Internet-Draft PASETO May 2022
Terjesen, et al. Expires 25 November 2022 [Page]
Workgroup:
Network Working Group
Internet-Draft:
draft-paragon-paseto-rfc-01
Published:
Intended Status:
Informational
Expires:
Authors:
R. Terjesen
Paragon Initiative Enterprises
S. Haussmann
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
S. Arciszewski
Paragon Initiative Enterprises

PASETO (Platform-Agnostic SEcurity TOkens)

Abstract

Platform-Agnostic SEcurity TOkens (PASETOs) provide a cryptographically secure, compact, and URL-safe representation of claims that may be transferred between two parties. The claims are encoded in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), version-tagged, and either encrypted using shared-key cryptography or signed using public-key cryptography.

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 working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

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."

This Internet-Draft will expire on 25 November 2022.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

A Platform-Agnostic SEcurity TOken (PASETO) is a cryptographically secure, compact, and URL-safe representation of claims intended for space-constrained environments such as HTTP Cookies, HTTP Authorization headers, and URI query parameters. A PASETO encodes claims to be transmitted (in a JSON [RFC8259] object by default), and is either encrypted symmetrically or signed using public-key cryptography.

1.1. Difference Between PASETO and JOSE

The key difference between PASETO and the JOSE family of standards (JWS [RFC7516], JWE [RFC7517], JWK [RFC7518], JWA [RFC7518], and JWT [RFC7519]) is that JOSE allows implementors and users to mix and match their own choice of cryptographic algorithms (specified by the "alg" header in JWT), while PASETO has clearly defined protocol versions to prevent unsafe configurations from being selected.

PASETO is defined in two pieces:

  1. The PASETO Message Format, defined in Section 2
  2. The PASETO Protocol Version, defined in Section 3

1.2. Why Not Update JOSE to Be Secure?

Backwards compatibility introduces the risk of downgrade attacks. Conversely, a totally separate standard can be designed from the ground up to be secure and misuse-resistant.

For that reason, PASETO does not aspire to update the JOSE family of standards. To do so would undermine the security benefits of a non-interoperable alternative.

1.3. Notation and Conventions

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

2. PASETO Message Format

PASETOs consist of three or four segments, separated by a period (the ASCII character whose number, represented in hexadecimal, is 2E).

Without the Optional Footer:

version.purpose.payload

With the Optional Footer:

version.purpose.payload.footer

If no footer is provided, implementations SHOULD NOT append a trailing period to each payload.

2.1. PASETO Token Versions

The version is a string that represents the current version of the protocol. Currently, two versions are specified, which each possess their own ciphersuites. Accepted values: v3, v4.

(Earlier versions of the PASETO RFC specified v1 and v2, but these are not proposed for IETF standardization.)

Future standardization efforts MAY optionally suffix an additional piece of information to the version to specify a non-JSON encoding for claims. The default encoding, when no suffix is applied, is JSON. This suffix does not change the cryptography protocol being used (except that the suffix is also authenticated).

2.2. PASETO Token Purposes

The purpose is a short string describing the purpose of the token. Accepted values: local, public.

  • local: shared-key authenticated encryption
  • public: public-key digital signatures; not encrypted

The payload is a string that contains the token's data. In a local token, this data is encrypted with a symmetric cipher. In a public token, this data is unencrypted.

Any optional data can be appended to the footer. This data is authenticated through inclusion in the calculation of the authentication tag along with the header and payload. The footer MUST NOT be encrypted.

2.3. Base64 Encoding

The payload and footer in a PASETO MUST be encoded using base64url as defined in [RFC4648], without = padding.

In this document. b64() refers to this unpadded variant of base64url.

2.4. Multi-Part Authentication

Multi-part messages (e.g. header, content, footer, implicit) are encoded in a specific manner before being passed to the appropriate cryptographic function, to prevent canonicalization attacks.

In local mode, this encoding is applied to the additional associated data (AAD). In public mode, which is not encrypted, this encoding is applied to the components of the token, with respect to the protocol version being followed.

We will refer to this process as PAE in this document (short for Pre-Authentication Encoding).

2.4.1. PAE Definition

PAE() accepts an array of strings.

LE64() encodes a 64-bit unsigned integer into a little-endian binary string. The most significant bit MUST be set to 0 for interoperability with programming languages that do not have unsigned integer support.

The first 8 bytes of the output will be the number of pieces. Currently, this will be 3 or 4. This is calculated by applying LE64() to the size of the array.

Next, for each piece provided, the length of the piece is encoded via LE64() and prefixed to each piece before concatenation.

function LE64(n) {
    var str = '';
    for (var i = 0; i < 8; ++i) {
        if (i === 7) {
            n &= 127;
        }
        str += String.fromCharCode(n & 255);
        n = n >>> 8;
    }
    return str;
}
function PAE(pieces) {
    if (!Array.isArray(pieces)) {
        throw TypeError('Expected an array.');
    }
    var count = pieces.length;
    var output = LE64(count);
    for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) {
        output += LE64(pieces[i].length);
        output += pieces[i];
    }
    return output;
}
Figure 1: JavaScript implementation of Pre-Authentication Encoding (PAE)

As a consequence:

  • PAE([]) will always return \x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00
  • PAE(['']) will always return \x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00
  • PAE(['test']) will always return \x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x04\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00test
  • PAE('test') will throw a TypeError

As a result, partially controlled plaintext cannot be used to create a collision. Either the number of pieces will differ, or the length of one of the fields (which is prefixed to user-controlled input) will differ, or both.

Due to the length being expressed as an unsigned 64-bit integer, it is infeasible to encode enough data to create an integer overflow.

This is not used to encode data prior to decryption, and no decoding function is provided or specified. This merely exists to prevent canonicalization attacks.

3. Protocol Versions

This document defines two protocol versions for the PASETO standard.

Protocol versions (Version 3, Version 4) correspond to a specific message format version (v3, v4).

Each protocol version strictly defines the cryptographic primitives used. Changes to the primitives requires new protocol versions. Future RFCs MAY introduce new PASETO protocol versions by continuing the convention (e.g. Version 5, Version 6, ...).

Both Version 3 and Version 4 provide authentication of the entire PASETO message, including the version, purpose, payload, footer, and (optional) implicit assertions.

The initial recommendation is to use Version 4, allowing for upgrades to possible future versions Version 5, Version 6, etc. when they are defined in the future.

3.1. PASETO Protocol Guidelines

When defining future protocol versions, the following rules SHOULD or MUST be followed:

  1. Everything in a token MUST be authenticated. Attackers should never be allowed the opportunity to alter messages freely.

    • If encryption is specified, unauthenticated modes (e.g. AES-CBC without a MAC) are forbidden.
    • The nonce or initialization vector must be covered by the authentication tag, not just the ciphertext.

  2. Some degree of nonce-misuse resistance SHOULD be provided:

    • Supporting larger nonces (longer than 128-bit) is sufficient for satisfying this requirement, provided the nonce is generated by a cryptographically secure random number generator, such as /dev/urandom on Linux.
    • Key-splitting and including an additional HKDF salt as part of the nonce is sufficient for this requirement.

  3. Public-key cryptography MUST be IND-CCA2 secure to be considered for inclusion.

    • This means that RSA with PKCS1v1.5 padding and unpadded RSA MUST NOT ever be used in a PASETO protocol.

4. PASETO Protocol Version 3

PASETO Version 3 is composed of NIST-approved algorithms, and will operate on tokens with the v3 version header.

v3 messages MUST use a purpose value of either local or public.

4.1. v3.local

v3.local messages SHALL be encrypted and authenticated with AES-256-CTR (AES-CTR from [RFC3686] with a 256-bit key) and HMAC-SHA-384 ([RFC4231]), using an Encrypt-then-MAC construction.

Encryption and authentication keys are split from the original key and 256-bit nonce, facilitated by HKDF [RFC5869] using SHA384.

Refer to the operations defined in PASETO.v3.Encrypt and PASETO.v3.Decrypt for a formal definition.

