mutually known private information MAY be used as the
      HPKE info value.

   -07




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   *  Clarifications

   -06

   *  Remove auth mode and auth_kid from the specification.

   *  HPKE AAD for JOSE HPKE Key Encryption is now empty.

   -05

   *  Removed incorrect text about HPKE algorithm names.

   *  Fixed #21: Comply with NIST SP 800-227 Recommendations for Key-
      Encapsulation Mechanisms.

   *  Fixed #19: Binding the Application Context.

   *  Fixed #18: Use of apu and apv in Recipient context.

   *  Added new Section 7.1 (Authentication using an Asymmetric Key).

   *  Updated Section 7.2 (Key Management) to prevent cross-protocol
      attacks.

   *  Updated HPKE Setup info parameter to be empty.

   *  Added details on HPKE AEAD AAD, compression and decryption for
      HPKE Integrated Encryption.

   -04

   *  Fixed #8: Use short algorithm identifiers, per the JOSE naming
      conventions.

   -03

   *  Added new section 7.1 to discuss Key Management.

   *  HPKE Setup info parameter is updated to carry JOSE context-
      specific data for both modes.

   -02

   *  Fixed #4: HPKE Integrated Encryption "enc: dir".

   *  Updated text on the use of HPKE Setup info parameter.

   *  Added Examples in Sections 5.1, 5.2 and 6.1.



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   *  Use of registered HPKE "alg" value in the recipient unprotected
      header for Key Encryption.

   -01

   *  Apply feedback from call for adoption.

   *  Provide examples of auth and psk modes for JSON and Compact
      Serializations

   *  Simplify description of HPKE modes

   *  Adjust IANA registration requests

   *  Remove HPKE Mode from named algorithms

   *  Fix AEAD named algorithms

   -00

   *  Created initial working group version from draft-rha-jose-hpke-
      encrypt-07

Authors' Addresses

   Tirumaleswar Reddy
   Nokia
   Bangalore
   Karnataka
   India
   Email: kondtir@gmail.com


   Hannes Tschofenig
   University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
   Germany
   Email: hannes.tschofenig@gmx.net


   Aritra Banerjee
   Nokia
   London
   United Kingdom
   Email: aritra.banerjee@nokia.com







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   Orie Steele
   Tradeverifyd
   United States
   Email: orie@or13.io


   Michael B. Jones
   Self-Issued Consulting
   United States
   Email: michael_b_jones@hotmail.com
   URI:   https://self-issued.info/








































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