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arXiv · 2312.03369

Analysis of Linux-PRNG (Pseudo Random Number Generator)

Ayush Bansal·Pramod Subramanyan·Satyadev Nandakumar
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Abstract

The Linux pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) is a PRNG with entropy inputs and is widely used in many security-related applications and protocols. This PRNG is written as an open-source code which is subject to regular changes. It has been analysed in the works of Gutterman et al., Lacharme et al., while in the meantime, several changes have been applied to the code, to counter the attacks presented since then. Our work describes the Linux PRNG of kernel versions 5.3 and upwards. We discuss the PRNG architecture briefly and in detail about the entropy mixing function. Our goal is to study the entropy mixing function and analyse it over two properties, namely, injectivity and length of the longest chain. For this purpose, we will be using SAT solving and model counting over targetted formulas involving multiple states of the Linux entropy store.

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Ayush Bansal, Pramod Subramanyan, Satyadev Nandakumar. 2023-12-06. Analysis of Linux-PRNG (Pseudo Random Number Generator). https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.03369

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