4.2. v3.public

v1.public messages SHALL be signed using ECDSA with NIST curve P-384 as defined in [RFC6687]. These messages provide authentication but do not prevent the contents from being read, including by those without either the public key or the secret key. Refer to the operations defined in PASETO.v3.Sign and PASETO.v3.Verify for a formal definition.

4.3. PASETO Version 3 Algorithms

4.3.1. PASETO.v3.Encrypt

Given a message m, key k, and optional footer f (which defaults to empty string), and an optional implicit assertion i (which defaults to empty string):

  1. Before encrypting, first assert that the key being used is intended for use with v3.local tokens. If this assertion fails, abort encryption.
  2. Set header h to v3.local.
  3. Generate 32 random bytes from the OS's CSPRNG to get the nonce, n.

  4. Split the key into an Encryption key (Ek) and Authentication key (Ak), using HKDF-HMAC-SHA384, with n appended to the info rather than the salt.

    • The output length MUST be 48 for both key derivations.
    • The derived key will be the leftmost 32 bytes of the first HKDF derivation. The remaining 16 bytes of the first key derivation (from which Ek is derived) will be used as a counter nonce (n2):
  5. Encrypt the message using AES-256-CTR, using Ek as the key and n2 as the nonce. We'll call the encrypted output of this step c.
  6. Pack h, n, c, and f together (in that order) using PAE (see Section 2.4.1). We'll call this preAuth.
  7. Calculate HMAC-SHA384 of the output of preAuth, using Ak as the authentication key. We'll call this t.

  8. If f is:

    • Empty: return h || b64(n || c || t)
    • Non-empty: return h || b64(n || c || t) || . || b64(f)
    • ...where || means "concatenate"

Example code:

tmp = hkdf_sha384(
    len = 48,
    ikm = k,
    info = "paseto-encryption-key" || n,
    salt = NULL
);
Ek = tmp[0:32]
n2 = tmp[32:]
Ak = hkdf_sha384(
    len = 48,
    ikm = k,
    info = "paseto-auth-key-for-aead" || n,
    salt = NULL
);
Figure 2: Step 4: Key splitting with HKDF-SHA384 as per [RFC5869]. 
c = aes256ctr_encrypt(
    plaintext = m,
    nonce = n2
    key = Ek
);
Figure 3: Step 5: PASETO Version 3 encryption (calculating c)

4.3.2. PASETO.v3.Decrypt

Given a message m, key k, and optional footer f (which defaults to empty string):

  1. Before decrypting, first assert that the key being used is intended for use with v3.local tokens. If this assertion fails, abort decryption.
  2. If f is not empty, implementations MAY verify that the value appended to the token matches some expected string f, provided they do so using a constant-time string compare function.
  3. Verify that the message begins with v3.local., otherwise throw an exception. This constant will be referred to as h.

  4. Decode the payload (m sans h, f, and the optional trailing period between m and f) from b64 to raw binary. Set:

    • n to the leftmost 32 bytes
    • t to the rightmost 48 bytes
    • c to the middle remainder of the payload, excluding n and t

  5. Split the key (k) into an Encryption key (Ek) and an Authentication key (Ak), n appended to the HKDF info.

    • For encryption keys, the info parameter for HKDF MUST be set to paseto-encryption-key.
    • For authentication keys, the info parameter for HKDF MUST be set to paseto-auth-key-for-aead.
    • The output length MUST be 48 for both key derivations. The leftmost 32 bytes of the first key derivation will produce Ek, while the remaining 16 bytes will be the AES nonce n2.
  6. Pack h, n, c, f, and i together (in that order) using PAE (see Section 2.4.1). We'll call this preAuth.
  7. Recalculate HMAC-SHA-384 of preAuth using Ak as the key. We'll call this t2.
  8. Compare t with t2 using a constant-time string compare function. If they are not identical, throw an exception.
  9. Decrypt c using AES-256-CTR, using Ek as the key and the rightmost 16 bytes of n as the nonce, and return this value.

Example code:

tmp = hkdf_sha384(
    len = 48,
    ikm = k,
    info = "paseto-encryption-key" || n,
    salt = NULL
);
Ek = tmp[0:32]
n2 = tmp[32:]
Ak = hkdf_sha384(
    len = 48,
    ikm = k,
    info = "paseto-auth-key-for-aead" || n,
    salt = NULL
);
Figure 4: Step 4: Key splitting with HKDF-SHA384 as per [RFC5869]. 
return aes256ctr_decrypt(
   cipherext = c,
   nonce = n2
   key = Ek
);
Figure 5: Step 8: PASETO Version 3 decryption

4.3.3. PASETO.v3.Sign

Given a message m, 384-bit ECDSA secret key sk, an optional footer f (which defaults to empty string), and an optional implicit assertion i (which defaults to empty string):

  1. Before signing, first assert that the key being used is intended for use with v3.public tokens, and is a secret key (not a public key). If this assertion fails, abort signing.
  2. Set cpk to the compressed point representation of the ECDSA public key (see point compression), using [#paseto-v3-compresspublickey].
  3. Set h to v3.public.
  4. Pack cpk, h, m, f, and i together (in that order) using PAE (see Section 2.4.1). We'll call this m2.

  5. Sign m2 using ECDSA over P-384 and SHA-384 with the private key sk. We'll call this sig. The output of sig MUST be in the format r || s (where ||means concatenate), for a total length of 96 bytes.

    • Signatures SHOULD use deterministic k-values ([RFC6979]) if possible, to mitigate the risk of k-value reuse.
    • If possible, hedged signatures ([RFC6979] + additional randomness when generating k-values to provide resilience to fault attacks) are preferred over [RFC6979] alone.
    • If [RFC6979] is not available in your programming language, ECDSA MUST use a CSPRNG to generate the k-value.

  6. If f is:

    • Empty: return h || b64(m || sig)
    • Non-empty: return h || b64(m || sig) || . || b64(f)
    • ...where || means "concatenate" 
cpk = PASETO.v3.CompressPublicKey(sk.getPublicKey());
m2 = PASETO.PAE(cpk, h, m, f, i);
sig = crypto_sign_ecdsa_p384(
    message = m2,
    private_key = sk
);
Figure 6: Pseudocode: ECDSA signature algorithm used in PASETO v3

4.3.4. PASETO.v3.Verify

Given a signed message sm, ECDSA public key pk, and optional footer f (which defaults to empty string), and an optional implicit assertion i (which defaults to empty string):

  1. Before verifying, first assert that the key being used is intended for use with v3.public tokens, and is a public key (not a secret key). If this assertion fails, abort verifying.
  2. If f is not empty, implementations MAY verify that the value appended to the token matches some expected string f, provided they do so using a constant-time string compare function.
  3. Set cpk to the compressed point representation of the ECDSA public key (see point compression), using [#paseto-v3-compresspublickey].
  4. Verify that the message begins with v3.public., otherwise throw an exception. This constant will be referred to as h.

  5. Decode the payload (sm sans h, f, and the optional trailing period between m and f) from base64url to raw binary. Set:

    • s to the rightmost 96 bytes
    • m to the leftmost remainder of the payload, excluding s
  6. Pack h, m, f, and i together (in that order) using PAE (see Section 2.4.1). We'll call this m2.
  7. Use RSA to verify that the signature is valid for the message. The padding mode MUST be RSASSA-PSS [RFC8017]; PKCS1v1.5 is explicitly forbidden. The public exponent e MUST be 65537. The mask generating function MUST be MGF1+SHA384. The hash function MUST be SHA384. (See below for pseudocode.)
  8. If the signature is valid, return m. Otherwise, throw an exception. 
cpk = PASETO.v3.CompressPublicKey(pk);
m2 = PASETO.PAE(cpk, h, m, f, i);
valid = crypto_sign_ecdsa_p384_verify(
    signature = s,
    message = m2,
    public_key = pk
);
Figure 7: Pseudocode: ECDSA signature validation for PASETO Version 3

4.3.5. PASETO.v3.CompressPublicKey

Given a public key consisting of two coordinates (X, Y):

  1. Set the header to 0x02.
  2. Take the least significant bit of Y and add it to the header.
  3. Append the X coordinate (in big-endian byte order) to the header. 
lsb(y):
   return y[y.length - 1] & 1

pubKeyCompress(x, y):
   header = [0x02 + lsb(y)]
   return header.concat(x)
Figure 8: Pseudocode: Point compression as used in PASETO Version 3.

