Testing the Tests - Opportunities for Corrections and Improvements in NIST SP 800-22r1a and its Reference Code

Elias Riesinger; Jürgen Fuß

Paper 2025/856

Testing the Tests - Opportunities for Corrections and Improvements in NIST SP 800-22r1a and its Reference Code

Elias Riesinger, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria

Jürgen Fuß

, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria

Abstract

During an analysis of the NIST SP 800-22r1a document, which provides a test suite to validate random number generators and their reference implementation, various issues were identified, including imprecise probability constants, erroneous example calculations, and discrepancies within test descriptions. Here, we provide a technical analysis of the Statistical Test Suite, documenting inconsistencies and deficiencies in both the theoretical specification and the official C reference implementation. The analysis also reveals concrete implementation bugs and structural limitations in the reference codebase. Rather than revising any of the statistical tests, this work documents these flaws to support the ongoing revision process of the standard and to encourage more reliable and maintainable implementations.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Applications
Publication info: Preprint.
Keywords: randomness standard corrections RNG tests
Contact author(s): elias riesinger @ proton me
juergen fuss @ fh-hagenberg at
History: 2025-05-17: approved; 2025-05-15: received; See all versions
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2025/856
License: CC BY-NC-SA

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2025/856,
      author = {Elias Riesinger and Jürgen Fuß},
      title = {Testing the Tests - Opportunities for Corrections and Improvements in {NIST} {SP} 800-22r1a and its Reference Code},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2025/856},
      year = {2025},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/856}
}