Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64

Can Balıkçı; Orhun Kara

doi:10.55859/ijiss.1824878

Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64

Abstract

The design of lightweight yet secure block ciphers, particularly for resource-constrained platforms such as RFID tags, tiny sensors, or pocket-sized mobile devices, has been a central focus of symmetric encryption research for over two decades. Midori, introduced by Banik et al. at ASIACRYPT 2015, is one of the most cryptanalyzed lightweight block ciphers and comes in two variants: Midori-64 (64-bit state, 16 rounds) and Midori-128 (128-bit state, 20 rounds), both using a 128-bit key. In this work, we extend the security analysis of Midori-64 via truncated differential techniques, providing a clearer understanding of its resistance against such attacks. We construct two 6-round truncated differentials by precisely computing the propagation probabilities of selected truncated differences through the cipher’s matrix-multiplication layer and tracking their diffusion across rounds. We compute their exact probabilities and use them as distinguishers. By exploiting these two distinguishers, we mount two distinct 10-round truncated differential attacks on Midori-64, representing the first truncated differential attacks reported on the cipher. While the full-round design remains secure, one of our attacks ranks among the best known attacks on 10-round Midori-64.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

TÜBİTAK 1001 Project

Project Number

124F270

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Cryptography

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Can Balıkçı ^*
0009-0001-8199-585X
Türkiye

Orhun Kara
0000-0002-9685-6625
Türkiye

Publication Date

March 19, 2026

Submission Date

November 16, 2025

Acceptance Date

March 14, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 15 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.55859/ijiss.1824878

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA34DU36LA

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Balıkçı, C., & Kara, O. (2026). Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64. International Journal of Information Security Science, 15(1), 25-47. https://doi.org/10.55859/ijiss.1824878

AMA

1.Balıkçı C, Kara O. Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64. IJISS. 2026;15(1):25-47. doi:10.55859/ijiss.1824878

Chicago

Balıkçı, Can, and Orhun Kara. 2026. “Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64”. International Journal of Information Security Science 15 (1): 25-47. https://doi.org/10.55859/ijiss.1824878.

EndNote

Balıkçı C, Kara O (March 1, 2026) Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64. International Journal of Information Security Science 15 1 25–47.

IEEE

[1]C. Balıkçı and O. Kara, “Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64”, IJISS, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 25–47, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.55859/ijiss.1824878.

ISNAD

Balıkçı, Can - Kara, Orhun. “Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64”. International Journal of Information Security Science 15/1 (March 1, 2026): 25-47. https://doi.org/10.55859/ijiss.1824878.

JAMA

1.Balıkçı C, Kara O. Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64. IJISS. 2026;15:25–47.

MLA

Balıkçı, Can, and Orhun Kara. “Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64”. International Journal of Information Security Science, vol. 15, no. 1, Mar. 2026, pp. 25-47, doi:10.55859/ijiss.1824878.

Vancouver

1.Can Balıkçı, Orhun Kara. Two Complementary Truncated Differential Attacks on Midori-64. IJISS. 2026 Mar. 1;15(1):25-47. doi:10.55859/ijiss.1824878