simplesamlphp / simplesamlphp/simplesamlphp-module-webauthn

Roadmap towards PQC support (ML-DSA)

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Dominant language
PHP
Stars
18
Forks
10
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Yubico has recently demo'ed a Yubikey with ML-DSA support for FIDO usage. Time to start thinking what it takes to make the code fit for PQC support.

  • Keys are extracted using the library web-auth/cose-lib. That library does not currently support ML-DSA keys (https://github.com/web-auth/cose-lib/blob/4.6.x/src/Key/Key.php)
  • actual signature checks are done with openssl_verify and the public key loaded with openssl_pkey_get_public. Currently unknown whether recent PHP supports handling of ML-DSA keys.
  • underlying openssl library in version 3.5.0+ DOES support ML-DSA keys.

I will run some tests with openssl and the openssl_* functions in PHP to determine how far we can get on that front.

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the key handling in web-auth/cose-lib's src/Key/Key.php and the module's use of openssl_verify and openssl_pkey_get_public. Test whether PHP can process ML-DSA keys with OpenSSL 3.5.0 or later, then document the compatibility findings and the concrete work required for support.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
php
Domain
authentication, cryptography, security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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