MD5 Algorithm
MD5 Algorithm
Jerry Li
Computer Science Department
San Jose State University
outline
• Introduction
• MD5 Algorithm Structure
• Implementation Steps
• Performance
• MD5 vs. MD4
• Summary
Introduction
• MD5 algorithm was developed by Professor Ronald L.
Rivest in 1991. According to RFC 1321, “MD5 message-
digest algorithm takes as input a message of arbitrary
length and produces as output a 128-bit "fingerprint" or
"message digest" of the input …The MD5 algorithm is
intended for digital signature applications, where a large
file must be "compressed" in a secure manner before
being encrypted with a private (secret) key under a
public-key cryptosystem such as RSA.”
MD5 Algorithm Structure
Implementation Steps
• Step1 Append padding bits
The input message is "padded" (extended) so that its
length (in bits) equals to 448 mod 512. Padding is
always performed, even if the length of the message is
already 448 mod 512.
Padding is performed as follows: a single "1" bit is
appended to the message, and then "0" bits are
appended so that the length in bits of the padded
message becomes congruent to 448 mod 512. At least
one bit and at most 512 bits are appended.
Implementation Steps
• Step2. Append length
A 64-bit representation of the length of the message is
appended to the result of step1. If the length of the
message is greater than 2^64, only the low-order 64 bits
will be used.
The resulting message (after padding with bits and with
b) has a length that is an exact multiple of 512 bits. The
input message will have a length that is an exact multiple
of 16 (32-bit) words.
Implementation Steps
• Step3. Initialize MD buffer
A four-word buffer (A, B, C, D) is used to compute the
message digest. Each of A, B, C, D is a 32-bit register.
These registers are initialized to the following values in
hexadecimal, low-order bytes first):
word A: 01 23 45 67
word B: 89 ab cd ef
word C: fe dc ba 98
word D: 76 54 32 10
Implementation Steps
• Step4. Process message in 16-word blocks
Four functions will be defined such that each function
takes an input of three 32-bit words and produces a 32-
bit word output.
Round 1.