goauthentik / goauthentik/authentik

Post-Quantum Cryptography Support for Authentik

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#21,768 2 comments 1 reaction 1 assignee Claimed by @PeshekDotDev View on GitHub
enhancement enhancement/confirmed
Dominant language
Python
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Description

### Is your feature request related to a problem?

Current JWT signing algorithms offered by Authentik (RS256, ES256, etc.) rely on RSA or elliptic curve cryptography, both of which are vulnerable to quantum computing attacks via Shor's algorithm. As organizations begin planning for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) migration in line with NIST's PQC standardization timeline, there is no path within Authentik to issue JWTs signed with quantum-resistant algorithms. The only PQC-safe option currently available is HMAC-based signing (HS256), which requires shared secret management and eliminates the benefits of asymmetric key verification — making it unsuitable for federated or zero-trust architectures at scale.
There are other areas where PQC-Safe algorithms are to be used in Authentik as well, like:
- TLS Key Exchange
- JWE Token Encryption
- SAML Signing
- SAML encryption
- X.509 cert management

### Describe the solution you'd like

Support for NIST FIPS Standard approved PQC algorithms for the above written various purposes.

### Describe alternatives that you've considered

For the JWT purpose, I have considered using HS256, since it is symmetric but increases operational complexity and chances of secret leakage. Haven't looked into the other areas yet.

### Additional context

The standards aren't all ready yet, but what's ready can be implemented.

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