5. PASETO Protocol Version v4

PASETO Version 4 is the recommended version of PASETO, and will operate on tokens with the v4 version header.

v4 messages MUST use a purpose value of either local or public.

5.1. v4.local

v4.local messages MUST be encrypted with XChaCha20, a variant of ChaCha20 [RFC7539] defined in XChaCha20. Refer to the operations defined in PASETO.v4.Encrypt and PASETO.v4.Decrypt for a formal definition.

5.2. v4.public

v4.public messages MUST be signed using Ed25519 [RFC8032] public key signatures. These messages provide authentication but do not prevent the contents from being read, including by those without either the public key or the private key. Refer to the operations defined in v4.Sign and v4.Verify for a formal definition.

5.3. PASETO Version 4 Algorithms

5.3.1. PASETO.v4.Encrypt

Given a message m, key k, and optional footer f.

  1. Before encrypting, first assert that the key being used is intended for use with v4.local tokens. If this assertion fails, abort encryption.
  2. Set header h to v4.local.
  3. Generate 32 random bytes from the OS's CSPRNG, n.
  4. Split the key into an Encryption key (Ek) and Authentication key (Ak), using keyed BLAKE2b, using the domain separation constants and n as the message, and the input key as the key. The first value will be 56 bytes, the second will be 32 bytes. The derived key will be the leftmost 32 bytes of the hash output. The remaining 24 bytes will be used as a counter nonce (n2).
  5. Encrypt the message using XChaCha20, using n2 from step 3 as the nonce and Ek as the key.
  6. Pack h, n, c, f, and i together (in that order) using PAE (see Section 2.4.1). We'll call this preAuth.
  7. Calculate BLAKE2b-MAC of the output of preAuth, using Ak as the authentication key. We'll call this t.

  8. If f is:

    • Empty: return h || b64(n || c)
    • Non-empty: return h || b64(n || c) || . || b64(f)
    • ...where || means "concatenate" 
tmp = crypto_generichash(
    msg = "paseto-encryption-key" || n,
    key = key,
    length = 56
);
Ek = tmp[0:32]
n2 = tmp[32:]
Ak = crypto_generichash(
    msg = "paseto-auth-key-for-aead" || n,
    key = key,
    length = 32
);
Figure 9: Step 4: Key splitting with BLAKE2b. 
c = crypto_stream_xchacha20_xor(
    message = m
    nonce = n2
    key = Ek
);
preAuth = PASETO.PAE(h, n, c, f, i)
t = crypto_generichash(
    message = preAuth
    key = Ak,
    length = 32
);
Figure 10: Steps 5-7: PASETO Version 4 encryption

5.3.2. PASETO.v4.Decrypt

Given a message m, key k, and optional footer f.

  1. Before decrypting, first assert that the key being used is intended for use with v4.local tokens. If this assertion fails, abort decryption.
  2. If f is not empty, implementations MAY verify that the value appended to the token matches some expected string f, provided they do so using a constant-time string compare function.
  3. Verify that the message begins with v4.local., otherwise throw an exception. This constant will be referred to as h.

  4. Decode the payload (m sans h, f, and the optional trailing period between m and f) from base64url to raw binary. Set:

    • n to the leftmost 32 bytes
    • c to the middle remainder of the payload, excluding n.
  5. Split the key into an Encryption key (Ek) and Authentication key (Ak), using keyed BLAKE2b, using the domain separation constants and n as the message, and the input key as the key. The first value will be 56 bytes, the second will be 32 bytes. The derived key will be the leftmost 32 bytes of the hash output. The remaining 24 bytes will be used as a counter nonce (n2)
  6. Pack h, n, c, f, and i together (in that order) using PAE (see Section 2.4.1). We'll call this preAuth.
  7. Re-calculate BLAKE2b-MAC of the output of preAuth, using Ak as the authentication key. We'll call this t2.

  8. Compare t with t2 using a constant-time string compare function. If they are not identical, throw an exception.

    • You MUST use a constant-time string compare function to be compliant. If you do not have one available to you in your programming language/framework, you MUST use Double HMAC.
  9. Decrypt c using XChaCha20, store the result in p.
  10. If decryption failed, throw an exception. Otherwise, return p. 
tmp = crypto_generichash(
    msg = "paseto-encryption-key" || n,
    key = key,
    length = 56
);
Ek = tmp[0:32]
n2 = tmp[32:]
Ak = crypto_generichash(
    msg = "paseto-auth-key-for-aead" || n,
    key = key,
    length = 32
);
Figure 11: Step 4: Key splitting with BLAKE2b. 
preAuth = PASETO.PAE(h, n, c, f, i)
t2 = crypto_generichash(
    message = preAuth
    key = Ak,
    length = 32
);
if (not constant_time_compare(t2, t)) {
    throw new Exception("Invalid auth tag");
}
p = crypto_stream_xchacha20_xor(
   ciphertext = c
   nonce = n2
   key = Ek
);
Figure 12: Steps 5-8: PASETO v4 decryption

5.3.3. PASETO.v4.Sign

Given a message m, Ed25519 secret key sk, and optional footer f (which defaults to empty string):

  1. Before signing, first assert that the key being used is intended for use with v4.public tokens, and is a secret key (not a public key). If this assertion fails, abort signing.
  2. Set h to v4.public.
  3. Pack h, m, f, and i together (in that order) using PAE (see Section 2.4.1). We'll call this m2.
  4. Sign m2 using Ed25519 sk. We'll call this sig. (See below for pseudocode.)

  5. If f is:

    • Empty: return h || b64(m || sig)
    • Non-empty: return h || b64(m || sig) || . || b64(f)
    • ...where || means "concatenate" 
m2 = PASETO.PAE(h, m, f, i);
sig = crypto_sign_detached(
    message = m2,
    private_key = sk
);
Figure 13: Step 4: Generating an Ed25519 with libsodium

5.3.4. PASETO.v4.Verify

Given a signed message sm, public key pk, and optional footer f (which defaults to empty string), and an optional implicit assertion i (which defaults to empty string):

  1. Before verifying, first assert that the key being used is intended for use with v4.public tokens, and is a public key (not a secret key). If this assertion fails, abort verifying.
  2. If f is not empty, implementations MAY verify that the value appended to the token matches some expected string f, provided they do so using a constant-time string compare function.
  3. Verify that the message begins with v4.public., otherwise throw an exception. This constant will be referred to as h.

  4. Decode the payload (sm sans h, f, and the optional trailing period between m and f) from base64url to raw binary. Set:

    • s to the rightmost 64 bytes
    • m to the leftmost remainder of the payload, excluding s
  5. Pack h, m, f, and i together (in that order) using PAE (see Section 2.4.1). We'll call this m2.
  6. Use Ed25519 to verify that the signature is valid for the message: (See below for pseudocode.)
  7. If the signature is valid, return m. Otherwise, throw an exception. 
m2 = PASETO.PAE(h, m, f, i);
valid = crypto_sign_verify_detached(
    signature = s,
    message = m2,
    public_key = pk
);
Figure 14: Steps 5-6: Validating the Ed25519 signature using libsodium.

6. Payload Processing

All PASETO payloads MUST be a JSON object [RFC8259].

If non-UTF-8 character sets are desired for some fields, implementors are encouraged to use Base64url encoding to preserve the original intended binary data, but still use UTF-8 for the actual payloads.

