What is CBC-MAC and how does it provide message integrity?

CBC-MAC uses CBC encryption but only keeps the last ciphertext block as the MAC tag — it proves the message hasn't been tampered with.

* CBC-MAC chains the whole message through CBC and keeps only the last block as the authentication tag. *

The reason a single block can stand in for the whole message is CBC's chaining: each block is folded into the next, so the final block is a function of every preceding block plus the secret key. That makes it a compact fingerprint — change any bit of the message and the last block changes unpredictably, but only someone holding the key can recompute the matching tag.

How it works:

1. Encrypt the message using CBC mode with a fixed IV (usually all zeros)
2. Discard all intermediate ciphertext blocks
3. The final ciphertext block is the MAC tag T
4. Send (M, T) to the recipient

Verification:

1. Recipient independently computes CBC-MAC over the received message M
2. Compares their computed tag T' with the received tag T
3. If T' = T, the message is authentic and unmodified

Important properties:

• Uses a separate key from encryption (never use the same key for encryption and MAC)
• The IV should be fixed (usually 0) — NOT random like in CBC encryption
• Only secure for fixed-length messages (for variable-length, use CMAC or HMAC)

CBC-MAC provides:

• Integrity (message not modified)
• Authenticity (message came from someone who knows K)
• Does NOT provide confidentiality

Go deeper:

• CBC-MAC (Wikipedia) — the fixed-IV rule and why it only holds for fixed-length messages.