Paper 2026/2178 Original: eprint.iacr.org/2026/2178 ↗
Breaking the Spell: Cryptanalysis of VDOO
Abstract
VDOO is a Rainbow-like multivariate signature scheme with additional ``diagonal” structure intended to resist structural attacks. We show that its security is governed primarily by the first two oil layers, while the diagonal structure has negligible impact, and that all proposed parameters fail to meet their claimed NIST security levels. We provide a corrected complexity analysis of the Simple and Rectangular MinRank attacks, introduce a hybrid Simple–Padded MinRank attack, and compare their effectiveness. Open-source code is provided for independent validation, clarifying VDOO’s true security and informing future Rainbow-type post-quantum designs.
Metadata
- Available format(s)
PDF- Category
- Attacks and cryptanalysis
- Publication info
- Preprint.
- History
- 2026-09-23: last updated
- 2026-09-23: published
- Short URL
- https://ia.cr/2026/2178
- License
- https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
BibTeX
@misc{cryptoeprint:2026/2178,
author = {Max Cartor and Ryann Cartor and Ansta Rakotondrafara},
title = {Breaking the Spell: Cryptanalysis of VDOO},
howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2026/2178},
year = {2026},
url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2026/2178}
}