Abstract
In this paper, we deal with upper bounds for the security of some Feistel networks. Such a topic has been discussed since the introduction of Luby-Rackoff construction. The Luby-Rackoff construction is unrealistic because its round functions must be chosen at random from the set of all functions. Knudsen dealt with a more practical construction whose round functions are chosen at random from a family of 2k randomly chosen functions, and showed an upper bound for the security by demonstrating generic key recovery attacks. However it is still difficult for designers to choose functions randomly. Then, this paper considers the security of some Feistel networks which have more efficient and practical round functions, and such Feistel networks are indeed used by some Feistel ciphers in practice. We show new properties using the relationship between plaintexts and ciphertexts. We propose new generic key recovery attacks by using our properties, and confirm the feasibility by implementing the attack on Feistel ciphers with small block sizes. As a result, we conclude that efficient and practical 6-round Feistel networks are not secure.