6.1. Type Safety with Cryptographic Keys

PASETO library implementations MUST implement some means of preventing type confusion bugs between different cryptography keys. For example:

  • Prepending each key in memory with a magic byte to serve as a type indicator (distinct for every combination of version and purpose).
  • In object-oriented programming languages, using separate classes for each cryptography key object that may share an interface or common base class.

Cryptographic keys MUST require the user to state a version and a purpose for which they will be used. Furthermore, given a cryptographic key, it MUST NOT be possible for a user to use this key for any version and purpose combination other than that which was specified during the creation of this key.

6.2. Registered Claims

6.2.1. Payload Claims

The following keys are reserved for use within PASETO payloads. Users MUST NOT write arbitrary/invalid data to any keys in a top-level PASETO in the list below:

Table 1
Key Name Type Example
iss Issuer string {"iss":"paragonie.com"}
sub Subject string {"sub":"test"}
aud Audience string {"aud":"pie-hosted.com"}
exp Expiration DtTime {"exp":"2039-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
nbf Not Before DtTime {"nbf":"2038-04-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
iat Issued At DtTime {"iat":"2038-03-17T00:00:00+00:00"}
jti Token ID string {"jti":"87IFSGFgPNtQNNuw0AtuLttP"}

In the table above, DtTime means an ISO 8601 compliant DateTime string.

Any other claims can be freely used. These keys are only reserved in the top-level JSON object.

The keys in the above table are case-sensitive.

Implementors (i.e. library designers) SHOULD provide some means to discourage setting invalid/arbitrary data to these reserved claims.

For example: Storing any string that isn't a valid ISO 8601 DateTime in the exp claim should result in an exception or error state (depending on the programming language in question).

6.2.3. Key-ID Support

Some systems need to support key rotation, but since the payloads of a local token are always encrypted, it is impractical to store the key id in the payload.

Instead, users should store Key-ID claims (kid) in the unencrypted footer.

For example, a footer of {"kid":"gandalf0"} can be read without needing to first decrypt the token (which would in turn allow the user to know which key to use to decrypt the token).

Implementations SHOULD provide a means to extract the footer from a PASETO before authentication and decryption. This is possible for local tokens because the contents of the footer are not encrypted. However, the authenticity of the footer is only assured after the authentication tag is verified.

While a key identifier can generally be safely used for selecting the cryptographic key used to decrypt and/or verify payloads before verification, provided that the kid is a public number that is associated with a particular key which is not supplied by attackers, any other fields stored in the footer MUST be distrusted until the payload has been verified.

IMPORTANT: Key identifiers MUST be independent of the actual keys used by PASETO.

A fingerprint of the key is allowed as long as it is impractical for an attacker to recover the key from said fingerprint.

For example, the user MUST NOT store the public key in the footer for a public token and have the recipient use the provided public key. Doing so would allow an attacker to replace the public key with one of their own choosing, which will cause the recipient to accept any signature for any message as valid, therefore defeating the security goals of public-key cryptography.

Instead, it's recommended that implementors and users use a unique identifier for each key (independent of the cryptographic key's contents) that is used in a database or other key-value store to select the appropriate cryptographic key. These search operations MUST fail closed if no valid key is found for the given key identifier.

6.4. Implicit Assertions

The Optional Footer Section 6.3 provides a mechanism for Key IDs (and therefore key rotation), and thus qualifies as additional authenticated data when using encryption (local tokens).

Implicit Assertions are an additional layer of additional authenticated data for a PASETO token. Unlike the optional footer, Implicit Assertions are never stored in the token payload. They are, however, passed as an input to PAE() Section 2.4.1 when minting or consuming a PASETO token.

Implicit Assertions are useful for cryptographically binding a PASETO token to a specific domain or context without increasing the size of the payload.

Additionally, Implicit Assertions can be used to bind a token to data too sensitive to disclose in the payload.

7. Intended Use-Cases for PASETO

Like JWTs, PASETOs are intended to be single-use tokens, as there is no built-in mechanism to prevent replay attacks within the token lifetime.

8. Security Considerations

PASETO was designed in part to address known deficits of the JOSE standards that directly caused insecure implementations.

PASETO uses versioned protocols, rather than in-band negotiation, to prevent insecure algorithms from being selected. Mix-and-match is not a robust strategy for usable security engineering, especially when implementations have insecure default settings.

Cryptography keys in PASETO are defined as a tuple of (version, purpose, bytes) rather than merely (bytes). This implies that cryptography keys MUST NOT be used for a different version of PASETO, or for a different purpose (local, public).

If a severe security vulnerability is ever discovered in one of the specified versions, a new version of the protocol that is not affected should be decided by a team of cryptography engineers familiar with the vulnerability in question. This prevents users from having to rewrite and/or reconfigure their implementations to side-step the vulnerability.

PASETO implementors should only support the two most recent protocol versions (currently PASETO Version 3 and PASETO Version 4) at any given time.

PASETO users should beware that, although footers are authenticated, they are never encrypted. Therefore, sensitive information MUST NOT be stored in a footer.

Furthermore, PASETO users should beware that, if footers are employed to implement Key Identification (kid), the values stored in the footer MUST be unrelated to the actual cryptographic key used in verifying the token as discussed in Section 6.2.3.

PASETO has no built-in mechanism to resist replay attacks within the token's lifetime. Users SHOULD NOT attempt to use PASETO to obviate the need for server-side data storage when designing web applications.

PASETO's cryptography features requires the availability of a secure random number generator, such as the getrandom(2) syscall on newer Linux distributions, /dev/urandom on most Unix-like systems, and CryptGenRandom on Windows computers.

The use of userspace pseudo-random number generators, even if seeded by the operating system's cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator, is discouraged.

Implementors MUST NOT skip steps, although they MAY implement multiple steps in a single code statement.

The "Implicit Assertions" feature Section 6.4 is intended to provide a mechanism for additional authenticated data (AAD) that isn't stored in the token payload.

Applications may leverage this feature to bind tokens to a specific domain or context, but as it is not stored in the PASETO token, the application is solely responsible for managing this data. Failure to manage this state will result in authentication failures and could become a Denial of Service risk.

9. IANA Considerations

The IANA should reserve a new "PASETO Headers" registry for the purpose of this document and superseding RFCs.

This document defines a suite of string prefixes for PASETO tokens, called "PASETO Headers" (see Section 2), which consists of two parts:

These two values are concatenated with a single character separator, the ASCII period character ..

Initial values for the "PASETO Headers" registry are given below; future assignments are to be made through Expert Review [RFC8126], such as the CFRG.

Table 3: PASETO Headers and their respective meanings
Value PASETO Header Meaning Definition
v3.local Version 3, local Section 4.1
v3.public Version 3, public Section 4.2
v4.local Version 4, local Section 5.1
v4.public Version 4, public Section 5.2

Additionally, the IANA should reserve a new "PASETO Claims" registry.

