NIP-44 ====== Encrypted Payloads (Versioned) ------------------------------ `optional` `author:paulmillr` `author:staab` The NIP introduces a versioned encryption data model, allowing multiple algorithm choices to exist simultaneously. The algorithm described in NIP-04 is potentially vulnerable to [padding oracle attacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padding_oracle_attack) and uses keys which are not indistinguishable from random. For more information, see [here](https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/715#issuecomment-1675301250-). An encrypted payload MUST be encoded as a JSON object. Different versions may have different parameters. Every format has a `v` field specifying its version. Currently defined encryption algorithms: - `0x00` - Reserved - `0x01` - XChaCha with same key `sha256(ecdh)` per conversation # Version 1 Params: 1. `nonce`: base64-encoded xchacha nonce 2. `ciphertext`: base64-encoded xchacha ciphertext, created from (key, nonce) against `plaintext`. Example: ``` { "ciphertext": "FvQi1H4atMwU+FzUR/0CJ7kowjs+", "nonce": "3dBKd83Pg2Q4Tu2A2e8N++c+ZW2IBc2f", "v": 1 } ``` # Other Notes By default in the [libsecp256k1](https://github.com/bitcoin-core/secp256k1) ECDH implementation, the secret is the SHA256 hash of the shared point (both X and Y coordinates). We are using this exact implementation. In NIP-94, unhashed shared point was used. # Code Samples ## Javascript ```javascript import {xchacha20} from "@noble/ciphers/chacha" import {secp256k1} from "@noble/curves/secp256k1" import {sha256} from "@noble/hashes/sha256" import {randomBytes} from "@noble/hashes/utils" import {base64} from "@scure/base" export const utf8Decoder = new TextDecoder() export const utf8Encoder = new TextEncoder() export const getSharedSecret = (privkey: string, pubkey: string): Uint8Array => sha256(secp256k1.getSharedSecret(privkey, "02" + pubkey).subarray(1, 33)) export function encrypt(privkey: string, pubkey: string, text: string, v = 1) { if (v !== 1) { throw new Error("NIP44: unknown encryption version") } const key = getSharedSecret(privkey, pubkey) const nonce = randomBytes(24) const plaintext = utf8Encoder.encode(text) const ciphertext = xchacha20(key, nonce, plaintext) return JSON.stringify({ ciphertext: base64.encode(ciphertext), nonce: base64.encode(nonce), v, }) } export function decrypt(privkey: string, pubkey: string, payload: string) { let data try { data = JSON.parse(payload) as { ciphertext: string nonce: string v: number } } catch (e) { throw new Error("NIP44: failed to parse payload") } if (data.v !== 1) { throw new Error("NIP44: unknown encryption version") } const key = getSharedSecret(privkey, pubkey) const nonce = base64.decode(data.nonce) const ciphertext = base64.decode(data.ciphertext) const plaintext = xchacha20(key, nonce, ciphertext) return utf8Decoder.decode(plaintext) } ``` ## Kotlin ```kotlin // implementation 'fr.acinq.secp256k1:secp256k1-kmp-jni-android:0.10.1' // implementation "com.goterl:lazysodium-android:5.1.0@aar" // implementation "net.java.dev.jna:jna:5.12.1@aar" fun getSharedSecretNIP44(privKey: ByteArray, pubKey: ByteArray): ByteArray = MessageDigest.getInstance("SHA-256").digest( Secp256k1.get().pubKeyTweakMul( Hex.decode("02") + pubKey, privKey ).copyOfRange(1, 33) ) fun encryptNIP44(msg: String, privKey: ByteArray, pubKey: ByteArray): EncryptedInfo { val nonce = ByteArray(24).apply { SecureRandom.getInstanceStrong().nextBytes(this) } val cipher = streamXChaCha20Xor( message = msg.toByteArray(), nonce = nonce, key = getSharedSecretNIP44(privKey, pubKey) ) return EncryptedInfo( ciphertext = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(cipher), nonce = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(nonce), v = Nip24Version.XChaCha20.code ) } fun decryptNIP44(encInfo: EncryptedInfo, privKey: ByteArray, pubKey: ByteArray): String? { require(encInfo.v == Nip24Version.XChaCha20.code) { "NIP44: unknown encryption version" } return streamXChaCha20Xor( message = Base64.getDecoder().decode(encInfo.ciphertext), nonce = Base64.getDecoder().decode(encInfo.nonce), key = getSharedSecretNIP44(privKey, pubKey) )?.decodeToString() } // This method is not exposed in AndroidSodium yet, but it will be in the next version. fun streamXChaCha20Xor(message: ByteArray, nonce: ByteArray, key: ByteArray): ByteArray? { return with (SodiumAndroid()) { val resultCipher = ByteArray(message.size) val isSuccessful = crypto_stream_chacha20_xor_ic( resultCipher, message, message.size.toLong(), nonce.drop(16).toByteArray(), // chacha nonce is just the last 8 bytes. 0, ByteArray(32).apply { crypto_core_hchacha20(this, nonce, key, null) } ) == 0 if (isSuccessful) resultCipher else null } } data class EncryptedInfo(val ciphertext: String, val nonce: String, val v: Int) enum class Nip24Version(val code: Int) { Reserved(0), XChaCha20(1) }