[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":91},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-\u002Fnews\u002Fnist-sp-800-208-stateful-hash-based-signatures":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"authorTitle":7,"authorUrl":8,"body":9,"canonical":8,"category":43,"date":44,"description":45,"draft":46,"extension":47,"faqs":48,"findingsSource":8,"geo":58,"image":60,"industries":61,"keyFindings":8,"meta":64,"modified":65,"navigation":66,"path":67,"pullquote":8,"recommendations":8,"references":68,"related":72,"seo":79,"seoTitle":80,"signposts":8,"slug":81,"stats":8,"stem":82,"tags":83,"tldr":89,"__hash__":90},"news\u002Fnews\u002Fnist-sp-800-208-stateful-hash-based-signatures.md","NIST Approves Stateful Hash-Based Signatures in SP 800-208 as an Interim Post-Quantum Option","ArcQubit Team","",null,{"type":10,"value":11,"toc":39},"minimark",[12,17,24,27,30,33],[13,14,16],"h2",{"id":15},"nist-approves-stateful-hash-based-signatures-in-sp-800-208","NIST approves stateful hash-based signatures in SP 800-208",[18,19,20],"p",{},[21,22,23],"strong",{},"29 OCTOBER 2020, GAITHERSBURG",[18,25,26],{},"NIST published Special Publication 800-208 on 29 October 2020, approving stateful hash-based signature schemes for federal use. The publication covers LMS and XMSS, together with their multi-tree variants HSS and XMSSMT. These schemes resist quantum attack, so they gave organizations an approved post-quantum signature option nearly four years before NIST finalized its main standards in 2024.",[18,28,29],{},"The schemes carry one important condition. A stateful scheme must never reuse a one-time signing key, so the signer has to track which keys it has already used. Reusing a key breaks the security of the signature. That requirement makes these schemes best suited to controlled environments where the signer can manage state reliably, rather than to general-purpose signing across many systems.",[18,31,32],{},"Firmware and software signing fit that profile well. Signing often happens in a controlled release process, where an organization can enforce state management and sign a bounded number of items over a product's life. For broader signature needs, the later ML-DSA and SLH-DSA standards usually fit better because they do not require state tracking.",[18,34,35,38],{},[21,36,37],{},"Why it matters."," SP 800-208 shows that an approved post-quantum signature option has existed since 2020 for the right use cases. Organizations that sign firmware or software can adopt stateful hash-based signatures today, provided they manage state carefully, and treat the 2024 standards as the general-purpose path. The choice between them depends on where and how the signing happens.",{"title":7,"searchDepth":40,"depth":40,"links":41},2,[42],{"id":15,"depth":40,"text":16},"Policy","2020-10-29","NIST approved stateful hash-based signatures in SP 800-208 in 2020, an interim post-quantum option for firmware and software signing that requires state tracking.",false,"md",[49,52,55],{"q":50,"a":51},"What does SP 800-208 approve?","SP 800-208 approves stateful hash-based signature schemes: LMS and XMSS, along with their multi-tree variants HSS and XMSSMT. These schemes resist quantum attack and gave organizations an approved post-quantum signature option years before the main 2024 standards.",{"q":53,"a":54},"Why does state tracking matter?","A stateful scheme must never reuse a one-time key. The signer tracks which keys it has used, and reusing one breaks the security of the scheme. That requirement makes these signatures best suited to controlled environments rather than general use.",{"q":56,"a":57},"Where do stateful hash-based signatures fit?","They suit firmware and software signing, where signing happens in a controlled setting and the signer can manage state reliably. For general-purpose signatures, the later ML-DSA and SLH-DSA standards are usually the better fit.",[59],"gaithersburg","\u002Fassets\u002Fog-default.png",[62,63],"Cross-Sector","Information Technology",{},"2026-08-10",true,"\u002Fnews\u002Fnist-sp-800-208-stateful-hash-based-signatures",[69],{"label":70,"url":71},"D. Cooper et al., \"Recommendation for Stateful Hash-Based Signature Schemes,\" NIST Special Publication 800-208, Oct. 29, 2020.","https:\u002F\u002Fcsrc.nist.gov\u002Fpubs\u002Fsp\u002F800\u002F208\u002Ffinal",[73,76],{"label":74,"url":75},"NIST Approves First Three Post-Quantum Standards","\u002Fnews\u002Fnist-approves-first-three-post-quantum-standards",{"label":77,"url":78},"NIST Final Guidance on Key Establishment Mechanisms (SP 800-227)","\u002Fnews\u002Fnist-sp-800-227-kem-guidance",{"title":5,"description":45},"NIST Approves Stateful Hash-Based Signatures","nist-sp-800-208-stateful-hash-based-signatures","news\u002Fnist-sp-800-208-stateful-hash-based-signatures",[84,85,86,87,88],"post-quantum cryptography","crypto-agility","supply chain","quantum readiness","for enterprises","NIST approved stateful hash-based signatures in SP 800-208 in 2020, giving firmware and software signing an interim post-quantum option that requires careful state tracking.","Yzc0i-11uD_PemvPF9ORS-UNlq2ZVvLlDM8KaJtV4eE",1792182887561]