Scribd
Upload
53 views4 pages

The MD5

md5 explanation

Uploaded by

B.REENA HICET STAFF CSE
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
53 views4 pages

The MD5

md5 explanation

Uploaded by

B.REENA HICET STAFF CSE
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) hashing algorithm is a one-

way cryptographic function that accepts a message of any length as


input and returns as output a fixed-length digest value to be used
for authenticating the original message.
In Cryptography, the MD5 message-digest algorithm is a cryptographic
hash function designed to convert a message into a 128-bit hash value.
Due to its vulnerabilities including hash collision and preimage and
second preimage attacks, which makes it possible to reverse-engineer
digest value, it is replaced by more secure algorithms like SHA1, SHA256,
etc. Even with its insecurity, MD5 is still the most commonly used
message digest for non-cryptographic functions, such as used as a
checksum to verify data integrity, compressing large files into smaller
ones securely, etc. In this article, we will learn about the MD5 algorithm,
how it works, its use case, advantages, and disadvantages.
What is MD5?
MD5 is a cryptographic hash function algorithm that takes the message as
input of any length and changes it into a fixed-length message of 16
bytes. MD5 algorithm stands for the message-digest algorithm. MD5
was developed in 1991 by Ronald Rivest as an improvement of MD4,
with advanced security purposes. The output of MD5 (Digest size) is
always 128 bits.

Working of the MD5 Algorithm


MD5 algorithm follows the following steps
1. Append Padding Bits: In the first step, we add padding bits in the
original message in such a way that the total length of the message is 64
bits less than the exact multiple of 512.

Suppose we are given a message of 1000 bits. Now we have to add


padding bits to the original message. Here we will add 472 padding bits to
the original message. After adding the padding bits the size of the original
message/output of the first step will be 1472 i.e. 64 bits less than an exact
multiple of 512 (i.e. 512*3 = 1536).
Length(original message + padding bits) = 512 * i – 64 where i = 1,2,3
...

2. Append Length Bits: In this step, we add the length bit in the output of
the first step in such a way that the total number of the bits is the perfect
multiple of 512. Simply, here we add the 64-bit as a length bit in the output
of the first step.
i.e. output of first step = 512 * n – 64
length bits = 64.
After adding both we will get 512 * n i.e. the exact multiple of 512.
3. Initialize MD buffer: Here, we use the 4 buffers i.e. A B, C, and D. The
size of each buffer is 32 bits.
- A = 0x67425301
- B = 0xEDFCBA45
- C= 0x98CBADFE
- D = 0x13DCE476

F,G,H and I functions

4. Process Each 512-bit Block: This is the most important step of the
MD5 algorithm. Here, a total of 64 operations are performed in 4 rounds.
In the 1st round, 16 operations will be performed, 2nd round 16 operations
will be performed, 3rd round 16 operations will be performed, and in the
4th round, 16 operations will be performed. We apply a different function
on each round i.e. for the 1st round we apply the F function, for the 2nd G
function, 3rd for the H function, and 4th for the I function.
We perform OR, AND, XOR, and NOT (basically these are logic gates) for
calculating functions. We use 3 buffers for each function i.e. B, C, D.
After applying the function now we perform an operation on each block.
For performing operations we need

 add modulo 232


 M[i] – 32 bit message.
 K[i] – 32-bit constant.
 <<<n – Left shift by n bits.
Now take input as initialize MD buffer i.e. A, B, C, D. Output of B will be
fed in C, C will be fed into D, and D will be fed into J. After doing this now
we perform some operations to find the output for A.
 In the first step, Outputs of B, C, and D are taken and then the function
F is applied to them. We will add modulo 2 32 bits for the output of this
with A.
 In the second step, we add the M[i] bit message with the output of the
first step.
 Then add 32 bits constant i.e. K[i] to the output of the second step.
 At last, we do left shift operation by n (can be any value of n) and
addition modulo by 232.
After all steps, the result of A will be fed into B. Now same steps will be
used for all functions G, H, and I. After performing all 64 operations we will
get our message digest.
Output:
After all, rounds have been performed, the buffer A, B, C, and D contains
the MD5 output starting with the lower bit A and ending with Higher bits D.

You might also like