digestpp

Experimental C++11 header-only message digest library.

Derived from cppcrypto, this library aims to provide a more modern, flexible, and versatile C++ API for cryptographic hash functions.

Tested with g++ 6.4.0, clang 4.0.1 and Visual C++ 2017.

Quick Start / Installation

Just copy the digestpp folder to your project or include path and #include <digestpp/digestpp.hpp>.

Examples

Quick Start

Calculate SHA-256 digest of a string literal:

#include <digestpp/digestpp.hpp>
#include <iostream>
 
int main() {
    std::cout << digestpp::sha256().absorb("Hello World").hexdigest() << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

Specifying Output Size (Runtime vs Compile-time)

For algorithms supporting variable output lengths (like BLAKE2, SHA512, SHA-3, etc.), the size can be set either at runtime (constructor argument) or at compile-time (template parameter).

Runtime size (more flexible, allows values determined at runtime):

size_t length = 256;
std::cout << digestpp::blake2b(length).absorb("data").hexdigest() << std::endl;

Compile-time size (static checking):

std::cout << digestpp::static_size::blake2b<256>().absorb("data").hexdigest() << std::endl;

Working with Strings

The .absorb() method accepts both string literals and std::string objects. Method chaining is supported:

// Using std::string
std::string str = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog";
std::cout << digestpp::blake2b().absorb(str).hexdigest() << std::endl;
 
// Using string literals and chaining
digestpp::blake2b x;
x.absorb("The quick brown fox ");
x.absorb("jumps over the lazy dog");
std::cout << x.hexdigest() << std::endl;

Hashing Binary Data

Absorb data from standard containers (like std::vector) or raw C-arrays:

// From a vector<unsigned char>
std::vector<unsigned char> v = {0x01, 0x02, 0x03};
std::cout << digestpp::sha512(256).absorb(v.begin(), v.end()).hexdigest() << std::endl;
 
// From a raw C array
unsigned char buf[32] = {0};
std::cout << digestpp::sha512(256).absorb(buf, sizeof(buf)).hexdigest() << std::endl;

Hashing Files

Read and hash a file directly using std::ifstream:

std::ifstream file("filename", std::ios_base::in | std::ios_base::binary);
std::cout << digestpp::sha256().absorb(file).hexdigest() << std::endl;

Output Options

Retrieve the result as a hex string, raw bytes, or write directly to a stream.

Output to std::vector:

std::vector<unsigned char> out;
digestpp::sha3(256).absorb("data").digest(std::back_inserter(out));

Output to a raw buffer:

unsigned char buf[32];
digestpp::sha3(256).absorb("data").digest(buf, sizeof(buf));

Output to a stream:

std::stringstream ss;
digestpp::sha3(256).absorb("data").digest(std::ostream_iterator<char>(ss, ""));

Extendable Output Functions (XOF)

Use squeeze() to generate outputs of arbitrary length.

SHAKE-256:

std::vector<unsigned char> v;
digestpp::shake256 xof;
xof.absorb("data");
xof.squeeze(10, std::back_inserter(v)); // Get first 10 bytes
xof.squeeze(10, std::back_inserter(v)); // Get next 10 bytes

cSHAKE-256 with customization:

digestpp::cshake256 xof;
xof.set_customization("My Custom Protocol");
std::cout << xof.absorb("data").hexsqueeze(64) << std::endl; // Get 64 bytes as hex

Hasher class

Hasher is the main class template implementing the public API for hashing.

It has two template parameters:

• HashProvider is a class implementing the algorithm via the traditional init/update/final interface. We provide our own implementations of hash functions listed in the next section, but using the traditional interface allows anyone to trivially implement the providers as wrappers around popular libraries, such as OpenSSL, Crypto++, or Botan.
• Mixin is a class template which can be used to inject additional functions into the public API of the hasher, for example for setting the customization string for cSHAKE, the salt for BLAKE, etc.

template<class HashProvider, template <class> class Mixin = detail::null_mixin>
class hasher : public Mixin<HashProvider>
{
public:
    // Default constructor
    // Used for hash functions with fixed output size, for hash functions with sensible
    // default output size, and for extendable output functions (XOFs).
    template<typename H=HashProvider,
        typename std::enable_if<std::is_default_constructible<H>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    hasher();
 