Table 4
Value PASETO Claim Meaning
iss Issuer
sub Subject
aud Audience
exp Expiration
nbf Not Before
iat Issued At
jti Token ID
kid Key ID
wpk Wrapped PASERK

10. Normative References

[RFC2119]
Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
[RFC3686]
Housley, R., "Using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Counter Mode With IPsec Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)", RFC 3686, DOI 10.17487/RFC3686, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3686>.
[RFC4231]
Nystrom, M., "Identifiers and Test Vectors for HMAC-SHA-224, HMAC-SHA-256, HMAC-SHA-384, and HMAC-SHA-512", RFC 4231, DOI 10.17487/RFC4231, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4231>.
[RFC4648]
Josefsson, S., "The Base16, Base32, and Base64 Data Encodings", RFC 4648, DOI 10.17487/RFC4648, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4648>.
[RFC5869]
Krawczyk, H. and P. Eronen, "HMAC-based Extract-and-Expand Key Derivation Function (HKDF)", RFC 5869, DOI 10.17487/RFC5869, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5869>.
[RFC6687]
Tripathi, J., Ed., de Oliveira, J., Ed., and JP. Vasseur, Ed., "Performance Evaluation of the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL)", RFC 6687, DOI 10.17487/RFC6687, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6687>.
[RFC6979]
Pornin, T., "Deterministic Usage of the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) and Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA)", RFC 6979, DOI 10.17487/RFC6979, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6979>.
[RFC7516]
Jones, M. and J. Hildebrand, "JSON Web Encryption (JWE)", RFC 7516, DOI 10.17487/RFC7516, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7516>.
[RFC7517]
Jones, M., "JSON Web Key (JWK)", RFC 7517, DOI 10.17487/RFC7517, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7517>.
[RFC7518]
Jones, M., "JSON Web Algorithms (JWA)", RFC 7518, DOI 10.17487/RFC7518, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7518>.
[RFC7519]
Jones, M., Bradley, J., and N. Sakimura, "JSON Web Token (JWT)", RFC 7519, DOI 10.17487/RFC7519, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7519>.
[RFC7539]
Nir, Y. and A. Langley, "ChaCha20 and Poly1305 for IETF Protocols", RFC 7539, DOI 10.17487/RFC7539, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7539>.
[RFC8017]
Moriarty, K., Ed., Kaliski, B., Jonsson, J., and A. Rusch, "PKCS #1: RSA Cryptography Specifications Version 2.2", RFC 8017, DOI 10.17487/RFC8017, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8017>.
[RFC8032]
Josefsson, S. and I. Liusvaara, "Edwards-Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA)", RFC 8032, DOI 10.17487/RFC8032, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8032>.
[RFC8126]
Cotton, M., Leiba, B., and T. Narten, "Guidelines for Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 8126, DOI 10.17487/RFC8126, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8126>.
[RFC8259]
Bray, T., Ed., "The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format", STD 90, RFC 8259, DOI 10.17487/RFC8259, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8259>.

Appendix A. PASETO Test Vectors

A.1. PASETO v3 Test Vectors

A.1.1. v3.local (Shared-Key Encryption) Test Vectors

A.1.1.1. Test Vector v3-E-1 
Token:      v3.local.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADbfcIUR
            X_0pVZVU1mAESUzrKZAsRm2EsD6yBoZYn6cpVZNzSJOhSDN-sRaWjfLU-y
            n9OJH1J_B8GKtOQ9gSQlb8yk9Iza7teRdkiR89ZFyvPPsVjjFiepFUVcMa
            -LP18zV77f_crJrVXWa5PDNRkCSeHfBBeg
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
            00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
Payload:    {"data":"this is a secret message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.1.1.2. Test Vector v3-E-2

Same as v3-E-1, but with a slightly different message.

Token:      v3.local.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADbfcIUR
            X_0pVZVU1mAESUzrKZAqhWxBMDgyBoZYn6cpVZNzSJOhSDN-sRaWjfLU-y
            n9OJH1J_B8GKtOQ9gSQlb8yk9IzZfaZpReVpHlDSwfuygx1riVXYVs-Ujc
            rG_apl9oz3jCVmmJbRuKn5ZfD8mHz2db0A
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
            00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.1.1.3. Test Vector v3-E-3 
Token:      v3.local.JvdVM1RIKh2R1HhGJ4VLjaa4BCp5ZlI8K0BOjbvn9_LwY78vQ
            nDait-Q-sjhF88dG2B0ROIIykcrGHn8wzPbTrqObHhyoKpjy3cwZQzLdiw
            RsdEK5SDvl02_HjWKJW2oqGMOQJlxnt5xyhQjFJomwnt7WW_7r2VT0G704
            ifult011-TgLCyQ2X8imQhniG_hAQ4BydM
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a secret message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.1.1.4. Test Vector v3-E-4

Same as v3-E-3, but with a slightly different message.

Token:      v3.local.JvdVM1RIKh2R1HhGJ4VLjaa4BCp5ZlI8K0BOjbvn9_LwY78vQ
            nDait-Q-sjhF88dG2B0X-4P3EcxGHn8wzPbTrqObHhyoKpjy3cwZQzLdiw
            RsdEK5SDvl02_HjWKJW2oqGMOQJlBZa_gOpVj4gv0M9lV6Pwjp8JS_MmaZ
            aTA1LLTULXybOBZ2S4xMbYqYmDRhh3IgEk
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.1.1.5. Test Vector v3-E-5 
Token:      v3.local.JvdVM1RIKh2R1HhGJ4VLjaa4BCp5ZlI8K0BOjbvn9_LwY78vQ
            nDait-Q-sjhF88dG2B0ROIIykcrGHn8wzPbTrqObHhyoKpjy3cwZQzLdiw
            RsdEK5SDvl02_HjWKJW2oqGMOQJlkYSIbXOgVuIQL65UMdW9WcjOpmqvjq
            D40NNzed-XPqn1T3w-bJvitYpUJL_rmihc.eyJraWQiOiJVYmtLOFk2aXY
            0R1poRnA2VHgzSVdMV0xmTlhTRXZKY2RUM3pkUjY1WVp4byJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a secret message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"UbkK8Y6iv4GZhFp6Tx3IWLWLfNXSEvJcdT3zdR65YZxo"}
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.1.1.6. Test Vector v3-E-6

Same as v3-E-5, but with a slightly different message.

Token:      v3.local.JvdVM1RIKh2R1HhGJ4VLjaa4BCp5ZlI8K0BOjbvn9_LwY78vQ
            nDait-Q-sjhF88dG2B0X-4P3EcxGHn8wzPbTrqObHhyoKpjy3cwZQzLdiw
            RsdEK5SDvl02_HjWKJW2oqGMOQJmSeEMphEWHiwtDKJftg41O1F8Hat-8k
            Q82ZIAMFqkx9q5VkWlxZke9ZzMBbb3Znfo.eyJraWQiOiJVYmtLOFk2aXY
            0R1poRnA2VHgzSVdMV0xmTlhTRXZKY2RUM3pkUjY1WVp4byJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"UbkK8Y6iv4GZhFp6Tx3IWLWLfNXSEvJcdT3zdR65YZxo"}
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.1.1.7. Test Vector v3-E-7 
Token:      v3.local.JvdVM1RIKh2R1HhGJ4VLjaa4BCp5ZlI8K0BOjbvn9_LwY78vQ
            nDait-Q-sjhF88dG2B0ROIIykcrGHn8wzPbTrqObHhyoKpjy3cwZQzLdiw
            RsdEK5SDvl02_HjWKJW2oqGMOQJkzWACWAIoVa0bz7EWSBoTEnS8MvGBYH
            Ho6t6mJunPrFR9JKXFCc0obwz5N-pxFLOc.eyJraWQiOiJVYmtLOFk2aXY
            0R1poRnA2VHgzSVdMV0xmTlhTRXZKY2RUM3pkUjY1WVp4byJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a secret message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"UbkK8Y6iv4GZhFp6Tx3IWLWLfNXSEvJcdT3zdR65YZxo"}
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"3-E-7"}
ExpectFail: no
A.1.1.8. Test Vector v3-E-8

Same as v3-E-7, but with a slightly different message and implicit assertion.

