Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Recommendation for Block Cipher Modes of Operation: Methods for Key Wrapping

Published

Author(s)

Morris J. Dworkin

Abstract

This publication describes cryptographic methods that are approved for "key wrapping," i.e., the protection of the confidentiality and integrity of cryptographic keys. In addition to describing existing methods, this publication specifies two new, deterministic authenticated-encryption modes of operation of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm: the AES Key Wrap (KW) mode and the AES Key Wrap With Padding (KWP) mode. An analogous mode with the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA) as the underlying block cipher, called TKW, is also specified, to support legacy applications.
Citation
Special Publication (NIST SP) - 800-38F
Report Number
800-38F

Keywords

authenticated encryption, authentication, block cipher, computer security, confidentiality, cryptography, encryption, information security, key wrapping, mode of operation

Citation

Dworkin, M. (2012), Recommendation for Block Cipher Modes of Operation: Methods for Key Wrapping, Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-38F (Accessed March 28, 2024)
Created December 13, 2012, Updated November 10, 2018