---

name: wycheproof type: domain description: "Validates cryptographic implementations against Project Wycheproof's test vectors, which encode known attacks and edge cases across AES, RSA, ECDSA, ECDH, and more. Covers loading test vectors, mapping result flags onto pass and fail expectations, and reading a failure. Use when testing a crypto implementation against known attacks, checking a library against standard test vectors, or investigating why two implementations disagree on the same input."

Wycheproof

Wycheproof is an extensive collection of test vectors designed to verify the correctness of cryptographic implementations and test against known attacks. Originally developed by Google, it is now a community-managed project where contributors can add test vectors for specific cryptographic constructions.

Background

Key Concepts

| Concept | Description | |---------|-------------| | Test vector | Input/output pair for validating crypto implementation correctness | | Test group | Collection of test vectors sharing attributes (key size, IV size, curve) | | Result flag | Indicates if test should pass (valid), fail (invalid), or is acceptable | | Edge case testing | Testing for known vulnerabilities and attack patterns |

Why This Matters

Cryptographic implementations are notoriously difficult to get right. Even small bugs can:

• Expose private keys
• Allow signature forgery
• Enable message decryption
• Create consensus problems when different implementations accept/reject the same inputs

Wycheproof has found vulnerabilities in major libraries including OpenJDK's SHA1withDSA, Bouncy Castle's ECDHC, and the elliptic npm package.

When to Use

Apply Wycheproof when:

• Testing cryptographic implementations (AES-GCM, ECDSA, ECDH, RSA, etc.)
• Validating that crypto code handles edge cases correctly
• Verifying implementations against known attack vectors
• Setting up CI/CD for cryptographic libraries
• Auditing third-party crypto code for correctness

Consider alternatives when:

• Testing for timing side-channels (use constant-time testing tools instead)
• Finding new unknown bugs (use fuzzing instead)
• Testing custom/experimental cryptographic algorithms (Wycheproof only covers established algorithms)

Quick Reference

| Scenario | Recommended Approach | Notes | |----------|---------------------|-------| | AES-GCM implementation | Use aes_gcm_test.json | 316 test vectors across 44 test groups | | ECDSA verification | Use ecdsa_*_test.json for specific curves | Tests signature malleability, DER encoding | | ECDH key exchange | Use ecdh_*_test.json | Tests invalid curve attacks | | RSA signatures | Use rsa_*_test.json | Tests padding oracle attacks | | ChaCha20-Poly1305 | Use chacha20_poly1305_test.json | Tests AEAD implementation |

Testing Workflow

Phase 1: Setup                 Phase 2: Parse Test Vectors
┌─────────────────┐          ┌─────────────────┐
│ Add Wycheproof  │    →     │ Load JSON file  │
│ as submodule    │          │ Filter by params│
└─────────────────┘          └─────────────────┘
         ↓                            ↓
Phase 4: CI Integration        Phase 3: Write Harness
┌─────────────────┐          ┌─────────────────┐
│ Auto-update     │    ←     │ Test valid &    │
│ test vectors    │          │ invalid cases   │
└─────────────────┘          └─────────────────┘

Repository Structure

The Wycheproof repository is organized as follows:

┣ 📜 README.md       : Project overview
┣ 📂 doc             : Documentation
┣ 📂 java            : Java JCE interface testing harness
┣ 📂 javascript      : JavaScript testing harness
┣ 📂 schemas         : Test vector schemas
┣ 📂 testvectors     : Test vectors
┗ 📂 testvectors_v1  : Updated test vectors (more detailed)

The essential folders are testvectors and testvectors_v1. While both contain similar files, testvectors_v1 includes more detailed information and is recommended for new integrations.