Token:      v3.local.JvdVM1RIKh2R1HhGJ4VLjaa4BCp5ZlI8K0BOjbvn9_LwY78vQ
            nDait-Q-sjhF88dG2B0X-4P3EcxGHn8wzPbTrqObHhyoKpjy3cwZQzLdiw
            RsdEK5SDvl02_HjWKJW2oqGMOQJmZHSSKYR6AnPYJV6gpHtx6dLakIG_AO
            Phu8vKexNyrv5_1qoom6_NaPGecoiz6fR8.eyJraWQiOiJVYmtLOFk2aXY
            0R1poRnA2VHgzSVdMV0xmTlhTRXZKY2RUM3pkUjY1WVp4byJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"UbkK8Y6iv4GZhFp6Tx3IWLWLfNXSEvJcdT3zdR65YZxo"}
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"3-E-8"}
ExpectFail: no
A.1.1.9. Test Vector v3-E-9 
Token:      v3.local.JvdVM1RIKh2R1HhGJ4VLjaa4BCp5ZlI8K0BOjbvn9_LwY78vQ
            nDait-Q-sjhF88dG2B0X-4P3EcxGHn8wzPbTrqObHhyoKpjy3cwZQzLdiw
            RsdEK5SDvl02_HjWKJW2oqGMOQJlk1nli0_wijTH_vCuRwckEDc82QWK8-
            lG2fT9wQF271sgbVRVPjm0LwMQZkvvamqU.YXJiaXRyYXJ5LXN0cmluZy1
            0aGF0LWlzbid0LWpzb24
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     arbitrary-string-that-isn't-json
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"3-E-9"}
ExpectFail: no

A.1.2. v3.public (Public-Key Authentication) Test Vectors

A.1.2.1. Test Vector v3-S-1 
Token:       v3.public.eyJkYXRhIjoidGhpcyBpcyBhIHNpZ25lZCBtZXNzYWdlIiwi
             ZXhwIjoiMjAyMi0wMS0wMVQwMDowMDowMCswMDowMCJ9qqEwwrKHKi5lJ7
             b9MBKc0G4MGZy0ptUiMv3lAUAaz-JY_zjoqBSIxMxhfAoeNYiSyvfUErj7
             6KOPWm1OeNnBPkTSespeSXDGaDfxeIrl3bRrPEIy7tLwLAIsRzsXkfph
Secret key:  -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
             MIGkAgEBBDAgNHYJYHR3rKj7+8XmIYRV8xmWaXku+LRm+qh73Gd5gUTISN
             0DZh7tWsYkYTQM6pagBwYFK4EEACKhZANiAAT7y3xp7hxgV5vnozQTSHjZ
             xcW/NdVS2rY8AUA5ftFM72N9dyCSXERpnqMOcodMcvt8kgcrB8KcKee0HU
             23E79/s4CvEs8hBfnjSUd/gcAm08EjSIz06iWjrNy4NakxR3I=
             -----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----
Public Key:  -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
             MHYwEAYHKoZIzj0CAQYFK4EEACIDYgAE+8t8ae4cYFeb56M0E0h42cXFvz
             XVUtq2PAFAOX7RTO9jfXcgklxEaZ6jDnKHTHL7fJIHKwfCnCnntB1NtxO/
             f7OArxLPIQX540lHf4HAJtPBI0iM9Oolo6zcuDWpMUdy
             -----END PUBLIC KEY-----
Payload:     {"data":"this is a signed message",
             "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail:  no
A.1.2.2. Test Vector v3-S-2 
Token:       v3.public.eyJkYXRhIjoidGhpcyBpcyBhIHNpZ25lZCBtZXNzYWdlIiwi
             ZXhwIjoiMjAyMi0wMS0wMVQwMDowMDowMCswMDowMCJ9ZWrbGZ6L0MDK72
             skosUaS0Dz7wJ_2bMcM6tOxFuCasO9GhwHrvvchqgXQNLQQyWzGC2wkr-V
             KII71AvkLpC8tJOrzJV1cap9NRwoFzbcXjzMZyxQ0wkshxZxx8ImmNWP.e
             yJraWQiOiJkWWtJU3lseFFlZWNFY0hFTGZ6Rjg4VVpyd2JMb2xOaUNkcHp
             VSEd3OVVxbiJ9
Secret key:  -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
             MIGkAgEBBDAgNHYJYHR3rKj7+8XmIYRV8xmWaXku+LRm+qh73Gd5gUTISN
             0DZh7tWsYkYTQM6pagBwYFK4EEACKhZANiAAT7y3xp7hxgV5vnozQTSHjZ
             xcW/NdVS2rY8AUA5ftFM72N9dyCSXERpnqMOcodMcvt8kgcrB8KcKee0HU
             23E79/s4CvEs8hBfnjSUd/gcAm08EjSIz06iWjrNy4NakxR3I=
             -----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----
Public Key:  -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
             MHYwEAYHKoZIzj0CAQYFK4EEACIDYgAE+8t8ae4cYFeb56M0E0h42cXFvz
             XVUtq2PAFAOX7RTO9jfXcgklxEaZ6jDnKHTHL7fJIHKwfCnCnntB1NtxO/
             f7OArxLPIQX540lHf4HAJtPBI0iM9Oolo6zcuDWpMUdy
             -----END PUBLIC KEY-----
Payload:     {"data":"this is a signed message",
             "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:      {"kid":"dYkISylxQeecEcHELfzF88UZrwbLolNiCdpzUHGw9Uqn"}
Implicit:
ExpectFail:  no
A.1.2.3. Test Vector v3-S-3 
Token:       v3.public.eyJkYXRhIjoidGhpcyBpcyBhIHNpZ25lZCBtZXNzYWdlIiwi
             ZXhwIjoiMjAyMi0wMS0wMVQwMDowMDowMCswMDowMCJ94SjWIbjmS7715G
             jLSnHnpJrC9Z-cnwK45dmvnVvCRQDCCKAXaKEopTajX0DKYx1Xqr6gcTdf
             qscLCAbiB4eOW9jlt-oNqdG8TjsYEi6aloBfTzF1DXff_45tFlnBukEX.e
             yJraWQiOiJkWWtJU3lseFFlZWNFY0hFTGZ6Rjg4VVpyd2JMb2xOaUNkcHp
             VSEd3OVVxbiJ9
Secret key:  -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
             MIGkAgEBBDAgNHYJYHR3rKj7+8XmIYRV8xmWaXku+LRm+qh73Gd5gUTISN
             0DZh7tWsYkYTQM6pagBwYFK4EEACKhZANiAAT7y3xp7hxgV5vnozQTSHjZ
             xcW/NdVS2rY8AUA5ftFM72N9dyCSXERpnqMOcodMcvt8kgcrB8KcKee0HU
             23E79/s4CvEs8hBfnjSUd/gcAm08EjSIz06iWjrNy4NakxR3I=
             -----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----
Public Key:  -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
             MHYwEAYHKoZIzj0CAQYFK4EEACIDYgAE+8t8ae4cYFeb56M0E0h42cXFvz
             XVUtq2PAFAOX7RTO9jfXcgklxEaZ6jDnKHTHL7fJIHKwfCnCnntB1NtxO/
             f7OArxLPIQX540lHf4HAJtPBI0iM9Oolo6zcuDWpMUdy
             -----END PUBLIC KEY-----
Payload:     {"data":"this is a signed message",
             "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:      {"kid":"dYkISylxQeecEcHELfzF88UZrwbLolNiCdpzUHGw9Uqn"}
Implicit:    {"test-vector":"3-S-3"}
ExpectFail:  no
A.1.2.4. Test Vector v3-F-1

This test vector MUST fail, because the keys are not meant for local tokens.

Token:       v3.local.tthw-G1Da_BzYeMu_GEDp-IyQ7jzUCQHxCHRdDY6hQjKg6Cux
             ECXfjOzlmNgNJ-WELjN61gMDnldG9OLkr3wpxuqdZksCzH9Ul16t3pXCLG
             PoHQ9_l51NOqVmMLbFVZOPhsmdhef9RxJwmqvzQ_Mo_JkYRlrNA.YXJiaX
             RyYXJ5LXN0cmluZy10aGF0LWlzbid0LWpzb24
Secret key:  -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
             MIGkAgEBBDAgNHYJYHR3rKj7+8XmIYRV8xmWaXku+LRm+qh73Gd5gUTISN
             0DZh7tWsYkYTQM6pagBwYFK4EEACKhZANiAAT7y3xp7hxgV5vnozQTSHjZ
             xcW/NdVS2rY8AUA5ftFM72N9dyCSXERpnqMOcodMcvt8kgcrB8KcKee0HU
             23E79/s4CvEs8hBfnjSUd/gcAm08EjSIz06iWjrNy4NakxR3I=
             -----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----
Public Key:  -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
             MHYwEAYHKoZIzj0CAQYFK4EEACIDYgAE+8t8ae4cYFeb56M0E0h42cXFvz
             XVUtq2PAFAOX7RTO9jfXcgklxEaZ6jDnKHTHL7fJIHKwfCnCnntB1NtxO/
             f7OArxLPIQX540lHf4HAJtPBI0iM9Oolo6zcuDWpMUdy
             -----END PUBLIC KEY-----
Payload:
Footer:      arbitrary-string-that-isn't-json
Implicit:    {"test-vector":"3-F-1"}
ExpectFail:  YES
A.1.2.5. Test Vector v3-F-2

This test vector MUST fail, because the key is not meant for public tokens.