    // Constructor with hashsize parameter
    // Used with hash functions which can produce hashes of different lengths with length specified at runtime.
    // If the requested output size is not supported by the algorithm, std::runtime_error will be thrown.
    template<typename H=HashProvider, typename std::enable_if<!detail::is_xof<H>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    hasher(size_t hashsize);
 
    // Absorbs bytes from a C-style pointer to a character buffer
    template<typename T, typename std::enable_if<detail::is_byte<T>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    inline hasher& absorb(const T* data, size_t len);
 
    // Absorbs bytes from std::basic_string
    template<typename T,
        typename std::enable_if<detail::is_byte<T>::value
            && !std::is_same<T, std::string::value_type>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    inline hasher& absorb(const std::basic_string<T>& str);
 
    // Absorbs bytes from std::string
    inline hasher& absorb(const std::string& str);
 
    // Absorbs bytes from std::istream
    template<typename T, typename std::enable_if<detail::is_byte<T>::value>::type* = nullptr>;
    inline hasher& absorb(std::basic_istream<T>& istr);
 
    // Absorbs bytes from an iterator sequence
    template<typename IT>
    inline hasher& absorb(IT begin, IT end);
 
    // In case HashProvider is an extendable output function, squeeze <len> bytes from absorbed data
    // into a user-provided preallocated buffer.
    template<typename T, typename H=HashProvider,
        typename std::enable_if<detail::is_byte<T>::value && detail::is_xof<H>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    inline void squeeze(T* buf, size_t len);
 
    // In case HashProvider is an extendable output function, squeeze <len> bytes from absorbed data
    // and write them to the output iterator.
    template<typename OI, typename H=HashProvider,
        typename std::enable_if<detail::is_xof<H>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    inline void squeeze(size_t len, OI it);
 
    // In case HashProvider is an extendable output function, squeeze <len> bytes from absorbed data
    // and return them as a hex string.
    template<typename H=HashProvider, typename std::enable_if<detail::is_xof<H>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    inline std::string hexsqueeze(size_t len);
 
    // In case HashProvider is a hash function, output binary digest to a user-provided preallocated buffer.
    template<typename T, typename H=HashProvider,
        typename std::enable_if<detail::is_byte<T>::value && !detail::is_xof<H>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    inline void digest(T* buf, size_t len) const;
 
    // In case HashProvider is a hash function, generate binary digest from absorbed data
    // and write it to an output iterator.
    template<typename OI, typename H=HashProvider,
        typename std::enable_if<!detail::is_xof<H>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    inline void digest(OI it) const;
 
    // In case HashProvider is a hash function, return hex digest of absorbed data.
    template<typename H=HashProvider, typename std::enable_if<!detail::is_xof<H>::value>::type* = nullptr>
    inline std::string hexdigest() const;
 
    // Resets the state to start new digest computation.
    // If resetParameters is true, all customization parameters such as salt will also be cleared.
    inline void reset(bool resetParameters = false);
};

Individual hash algorithms are defined by typedefs, e.g.

typedef hasher<detail::sha3_provider> sha3;
 
typedef hasher<detail::blake_provider, detail::blake_mixin> blake;
 
// ...

