← Back to Blog Research

OpenSSL and Post Quantum Cryptography: What's Shipped and Stable in 2026

7 min read

OpenSSL 3 + oqs-provider

As of April 2026, Post Quantum Cryptography in OpenSSL 3 is primarily delivered via the oqs-provider, an OpenSSL 3 provider that integrates the Open Quantum Safe project's liboqs algorithms. oqs-provider is produced by the Open Quantum Safe project (founded 2014 at University of Waterloo by Douglas Stebila and Michele Mosca) with NLnet/NGI Assure funding.

What's Supported

KEM: ML-KEM-512/768/1024, HQC, BIKE, FrodoKEM.
Signatures: ML-DSA-44/65/87, SLH-DSA (all parameter sets), FN-DSA/Falcon (draft), LMS.
Hybrid TLS groups: X25519MLKEM768, SecP256r1MLKEM768, SecP384r1MLKEM1024.
X.509 certificates: PQ and hybrid certificate issuance supported.

Native OpenSSL Support Timeline

Core OpenSSL master branch has merged ML-KEM and ML-DSA support through 2025-2026. Debian, Ubuntu, and RHEL distributions have backports. Native support is expected stable for general production use in OpenSSL 3.5 and later.

Other Libraries

Botan 3.x: native ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA, FrodoKEM, Classic McEliece support. BSI-supported.
BoringSSL (Google): ML-KEM supported since 2024. Used by Chrome.
AWS-LC (Amazon): ML-KEM hybrid.
WolfSSL: ML-KEM and ML-DSA.
mbedTLS: ongoing PQC work.

Production Readiness

Chrome, Cloudflare, AWS: in production with hybrid ML-KEM.
Signal, iMessage: in production with hybrid KEM.
Enterprise OpenSSL: via oqs-provider for testing, migrating to native for production through 2026.
FIPS 140-3 validation of PQC modules in progress. Expect FIPS-validated ML-KEM modules through 2026-2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use OpenSSL for Post Quantum Cryptography today?

Yes. Via oqs-provider for broad algorithm support, or via OpenSSL 3.x native ML-KEM support as it matures. Production deployments exist today.

Is oqs-provider FIPS validated?

oqs-provider itself is not FIPS-validated. It is the canonical reference implementation for PQC experimentation. FIPS-validated PQC modules (native in OpenSSL, commercial providers) are becoming available.

Should I wait for native OpenSSL PQC?

For new systems, deploy hybrid X25519MLKEM768 today via native OpenSSL 3.5+ or oqs-provider. Migrate to fully FIPS-validated modules as they become available through 2026-2027.

Who maintains oqs-provider?

The Open Quantum Safe project under the Post-Quantum Cryptography Alliance (Linux Foundation). Funded by NLnet/NGI Assure and various academic and industry contributors.

Sources

Protect Your Data Before Q-Day Arrives

QNSQY's NIST-standardized post-quantum encryption protects files against both current and quantum-era threats.

Try QNSQY

Originally published at quantumsequrity.com/blog/openssl-pqc-status-2026.