feat(ml-kem): add zeroize support and tests

[rainmitch]

Description:

This PR introduces memory hardening for ML-KEM secret keys by implementing the Zeroize and ZeroizeOnDrop traits. The goal is to ensure sensitive key material is securely wiped from memory when it goes out of scope. This facilitates FIPS 140-3 compliance (AS05.10) regarding the zeroization of plaintext secret keys.

Scope:

This implementation focuses on the secret-holding structs and their underlying vector types. It does not modify the underlying core logic or seed inputs (which very likely needs more work to fully implement zeroize). I believe this covers all primary secret-holding structs in a non-intrusive way required for memory hardening.

This is implemented as an optional feature that requires being enabled.

Changes:

I have implemented Zeroize for the following types:

• High-Level Keys: MlKemPrivateKey, MlKemKeyPair
• Internal Components: PolynomialRingElement
• Unpacked Variants: MlKemPrivateKeyUnpacked, IndCpaPrivateKeyUnpacked, MlKemKeyPairUnpacked
• Vector Backends: PortableVector, SIMD128Vector, SIMD256Vector

I have implemented ZeroizeOnDrop for the following types:

• MlKemPrivateKey, MlKemKeyPair
• PolynomialRingElement
• MlKemPrivateKeyUnpacked, IndCpaPrivateKeyUnpacked, MlKemKeyPairUnpacked

Note: Vector types do not implement ZeroizeOnDrop to avoid performance penalties in non-secret contexts; they are zeroed explicitly by their parent structs.

Technical Verification:

To ensure the security features are not optimized away by the compiler, I performed the following checks:

• Hax Compatibility: All zeroize logic is gated behind #[cfg(not(hax))] to prevent interference with the formal verification pipeline.
• Dead Store Elimination (DSE): Used core::hint::black_box in SIMD implementations and testing to force the compiler to treat the memory as "used," preventing it from deleting the zeroing instructions.

Assembly Audit:

• SIMD128Vector test: Verified that stp (Store Pair) instructions are generated for clearing, and vmaxvq is used for zero-verification in tests.
• SIMD256Vector test: Verified that vmovdqa is generated for clearing, and vptest is used for zero-verification.

Performance:

Benchmarks show a negligible performance impact (performed on a Ryzen 5 7430u):

