Hybrid Post-Quantum IKEv2 on Embedded Automotive Platforms: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

Abstract

The Internet Key Exchange Protocol Version 2 (IKEv2) underpins Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) by establishing secure associations and negotiating cryptographic keys. Its reliance on classical public-key primitives such as Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman (ECDH) renders it vulnerable to quantum attacks, as Shor’s algorithm can break these schemes once large-scale quantum computers become available. To address this challenge, we integrate post-quantum cryptography into IKEv2 using a hybrid key exchange combining ECDH over P-384 with the ML-KEM-768 parameter set of the Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM), following Request for Comments (RFC) 9370 and RFC 9242. We present a Fragmentation Boundary Model that identifies when post-quantum payloads approach or exceed the non-fragmenting IKE_SA_INIT payload budget across ML-KEM parameter sets, Internet Protocol (IP) versions, and effective path maximum transmission units (PMTUs). We implemented the hybrid design on a Texas Instruments TM4C1294 microcontroller running FreeRTOS and CycloneTCP, and measured its execution time, memory footprint, and network overhead. Across 150 successful handshakes per configuration, mean Security Association establishment time increased from 3390.4 to 3488.6 ms, an overhead of 98.2 ms (2.9%). Flash use increased by 8%, random-access memory (RAM) use by 5%, and total IKEv2 traffic size by 42%, while no IP fragmentation was observed under the evaluated Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) conditions. These findings establish the feasibility of the evaluated hybrid configuration on the TM4C1294 platform and provide a platform-specific baseline for further evaluation of quantum-resilient IPsec on embedded automotive architectures.