Token:       v3.public.eyJpbnZhbGlkIjoidGhpcyBzaG91bGQgbmV2ZXIgZGVjb2Rl
             In1hbzIBD_EU54TYDTvsN9bbCU1QPo7FDeIhijkkcB9BrVH73XyM3Wwvu1
             pJaGCOEc0R5DVe9hb1ka1cYBd0goqVHt0NQ2NhPtILz4W36eCCqyU4uV6x
             DMeLI8ni6r3GnaY.eyJraWQiOiJ6VmhNaVBCUDlmUmYyc25FY1Q3Z0ZUaW
             9lQTlDT2NOeTlEZmdMMVc2MGhhTiJ9
Key:         70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
             80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:       df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
             f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:
Footer:      {"kid":"zVhMiPBP9fRf2snEcT7gFTioeA9COcNy9DfgL1W60haN"}
Implicit:    {"test-vector":"3-F-2"}
ExpectFail:  YES
A.1.2.6. Test Vector v3-F-3

This test vector MUST fail, because token is Version 4 while we're operating in Version 3.

Token:      v4.local.1JgN1UG8TFAYS49qsx8rxlwh-9E4ONUm3slJXYi5EibmzxpF0
            Q-du6gakjuyKCBX8TvnSLOKqCPu8Yh3WSa5yJWigPy33z9XZTJF2HQ9wlL
            DPtVn_Mu1pPxkTU50ZaBKblJBufRA.YXJiaXRyYXJ5LXN0cmluZy10aGF0
            LWlzbid0LWpzb24
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:
Footer:     arbitrary-string-that-isn't-json
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"3-F-3"}
ExpectFail: YES

A.2. PASETO v4 Test Vectors

A.2.1. v4.local (Shared-Key Encryption) Test Vectors

A.2.1.1. Test Vector v4-E-1 
Token:      v4.local.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAr68P
            S4AXe7If_ZgesdkUMvSwscFlAl1pk5HC0e8kApeaqMfGo_7OpBnwJOAbY9
            V7WU6abu74MmcUE8YWAiaArVI8XJ5hOb_4v9RmDkneN0S92dx0OW4pgy7o
            mxgf3S8c3LlQg
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
            00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
Payload:    {"data":"this is a secret message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.2.1.2. Test Vector v4-E-2

Same as v4-E-1, but with a slightly different message.

Token:      v4.local.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAr68P
            S4AXe7If_ZgesdkUMvS2csCgglvpk5HC0e8kApeaqMfGo_7OpBnwJOAbY9
            V7WU6abu74MmcUE8YWAiaArVI8XIemu9chy3WVKvRBfg6t8wwYHK0ArLxx
            fZP73W_vfwt5A
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
            00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.2.1.3. Test Vector v4-E-3 
Token:      v4.local.32VIErrEkmY4JVILovbmfPXKW9wT1OdQepjMTC_MOtjA4kiqw
            7_tcaOM5GNEcnTxl60WkwMsYXw6FSNb_UdJPXjpzm0KW9ojM5f4O2mRvE2
            IcweP-PRdoHjd5-RHCiExR1IK6t6-tyebyWG6Ov7kKvBdkrrAJ837lKP3i
            Dag2hzUPHuMKA
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
            f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:    {"data":"this is a secret message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.2.1.4. Test Vector v4-E-4

Same as v4-E-3, but with a slightly different message.

Token:      v4.local.32VIErrEkmY4JVILovbmfPXKW9wT1OdQepjMTC_MOtjA4kiqw
            7_tcaOM5GNEcnTxl60WiA8rd3wgFSNb_UdJPXjpzm0KW9ojM5f4O2mRvE2
            IcweP-PRdoHjd5-RHCiExR1IK6t4gt6TiLm55vIH8c_lGxxZpE3AWlH4WT
            R0v45nsWoU3gQ
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
            f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.2.1.5. Test Vector v4-E-5 
Token:      v4.local.32VIErrEkmY4JVILovbmfPXKW9wT1OdQepjMTC_MOtjA4kiqw
            7_tcaOM5GNEcnTxl60WkwMsYXw6FSNb_UdJPXjpzm0KW9ojM5f4O2mRvE2
            IcweP-PRdoHjd5-RHCiExR1IK6t4x-RMNXtQNbz7FvFZ_G-lFpk5RG3EOr
            wDL6CgDqcerSQ.eyJraWQiOiJ6VmhNaVBCUDlmUmYyc25FY1Q3Z0ZUaW9l
            QTlDT2NOeTlEZmdMMVc2MGhhTiJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
            f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:    {"data":"this is a secret message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"zVhMiPBP9fRf2snEcT7gFTioeA9COcNy9DfgL1W60haN"}
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.2.1.6. Test Vector v4-E-6

Same as v4-E-5, but with a slightly different message.

Token:      v4.local.32VIErrEkmY4JVILovbmfPXKW9wT1OdQepjMTC_MOtjA4kiqw
            7_tcaOM5GNEcnTxl60WiA8rd3wgFSNb_UdJPXjpzm0KW9ojM5f4O2mRvE2
            IcweP-PRdoHjd5-RHCiExR1IK6t6pWSA5HX2wjb3P-xLQg5K5feUCX4P2f
            pVK3ZLWFbMSxQ.eyJraWQiOiJ6VmhNaVBCUDlmUmYyc25FY1Q3Z0ZUaW9l
            QTlDT2NOeTlEZmdMMVc2MGhhTiJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
            f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"zVhMiPBP9fRf2snEcT7gFTioeA9COcNy9DfgL1W60haN"}
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.2.1.7. Test Vector v4-E-7 
Token:      v4.local.32VIErrEkmY4JVILovbmfPXKW9wT1OdQepjMTC_MOtjA4kiqw
            7_tcaOM5GNEcnTxl60WkwMsYXw6FSNb_UdJPXjpzm0KW9ojM5f4O2mRvE2
            IcweP-PRdoHjd5-RHCiExR1IK6t40KCCWLA7GYL9KFHzKlwY9_RnIfRrMQ
            pueydLEAZGGcA.eyJraWQiOiJ6VmhNaVBCUDlmUmYyc25FY1Q3Z0ZUaW9l
            QTlDT2NOeTlEZmdMMVc2MGhhTiJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
            f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:    {"data":"this is a secret message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"zVhMiPBP9fRf2snEcT7gFTioeA9COcNy9DfgL1W60haN"}
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"4-E-7"}
ExpectFail: no
A.2.1.8. Test Vector v4-E-8

Same as v4-E-7, but with a slightly different message and implicit assertion.

