pypqc 0.0.6.1

Python bindings for the "PQClean" post-quantum cryptography library.

Installation

Until we get binary wheels published (#9), you must:

1. Install a C compiler

2. Apply OS-specific fixes:

   • If you’re on Windows, create a folder C:\temp and then run set "TMPDIR=C:\temp". (Workaround for #14)

   • If you’re on Linux, install the Python development headers.

3. Run pip install pypqc

Usage

KEMs

McEliece, Kyber, and HQC are currently provided, all with the same interface.:

from pqc.kem import mceliece6960119 as kemalg


# 1. Keypair generation
pk, sk = kemalg.keypair()


# 2. Key encapsulation
ss, kem_ct = kemalg.encap(pk)


# 3. Key de-encapsulation
ss_result = kemalg.decap(kem_ct, sk)
assert ss_result == ss

Capabilities not included in PQClean, such as McEliece signatures, Hybrid Encryption or KEM-TRANS, and message encapsulation, are not going to be implemented in this library. (Exception: Plaintext Confirmation is on the agenda for inclusion even if upstream ultimately decides to exclude it.)

Signature Algorithms

SPHINCS+, Dilithium, and Falcon are provided, all with the same interface.:

from pqc.sign import sphincs_shake_256s_simple as sigalg


# 1. Keypair generation
pk, sk = sigalg.keypair()


# 2. Signing
# (detached signature)
sig = sigalg.sign(MY_MESSAGE, sk)


# 3. Signature verification
# (Returns None on success; raises ValueError on failure.)
sigalg.verify(sig, MY_MESSAGE, pk)

Regarding SPHINCS+: the Simple version is included; the Robust version is is not; SHA256 and SHAKE256 are included; Haraka is not. These decisions are all inherited from PQClean; I don’t know much about their rationale.

Regarding Falcon: the Compressed version is included. The Padded version is not included, but TODO as soon as upstream adds it; the CT version is probably not going to be included.

Development

Dependencies:

• Python 3 (tested mainly on CPython 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, and 3.12; and on PyPy 7.3.12)

• cffi (from PyPI; build- and run-time dependency)

  • Transitive non-PyPI build-time dependency: Python Headers (I think these come OOTB on Windows)

• setuptools (from PyPI; build-time dependency only)

• a C compiler (build-time dependency only)

  • If you’re on Windows, https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/

    • If setuptools is having trouble finding your compiler, make sure to first enter the appropriate environment. (For AMD64, this will be “x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022”; for 32-bit x86, this will be “Developer Command Prompt for VS 2022”; for other situations, see the documentation.)

  • If you’re on Mac, reportedly Homebrew is a good choice.

    • It looks like you will also need pkgconfig and libffi, ideally installed via Homebrew, to build this.

  • If you’re on Linux, install build-essential or ‘Development Tools’ or something like that.

  • (I haven’t tested it, but if you’re allergic to installing things outside the venv you might be able to use this C compiler…)

Getting started:

0. Maybe use a venv or whatever if you want to

   • for Windows: py -m venv .venv & .venv\Scripts\activate.bat

   • for Linux and Mac: python3 -m venv .venv; . .venv/bin/activate (first install it, if needed)

1. Run python -m pip install .

   • Alternatively: you may get cleaner building with python -m build . (only after python -m pip install build)

   • Editable / “develop” mode not supported currently (CFFI will have to support this before it’s even on the table.)

2. Run python -m pqc.demo to test it. If it prints “OK” and exits, the functions are almost certainly not broken. (Ideally, run this from a DIFFERENT directory, such as your home folder, so you can be sure it’s being imported properly and not being masked by the local copy.)

   • N.B. / FIXME: this function is currently NOT a full test suite; it only does a single encap-decap cycle with the default implementation of mceliece6960119. It does NOT test any other version of McEliece, or any signature algorithm.

Copyright

Except as noted below, all files original or contributed works, Copyright (c) 2023 James Edington Administrator.

Except as noted below, all files provided under the terms of LICENSE in this folder.

Exceptions:

• Lib/PQClean/common/aes.*: Provided under The MIT License; Copyright (c) 2016 Thomas Pornin.

• Lib/PQClean/common/fips202.*: Public domain; from Ronny Van Keer, Gilles Van Assche, Daniel J. Bernstein, and Peter Schwabe.

• Lib/PQClean/common/keccak4x: Public domain (CC0); from Gilles Van Assche and Ronny Van Keer.

• Lib/PQClean/common/nistseedexpander.*: Public domain (17 U.S.C. §105); from Lawrence E. Bassham and Sebastian Verschoor.

• Lib/PQClean/common/randombytes.*: Provided under The MIT License; Copyright (c) 2017 Daan Sprenkels.

• Lib/PQClean/common/sha2.*: Public domain; from Daniel J. Bernstein.

• Lib/PQClean/common/sp800-185.*: Public domain (CC0); from Ko Stoffelen.

• Lib/PQClean/crypto_kem/hqc-rmrs*: ⚠️ May be patent-encumbered in the United States! Public domain; from Carlos Aguilar Melchor, Nicolas Aragon, Slim Bettaieb, Olivier Blazy, Jurjen Bos, Jean-Christophe Deneuville, Philippe Gaborit, Edoardo Persichetti, Jean-Marc Robert, Pascal Véron, Gilles Zémor, and Loïc Bidoux.

• Lib/PQClean/crypto_kem/kyber*: ⚠️ May be patent-encumbered in the United States! Public domain (CC0); from Peter Schwabe, Roberto Avanzi, Joppe Bos, Léo Ducas, Eike Kiltz, Tancrède Lepoint, Vadim Lyubashevsky, John M. Schanck, Gregor Seiler, and Damien Stehlé.

• Lib/PQClean/crypto_kem/mceliece*: Public domain; from Daniel J. Bernstein, Tung Chou, Tanja Lange, Ingo von Maurich, Rafael Misoczki, Ruben Niederhagen, Edoardo Persichetti, Christiane Peters, Peter Schwabe, Nicolas Sendrier, Jakub Szefer, and Wen Wang.

• Lib/PQClean/crypto_sign/dilithium*: Public domain; from Vadim Lyubashevsky, Léo Ducas, Eike Kiltz, Tancrède Lepoint, Peter Schwabe, Gregor Seiler, and Damien Stehlé.

• Lib/PQClean/crypto_sign/falcon*: ⚠️ May be patent-encumbered in the United States! Provided under The MIT License; Copyright (c) 2017-2019 Falcon Project.

• Lib/PQClean/crypto_sign/sphincs*: Public domain (CC0); from Andreas Hülsing, Jean-Philippe Aumasson, Daniel J. Bernstein, Ward Beullens, Christoph Dobraunig, Maria Eichlseder, Scott Fluhrer, Stefan-Lukas Gazdag, Panos Kampanakis, Stefan Kölbl, Tanja Lange, Martin M. Lauridsen, Florian Mendel, Ruben Niederhagen, Christian Rechberger, Joost Rijneveld, Peter Schwabe, and Bas Westerbaan.

• All other files under Lib/PQClean: Public domain (CC0); from Thom Wiggers, Douglas Stebila, and others.