Supported algorithms

Hash functions

Dynamic Size Variant	Static Size Variant	Description	Security	Supported output sizes	Optional parameters
N/A	digestpp::ascon_hash	Ascon (NIST SP 800-232)	✅Secure	256	-
digestpp::blake	digestpp::static_size::blake	Original BLAKE algorithm	✅Secure	224, 256, 384, 512	salt
digestpp::blake2b	digestpp::static_size::blake2b	BLAKE2b	✅Secure	8-512	salt, personalization, key
digestpp::blake2s	digestpp::static_size::blake2s	BLAKE2s	✅Secure	8-256	salt, personalization, key
digestpp::blake2bp	digestpp::static_size::blake2bp	BLAKE2bp	✅Secure	8-512	salt, personalization, key
digestpp::blake2sp	digestpp::static_size::blake2sp	BLAKE2sp	✅Secure	8-256	salt, personalization, key
digestpp::blake2xb	digestpp::static_size::blake2xb	BLAKE2xb	✅Secure	arbitrary	salt, personalization, key
digestpp::blake2xs	digestpp::static_size::blake2xs	BLAKE2xs	✅Secure	arbitrary	salt, personalization, key
digestpp::echo	digestpp::static_size::echo	Echo	✅Secure	8-512	salt
digestpp::esch	digestpp::static_size::esch	Esch	✅Secure	256, 384	-
digestpp::groestl	digestpp::static_size::groestl	Grøstl	✅Secure	8-512	-
digestpp::jh	digestpp::static_size::jh	JH	✅Secure	8-512	-
digestpp::kmac128	digestpp::static_size::kmac128	KMAC128	✅Secure	arbitrary	key, customization
digestpp::kmac256	digestpp::static_size::kmac256	KMAC256	✅Secure	arbitrary	key, customization
digestpp::kupyna	digestpp::static_size::kupyna	Kupyna	✅Secure	256, 512	-
digestpp::lsh256	digestpp::static_size::lsh256	LSH-256	✅Secure	8-256	-
digestpp::lsh512	digestpp::static_size::lsh512	LSH-512	✅Secure	8-512	-
N/A	digestpp::md5	MD5	❌Broken	128	-
N/A	digestpp::sha1	SHA-1	❌Broken	160	-
N/A	digestpp::sha224	SHA-224	✅Secure	224	-
N/A	digestpp::sha256	SHA-256	✅Secure	256	-
N/A	digestpp::sha384	SHA-384	✅Secure	384	-
digestpp::sha512	digestpp::static_size::sha512	SHA-512	✅Secure	8-512	-
digestpp::sha3	digestpp::static_size::sha3	SHA-3	✅Secure	224, 256, 384, 512	-
digestpp::skein256	digestpp::static_size::skein256	Skein256	✅Secure	arbitrary	personalization, key, nonce
digestpp::skein512	digestpp::static_size::skein512	Skein512	✅Secure	arbitrary	personalization, key, nonce
digestpp::skein1024	digestpp::static_size::skein1024	Skein1024	✅Secure	arbitrary	personalization, key, nonce
N/A	digestpp::sm3	SM3	✅Secure	256	-
digestpp::streebog	digestpp::static_size::streebog	Streebog	⚠️Backdoored	256, 512	-
N/A	digestpp::whirlpool	Whirlpool	✅Secure	512	-

Extendable output functions

Typedef	Description	Security	Optional parameters
digestpp::ascon_xof	Ascon-XOF128	✅Secure	-
digestpp::ascon_cxof	Ascon-CXOF128	✅Secure	customization
digestpp::blake2xb_xof	BLAKE2xb in XOF mode	✅Secure	salt, personalization, key
digestpp::blake2xs_xof	BLAKE2xs in XOF mode	✅Secure	salt, personalization, key
digestpp::esch256_xof	XOEsch256	✅Secure	-
digestpp::esch384_xof	XOEsch384	✅Secure	-
digestpp::k12	KangarooTwelve	✅Secure	customization
digestpp::kt128	KangarooTwelve (alias for k12)	✅Secure	customization
digestpp::kt256	256bit KangarooTwelve	✅Secure	customization
digestpp::m14	MarsupilamiFourteen	✅Secure	customization
digestpp::shake128	SHAKE-128	✅Secure	-
digestpp::shake256	SHAKE-256	✅Secure	-
digestpp::cshake128	cSHAKE-128	✅Secure	function name, customization
digestpp::cshake256	cSHAKE-256	✅Secure	function name, customization
digestpp::kmac128_xof	KMAC128 in XOF mode	✅Secure	key, customization
digestpp::kmac256_xof	KMAC256 in XOF mode	✅Secure	key, customization
digestpp::skein256_xof	Skein256 in XOF mode	✅Secure	personalization, key, nonce
digestpp::skein512_xof	Skein512 in XOF mode	✅Secure	personalization, key, nonce
digestpp::skein1024_xof	Skein1024 in XOF mode	✅Secure	personalization, key, nonce

Design rationale in questions and answers

Q: What is the difference between a hash function with variable output size and an extendable output function (XOF)?

A: Hash functions require the digest size to be known at the moment of initialization and normally produce unrelated outputs for different digest sizes. For example, blake2b(256) and blake2b(512) produce completely different digests. XOFs are functions that do not need to know the output size in advance and can produce outputs of arbitrary length. Bytes generated by XOFs depend only on the input data, not on the digest size. It is generally recommended to use hash functions instead of XOFs when the output size is known in advance.