Token:      v4.local.32VIErrEkmY4JVILovbmfPXKW9wT1OdQepjMTC_MOtjA4kiqw
            7_tcaOM5GNEcnTxl60WiA8rd3wgFSNb_UdJPXjpzm0KW9ojM5f4O2mRvE2
            IcweP-PRdoHjd5-RHCiExR1IK6t5uvqQbMGlLLNYBc7A6_x7oqnpUK5WLv
            j24eE4DVPDZjw.eyJraWQiOiJ6VmhNaVBCUDlmUmYyc25FY1Q3Z0ZUaW9l
            QTlDT2NOeTlEZmdMMVc2MGhhTiJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
            f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"zVhMiPBP9fRf2snEcT7gFTioeA9COcNy9DfgL1W60haN"}
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"4-E-8"}
ExpectFail: no
A.2.1.9. Test Vector v4-E-9 
Token:      v4.local.32VIErrEkmY4JVILovbmfPXKW9wT1OdQepjMTC_MOtjA4kiqw
            7_tcaOM5GNEcnTxl60WiA8rd3wgFSNb_UdJPXjpzm0KW9ojM5f4O2mRvE2
            IcweP-PRdoHjd5-RHCiExR1IK6t6tybdlmnMwcDMw0YxA_gFSE_IUWl78a
            MtOepFYSWYfQA.YXJiaXRyYXJ5LXN0cmluZy10aGF0LWlzbid0LWpzb24
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
            f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:    {"data":"this is a hidden message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     arbitrary-string-that-isn't-json
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"4-E-9"}
ExpectFail: no

A.2.2. v4.public (Public-Key Authentication) Test Vectors

A.2.2.1. Test Vector v4-S-1 
Token:      v4.public.eyJkYXRhIjoidGhpcyBpcyBhIHNpZ25lZCBtZXNzYWdlIiwi
            ZXhwIjoiMjAyMi0wMS0wMVQwMDowMDowMCswMDowMCJ9bg_XBBzds8lTZS
            hVlwwKSgeKpLT3yukTw6JUz3W4h_ExsQV-P0V54zemZDcAxFaSeef1QlXE
            FtkqxT1ciiQEDA
Secret Key: b4cbfb43 df4ce210 727d953e 4a713307
            fa19bb7d 9f850414 38d9e11b 942a3774
            1eb9dbbb bc047c03 fd70604e 0071f098
            7e16b28b 757225c1 1f00415d 0e20b1a2
Public Key: 1eb9dbbb bc047c03 fd70604e 0071f098
            7e16b28b 757225c1 1f00415d 0e20b1a2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a signed message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.2.2.2. Test Vector v4-S-2 
Token:      v4.public.eyJkYXRhIjoidGhpcyBpcyBhIHNpZ25lZCBtZXNzYWdlIiwi
            ZXhwIjoiMjAyMi0wMS0wMVQwMDowMDowMCswMDowMCJ9v3Jt8mx_TdM2ce
            TGoqwrh4yDFn0XsHvvV_D0DtwQxVrJEBMl0F2caAdgnpKlt4p7xBnx1HcO
            -SPo8FPp214HDw.eyJraWQiOiJ6VmhNaVBCUDlmUmYyc25FY1Q3Z0ZUaW9
            lQTlDT2NOeTlEZmdMMVc2MGhhTiJ9
Secret Key: b4cbfb43 df4ce210 727d953e 4a713307
            fa19bb7d 9f850414 38d9e11b 942a3774
            1eb9dbbb bc047c03 fd70604e 0071f098
            7e16b28b 757225c1 1f00415d 0e20b1a2
Public Key: 1eb9dbbb bc047c03 fd70604e 0071f098
            7e16b28b 757225c1 1f00415d 0e20b1a2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a signed message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"zVhMiPBP9fRf2snEcT7gFTioeA9COcNy9DfgL1W60haN"}
Implicit:
ExpectFail: no
A.2.2.3. Test Vector v4-S-3 
Token:      v4.public.eyJkYXRhIjoidGhpcyBpcyBhIHNpZ25lZCBtZXNzYWdlIiwi
            ZXhwIjoiMjAyMi0wMS0wMVQwMDowMDowMCswMDowMCJ9NPWciuD3d0o5eX
            JXG5pJy-DiVEoyPYWs1YSTwWHNJq6DZD3je5gf-0M4JR9ipdUSJbIovzmB
            ECeaWmaqcaP0DQ.eyJraWQiOiJ6VmhNaVBCUDlmUmYyc25FY1Q3Z0ZUaW9
            lQTlDT2NOeTlEZmdMMVc2MGhhTiJ9
Secret Key: b4cbfb43 df4ce210 727d953e 4a713307
            fa19bb7d 9f850414 38d9e11b 942a3774
            1eb9dbbb bc047c03 fd70604e 0071f098
            7e16b28b 757225c1 1f00415d 0e20b1a2
Public Key: 1eb9dbbb bc047c03 fd70604e 0071f098
            7e16b28b 757225c1 1f00415d 0e20b1a2
Payload:    {"data":"this is a signed message",
            "exp":"2022-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"}
Footer:     {"kid":"zVhMiPBP9fRf2snEcT7gFTioeA9COcNy9DfgL1W60haN"}
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"4-S-3"}
ExpectFail: no
A.2.2.4. Test Vector 4-F-1

This test vector MUST fail, because the keys are not meant for local tokens.

Token:      v4.local.vngXfCISbnKgiP6VWGuOSlYrFYU300fy9ijW33rznDYgxHNPw
            WluAY2Bgb0z54CUs6aYYkIJ-bOOOmJHPuX_34Agt_IPlNdGDpRdGNnBz2M
            pWJvB3cttheEc1uyCEYltj7wBQQYX.YXJiaXRyYXJ5LXN0cmluZy10aGF0
            LWlzbid0LWpzb24
Secret Key: b4cbfb43 df4ce210 727d953e 4a713307
            fa19bb7d 9f850414 38d9e11b 942a3774
            1eb9dbbb bc047c03 fd70604e 0071f098
            7e16b28b 757225c1 1f00415d 0e20b1a2
Public Key: 1eb9dbbb bc047c03 fd70604e 0071f098
            7e16b28b 757225c1 1f00415d 0e20b1a2
Payload:
Footer:     arbitrary-string-that-isn't-json
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"4-F-1"}
ExpectFail: YES
A.2.2.5. Test Vector 4-F-2

This test vector MUST fail, because the key is not meant for public tokens.

Token:      v4.public.eyJpbnZhbGlkIjoidGhpcyBzaG91bGQgbmV2ZXIgZGVjb2Rl
            In22Sp4gjCaUw0c7EH84ZSm_jN_Qr41MrgLNu5LIBCzUr1pn3Z-Wukg9h3
            ceplWigpoHaTLcwxj0NsI1vjTh67YB.eyJraWQiOiJ6VmhNaVBCUDlmUmY
            yc25FY1Q3Z0ZUaW9lQTlDT2NOeTlEZmdMMVc2MGhhTiJ9
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      df654812 bac49266 3825520b a2f6e67c
            f5ca5bdc 13d4e750 7a98cc4c 2fcc3ad8
Payload:
Footer:     {"kid":"zVhMiPBP9fRf2snEcT7gFTioeA9COcNy9DfgL1W60haN"}
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"4-F-2"}
ExpectFail: YES
A.2.2.6. Test Vector 4-F-3

This test vector MUST fail, because token is Version 3 while we're operating in Version 4.

Token:      v3.local.23e_2PiqpQBPvRFKzB0zHhjmxK3sKo2grFZRRLM-U7L0a8uHx
            uF9RlVz3Ic6WmdUUWTxCaYycwWV1yM8gKbZB2JhygDMKvHQ7eBf8GtF0r3
            K0Q_gF1PXOxcOgztak1eD1dPe9rLVMSgR0nHJXeIGYVuVrVoLWQ.YXJiaX
            RyYXJ5LXN0cmluZy10aGF0LWlzbid0LWpzb24
Key:        70717273 74757677 78797a7b 7c7d7e7f
            80818283 84858687 88898a8b 8c8d8e8f
Nonce:      26f75533 54482a1d 91d47846 27854b8d
            a6b8042a 7966523c 2b404e8d bbe7f7f2
Payload:
Footer:     arbitrary-string-that-isn't-json
Implicit:   {"test-vector":"4-F-3"}
ExpectFail: YES

Authors' Addresses

Robyn Terjesen
Paragon Initiative Enterprises
United States
Steven Haussmann
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
United States
Scott Arciszewski
Paragon Initiative Enterprises
United States