Supported Algorithms

Wycheproof provides test vectors for a wide range of cryptographic algorithms:

| Category | Algorithms | |----------|------------| | Symmetric Encryption | AES-GCM, AES-EAX, ChaCha20-Poly1305 | | Signatures | ECDSA, EdDSA, RSA-PSS, RSA-PKCS1 | | Key Exchange | ECDH, X25519, X448 | | Hashing | HMAC, HKDF | | Curves | secp256k1, secp256r1, secp384r1, secp521r1, ed25519, ed448 |

Test File Structure

Each JSON test file tests a specific cryptographic construction. All test files share common attributes:

"algorithm"         : The name of the algorithm tested
"schema"            : The JSON schema (found in schemas folder)
"generatorVersion"  : The version number
"numberOfTests"     : The total number of test vectors in this file
"header"            : Detailed description of test vectors
"notes"             : In-depth explanation of flags in test vectors
"testGroups"        : Array of one or multiple test groups

Test Groups

Test groups group sets of tests based on shared attributes such as:

• Key sizes
• IV sizes
• Public keys
• Curves

This classification allows extracting tests that meet specific criteria relevant to the construction being tested.

Test Vector Attributes

Shared Attributes

All test vectors contain four common fields:

• tcId: Unique identifier for the test vector within a file
• comment: Additional information about the test case
• flags: Descriptions of specific test case types and potential dangers (referenced in notes field)
• result: Expected outcome of the test

The result field can take three values:

| Result | Meaning | |--------|---------| | valid | Test case should succeed | | acceptable | Test case is allowed to succeed but contains non-ideal attributes | | invalid | Test case should fail |

Unique Attributes

Unique attributes are specific to the algorithm being tested:

| Algorithm | Unique Attributes | |-----------|-------------------| | AES-GCM | key, iv, aad, msg, ct, tag | | ECDH secp256k1 | public, private, shared | | ECDSA | msg, sig, result | | EdDSA | msg, sig, pk |

Implementation Guide

Phase 1: Add Wycheproof to Your Project

Option 1: Git Submodule (Recommended)

Adding Wycheproof as a git submodule ensures automatic updates:

git submodule add https://github.com/C2SP/wycheproof.git

Option 2: Fetch Specific Test Vectors

If submodules aren't possible, fetch specific JSON files:

#!/bin/bash

TMP_WYCHEPROOF_FOLDER=".wycheproof/"
TEST_VECTORS=('aes_gcm_test.json' 'aes_eax_test.json')
BASE_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/C2SP/wycheproof/master/testvectors_v1/"

# Create wycheproof folder
mkdir -p $TMP_WYCHEPROOF_FOLDER

# Request all test vector files if they don't exist
for i in "${TEST_VECTORS[@]}"; do
  if [ ! -f "${TMP_WYCHEPROOF_FOLDER}${i}" ]; then
    curl -o "${TMP_WYCHEPROOF_FOLDER}${i}" "${BASE_URL}${i}"
    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
      echo "Failed to download ${i}"
      exit 1
    fi
  fi
done

Phase 2: Parse Test Vectors

Identify the test file for your algorithm and parse the JSON:

Python Example:

import json

def load_wycheproof_test_vectors(path: str):
    testVectors = []
    try:
        with open(path, "r") as f:
            wycheproof_json = json.loads(f.read())
    except FileNotFoundError:
        print(f"No Wycheproof file found at: {path}")
        return testVectors

    # Attributes that need hex-to-bytes conversion
    convert_attr = {"key", "aad", "iv", "msg", "ct", "tag"}

    for testGroup in wycheproof_json["testGroups"]:
        # Filter test groups based on implementation constraints
        if testGroup["ivSize"] < 64 or testGroup["ivSize"] > 1024:
            continue

        for tv in testGroup["tests"]:
            # Convert hex strings to bytes
            for attr in convert_attr:
                if attr in tv:
                    tv[attr] = bytes.fromhex(tv[attr])
            testVectors.append(tv)

    return testVectors

JavaScript Example:

const fs = require('fs').promises;

async function loadWycheproofTestVectors(path) {
  const tests = [];

  try {
    const fileContent = await fs.readFile(path);
    const data = JSON.parse(fileContent.toString());

    data.testGroups.forEach(testGroup => {
      testGroup.tests.forEach(test => {
        // Add shared test group properties to each test
        test['pk'] = testGroup.publicKey.pk;
        tests.push(test);
      });
    });
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Error reading or parsing file:', err);
    throw err;
  }

  return tests;
}

Phase 3: Write Testing Harness

Create test functions that handle both valid and invalid test cases.