Operation	Key Size	Platform	API	Ratio	Zeroize-Enabled	Original
Decapsulation	1024	AVX2	Standard	1.00	18.8±0.18µs	18.8±0.17µs
Decapsulation	1024	AVX2	Unpacked	1.01	11.7±0.09µs	11.6±0.11µs
Decapsulation	1024	Portable	Standard	1.02	55.7±0.65µs	54.5±0.63µs
Decapsulation	1024	Portable	Unpacked	1.00	35.0±0.31µs	35.2±0.39µs
Encapsulation	1024	AVX2	Ext. Random	1.03	17.4±0.30µs	16.9±0.17µs
Encapsulation	1024	AVX2	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.00	6.3±0.17µs	6.3±0.20µs
Encapsulation	1024	Portable	Ext. Random	1.00	47.9±0.68µs	47.9±0.63µs
Encapsulation	1024	Portable	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.00	24.5±0.30µs	24.9±0.22µs
Key Generation	1024	AVX2	Ext. Random	1.00	15.1±0.20µs	15.0±0.19µs
Key Generation	1024	AVX2	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.02	15.0±0.28µs	14.7±0.22µs
Key Generation	1024	Portable	Ext. Random	1.02	42.0±0.52µs	41.3±0.69µs
Key Generation	1024	Portable	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.01	41.9±0.60µs	41.6±0.71µs
PK Validation	1024	AVX2	Standard	1.00	539.1±8.32ns	543.7±9.46ns
PK Validation	1024	Portable	Standard	1.00	1240.0±13.17ns	1263.6±22.09ns
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Decapsulation	512	AVX2	Standard	1.00	9.2±0.15µs	9.3±0.08µs
Decapsulation	512	AVX2	Unpacked	1.01	6.4±0.05µs	6.3±0.05µs
Decapsulation	512	Portable	Standard	1.00	22.6±0.21µs	22.6±0.25µs
Decapsulation	512	Portable	Unpacked	1.00	17.1±0.28µs	17.1±0.28µs
Encapsulation	512	AVX2	Ext. Random	1.10	9.3±0.16µs	8.5±0.11µs
Encapsulation	512	AVX2	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.02	3.9±0.06µs	3.8±0.04µs
Encapsulation	512	Portable	Ext. Random	1.04	19.0±0.14µs	18.4±0.24µs
Encapsulation	512	Portable	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.02	11.9±0.09µs	11.7±0.16µs
Key Generation	512	AVX2	Ext. Random	1.02	8.2±0.23µs	8.0±0.09µs
Key Generation	512	AVX2	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.02	7.9±0.28µs	7.8±0.11µs
Key Generation	512	Portable	Ext. Random	1.00	15.6±0.22µs	15.8±0.18µs
Key Generation	512	Portable	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.00	15.4±0.19µs	15.6±0.16µs
PK Validation	512	AVX2	Standard	1.00	265.8±4.79ns	273.2±16.21ns
PK Validation	512	Portable	Standard	1.00	622.3±14.28ns	632.7±13.59ns
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Decapsulation	768	AVX2	Standard	1.02	13.2±0.16µs	12.9±0.13µs
Decapsulation	768	AVX2	Unpacked	1.01	8.2±0.07µs	8.1±0.06µs
Decapsulation	768	Portable	Standard	1.01	37.2±0.36µs	36.8±0.51µs
Decapsulation	768	Portable	Unpacked	1.00	24.9±0.21µs	25.0±0.18µs
Encapsulation	768	AVX2	Ext. Random	1.01	12.1±0.21µs	12.0±0.13µs
Encapsulation	768	AVX2	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.00	4.5±0.04µs	4.6±0.05µs
Encapsulation	768	Portable	Ext. Random	1.01	31.8±0.38µs	31.3±0.30µs
Encapsulation	768	Portable	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.04	18.2±1.81µs	17.5±0.13µs
Key Generation	768	AVX2	Ext. Random	1.01	11.0±0.17µs	11.0±0.13µs
Key Generation	768	AVX2	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.01	10.9±0.14µs	10.8±0.09µs
Key Generation	768	Portable	Ext. Random	1.03	27.0±0.28µs	26.3±0.33µs
Key Generation	768	Portable	Unp. (Ext. Rand)	1.01	26.5±0.33µs	26.2±0.31µs
PK Validation	768	AVX2	Standard	1.01	411.0±28.60ns	405.2±6.72ns
PK Validation	768	Portable	Standard	1.01	977.1±14.22ns	970.5±6.81ns

---

Closing Notes:

Note: I am not a security programmer or researcher. I have tried to implement this to the best of my abilities, verifying the assembly output to ensure the compiler respects the zeroing instructions. I really like libcrux and wanted to use it for a project, but also need zeroize functionality, so I worked to try to implement it. I have tried to do my due diligence in checking and design. I would very much appreciate someone double checking my work, especially as this is my first contribution to a project. But I believe that this works.

I would greatly appreciate feedback and comments on anything that needs to be changed.

[rainmitch]

Just a heads-up. I've also successfully applied this same hardening pattern to the ML-DSA module locally. I'll open a separate PR for that one if these changes are wanted and once I have feedback on this PR and on your preferences.

[jschneider-bensch]

Thank you for the effort on this!
I'll make sure to give it a full review this week. From skimming I think it could be a nice addition, but I'll have to think about whether we want to add another cargo feature to libcrux-ml-kem, as there are quite a few already.

[jschneider-bensch]

Sorry, I did not get to it last week. Will update here soon.

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This PR has been marked as stale due to a lack of activity for 60 days. If you believe this pull request is still relevant, please provide an update or comment to keep it open. Otherwise, it will be closed in 7 days.

[github-actions]

This PR has been closed due to a lack of activity since being marked as stale. If you believe this pull request is still relevant, please reopen it with an update or comment.

[jschneider-bensch]

Re-opening for consideration in light of #1390.