COSE/JOSE Post-Quantum Signatures: ML-DSA, SLH-DSA, FN-DSA + PQ KEMs — draft-ietf-cose-dilithium, draft-ietf-cose-sphincs-plus, draft-ietf-cose-falcon, draft-ietf-jose-pqc-kem#
IETF 123 (Madrid) digest Program Adjacent pick Madrid · 19–25 July 2025
- Tier: Adjacent
- Why: The token/credential layer's PQ story. Once your TLS is hybrid, the JWTs/CWTs and signed credentials underneath still use classical signatures; these drafts bring ML-DSA/SLH-DSA/FN-DSA and PQ KEMs to JOSE/COSE, which is what SD-JWT, CWT, and verifiable-credential formats sit on.
- What: Encodings for the three NIST PQ signature schemes (ML-DSA, SLH-DSA/SPHINCS+, FN-DSA/Falcon) in JOSE and COSE, plus PQ KEM registrations. (from abstract only)
- How: Defines the algorithm identifiers and encodings so existing JOSE/COSE-based formats can adopt PQ signatures without redesign.
- Where applicable: General; relevant anywhere you sign tokens or credentials (identity tokens, attestations, supply-chain receipts).