RSAcompatible

RSAcompatible refers to components, protocols, or data that are compatible with RSA public-key cryptography. It denotes the ability to perform RSA key generation, import, encryption, decryption, or signature operations in a way that other RSA implementations can interoperate with, typically by following established standards and formats.

Standards and formats: RSAcompatibility is usually achieved by supporting PKCS#1 for encryption and signatures, OAEP for probabilistic encryption, and PSS for signatures, as well as key encodings such as PEM and DER according to PKCS#1 or PKCS#8 for private keys and PKCS#12 for certificates. Real-world interoperability often requires support for a minimum key size (commonly 2048 bits) and common hash algorithms like SHA-256.

Use and interoperability: RSAcompatible capabilities are essential in secure email (S/MIME), TLS, code signing, and digital signatures, enabling software libraries (OpenSSL, Bouncy Castle) and platform APIs (Windows CNG, Java Cryptography Architecture) to exchange RSA keys and data without format or padding mismatches.

Security and best practices: Being RSAcompatible does not by itself ensure security. Operators should use modern padding (OAEP, PSS) and sufficiently large keys, employ proper key management, and consider hybrid encryption for large payloads. Legacy PKCS#1 v1.5 usage may be required for compatibility but can introduce vulnerabilities if not mitigated.