RFC 2630 · PROPOSED STANDARD · 1999
SUN · 14 JUN 2026
Cryptographic Message Syntax
Overview
RFC 2630, “Cryptographic Message Syntax”, is a Proposed Standard document published in June 1999 by R. Housley. It has been obsoleted by RFC 3369, RFC 3370 — refer to the newer document for the authoritative version. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.
Abstract
This document describes the Cryptographic Message Syntax. This syntax is used to digitally sign, digest, authenticate, or encrypt arbitrary messages. [STANDARDS-TRACK]
What “Proposed Standard” means
An entry-level standards-track specification: stable, peer-reviewed and a solid basis for implementation, though it may still evolve before becoming an Internet Standard.
Read this RFC
The canonical text of RFC 2630 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.
Relationships to other RFCs
Other RFCs from 1999
- RFC 2629 Writing I-Ds and RFCs using XML
- RFC 2631 Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Method
- RFC 2628 Simple Cryptographic Program Interface
- RFC 2632 S/MIME Version 3 Certificate Handling
- RFC 2627 Key Management for Multicast: Issues and Architectures
- RFC 2633 S/MIME Version 3 Message Specification
- RFC 2626 The Internet and the Millennium Problem
- RFC 2634 Enhanced Security Services for S/MIME