Q: What is the difference between digest() and squeeze()?

A. digest() is used with hash functions; it retrieves a digest of a certain length (defined by the algorithm or specified in the constructor). Calling digest() or hexdigest() does not change the internal state, so these functions can be called more than once and will produce the same output. squeeze() is used with XOF functions; it can be called multiple times to squeeze an arbitrary number of output bytes. After each invocation of squeeze(), the internal state changes so that the next call to squeeze() will generate different (additional) output bytes.

Q: For hash functions with variable output size, why do you provide two options: with output size as a template parameter, e.g. digestpp::static_size::sha3<256>(), and with output size specified at runtime, e.g. digestpp::sha3(256)?

A: In some usage scenarios, the required digest size is not known at compile time. One simple example is the Argon2 password hashing algorithm, which requires us to hash its state using BLAKE2b with a dynamically calculated digest size. We can't just use the largest digest size and truncate the result because most hash functions (unlike XOFs) produce completely different digests depending on the requested output size.

Q: Why does hasher not support hashing non-byte types?

A: Cryptographic hash functions are always defined for a sequence of bytes. We support only those data types that can be unambiguously converted to bytes (sequences of char, signed char, or unsigned char). Other data types should be converted to a sequence of bytes in a non-ambiguous way before they can be hashed (e.g., wide strings could be encoded using UTF-8 or another encoding), which is beyond the scope of the library.

Q: Since the output size has to be provided to the constructor, why are there separate typedefs for sha256 and sha512 instead of one hasher with an output size parameter: sha2(256) / sha2(512)?

A: The SHA-2 family of hash functions is special because SHA-512 can produce an output of any size up to 512 bits (SHA-512/t); e.g., sha512(256) will calculate SHA-512/256. The resulting hash is different from SHA-256 but has the same length. Thus SHA-512 is an independent hash function supporting variable output sizes. On the other hand, the 32-bit version of SHA-2 is only defined for 224-bit and 256-bit outputs, and they are widely known as SHA-224 and SHA-256. We decided to use different typedefs for SHA-224 and SHA-256 because requiring users to use sha256(224) for getting SHA-224 digests would be confusing. Internally all SHA-2 functions are implemented using one template class.

Q: Why are there separate typedefs for skein256, skein512 and skein1024 instead of one hasher with an output size parameter: skein(256) / skein(512) / skein(1024)?

A: Skein256, Skein512, and Skein1024 are different algorithms. Each of them can produce digests of any size. The outputs are unrelated, e.g., skein256(256) != skein512(256) != skein1024(256). Internally all Skein variants are implemented using one template class.

Q: Why are there so many typedefs for the BLAKE2 hash function?

A: BLAKE2 has many variants that produce incompatible digests for the same output sizes. We support different variants via different typedefs. For the 512-bit version, blake2b is the oldest algorithm, which can produce digests of any size up to 512 bits. blake2xb can be used to produce larger digests but requires the output size to be known in advance; it can't be merged with blake2b because their outputs are different for the same digest sizes. blake2xb_xof can be used in XOF mode when the output size is not known in advance. Then there is a 256-bit version blake2s which supports all these variants as well. Internally all BLAKE2 variants are implemented using one template class.

Known limitations

• Included providers are written in standard C++ and may be slower than SIMD optimized implementations.
• Only complete bytes are supported for input and output.
• Big endian systems are not supported.
• No attempts were made to make the implementation of every algorithm constant time.

Thread Safety

The library follows standard C++ thread safety guarantees:

• Distinct objects: It is safe to use distinct hasher instances from multiple threads simultaneously. No global mutable state is shared between instances.
• Shared objects: It is not safe to modify a single hasher instance from multiple threads concurrently. Methods that modify the internal state (such as absorb, squeeze, reset) require external synchronization (e.g., using std::mutex) if called from different threads on the same object.
• Const methods: It is safe to call const methods (such as digest, hexdigest) from multiple threads, provided the object is not being modified by another thread at the same time.

Reference documentation

Reference documentation is here: https://kerukuro.github.io/digestpp/