Mask generation function: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 12:25, 12 February 2022

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{{Short description|cryptographicCryptographic tool}}

{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}

{{Short description|cryptographic tool}}

A '''mask generation function''' ('''MGF''') is a cryptographic primitive similar to a [[cryptographic hash function]] except that while a hash function's output has a fixed size, a MGF supports output of a variable length. In this respect, a MGF can be viewed as a single-use XOR function: it can accept input of any length and process it to produce output of any length. Mask generation functions are completely deterministic: for any given input and any desired output length the output is always the same.