Python/pytest Example:

import pytest
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.aead import AESGCM

tvs = load_wycheproof_test_vectors("wycheproof/testvectors_v1/aes_gcm_test.json")

@pytest.mark.parametrize("tv", tvs, ids=[str(tv['tcId']) for tv in tvs])
def test_encryption(tv):
    try:
        aesgcm = AESGCM(tv['key'])
        ct = aesgcm.encrypt(tv['iv'], tv['msg'], tv['aad'])
    except ValueError as e:
        # Implementation raised error - verify test was expected to fail
        assert tv['result'] != 'valid', tv['comment']
        return

    if tv['result'] == 'valid':
        assert ct[:-16] == tv['ct'], f"Ciphertext mismatch: {tv['comment']}"
        assert ct[-16:] == tv['tag'], f"Tag mismatch: {tv['comment']}"
    elif tv['result'] == 'invalid' or tv['result'] == 'acceptable':
        assert ct[:-16] != tv['ct'] or ct[-16:] != tv['tag']

@pytest.mark.parametrize("tv", tvs, ids=[str(tv['tcId']) for tv in tvs])
def test_decryption(tv):
    try:
        aesgcm = AESGCM(tv['key'])
        decrypted_msg = aesgcm.decrypt(tv['iv'], tv['ct'] + tv['tag'], tv['aad'])
    except ValueError:
        assert tv['result'] != 'valid', tv['comment']
        return
    except InvalidTag:
        assert tv['result'] != 'valid', tv['comment']
        assert 'ModifiedTag' in tv['flags'], f"Expected 'ModifiedTag' flag: {tv['comment']}"
        return

    assert tv['result'] == 'valid', f"No invalid test case should pass: {tv['comment']}"
    assert decrypted_msg == tv['msg'], f"Decryption mismatch: {tv['comment']}"

JavaScript/Mocha Example:

const assert = require('assert');

function testFactory(tcId, tests) {
  it(`[${tcId + 1}] ${tests[tcId].comment}`, function () {
    const test = tests[tcId];
    const ed25519 = new eddsa('ed25519');
    const key = ed25519.keyFromPublic(toArray(test.pk, 'hex'));

    let sig;
    if (test.result === 'valid') {
      sig = key.verify(test.msg, test.sig);
      assert.equal(sig, true, `[${test.tcId}] ${test.comment}`);
    } else if (test.result === 'invalid') {
      try {
        sig = key.verify(test.msg, test.sig);
      } catch (err) {
        // Point could not be decoded
        sig = false;
      }
      assert.equal(sig, false, `[${test.tcId}] ${test.comment}`);
    }
  });
}

// Generate tests for all test vectors
for (var tcId = 0; tcId < tests.length; tcId++) {
  testFactory(tcId, tests);
}

Phase 4: CI Integration

Ensure test vectors stay up to date by:

1. Using git submodules: Update submodule in CI before running tests
2. Fetching latest vectors: Run fetch script before test execution
3. Scheduled updates: Set up weekly/monthly updates to catch new test vectors

Common Vulnerabilities Detected

Wycheproof test vectors are designed to catch specific vulnerability patterns:

| Vulnerability | Description | Affected Algorithms | Example CVE | |---------------|-------------|---------------------|-------------| | Signature malleability | Multiple valid signatures for same message | ECDSA, EdDSA | CVE-2024-42459 | | Invalid DER encoding | Accepting non-canonical DER signatures | ECDSA | CVE-2024-42460, CVE-2024-42461 | | Invalid curve a