frost: add documentation file

This commit adds a documentation file with detailed instructions for how
to use the module properly.

Author: jesseposner

README.md

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Added features:
 * Experimental module for Confidential Assets (Pedersen commitments, range proofs, and [surjection proofs](src/modules/surjection/surjection.md)).
 * Experimental module for Bulletproofs++ range proofs.
 * Experimental module for [address whitelisting](src/modules/whitelist/whitelist.md).
-* Experimental module for FROST.
+* Experimental module for [FROST](src/modules/frost/frost.md).
 
 Experimental features are made available for testing and review by the community. The APIs of these features should not be considered stable.
 

include/secp256k1_frost.h

@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ extern "C" {
  * The module also supports BIP-341 ("Taproot") and BIP-32 ("ordinary") public
  * key tweaking, and adaptor signatures.
  *
+ * It is recommended to read the documentation in this include file carefully.
+ * Further notes on API usage can be found in src/modules/frost/frost.md
+ *
  * Following the convention used in the MuSig module, the API uses the singular
  * term "nonce" to refer to the two "nonces" used by the FROST scheme.
  */

src/modules/frost/frost.md

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+Notes on the frost module API
+===========================
+
+The following sections contain additional notes on the API of the frost module
+(`include/secp256k1_frost.h`). A usage example can be found in
+`examples/frost.c`.
+
+# API misuse
+
+Users of the frost module must take great care to make sure of the following:
+
+1. Each participant exchanges public keys for identification and authentication
+   purposes. Partipants must provide the same public key to each other
+   participant.
+2. Each participant establishes a secure communications channel with each other
+   participant and uses that channel to transmit shares and commitments during
+   key generation.
+3. A unique set of coefficients per key generation session is generated in
+   `secp256k1_frost_shares_gen`. See the corresponding comment in
+   `include/secp256k1_frost.h` for how to ensure that.
+4. The `pubnonces` provided to `secp256k1_frost_nonce_process` are sorted by
+   the corresponding lexicographic ordering of the x-only pubkey of each
+   participant, and the `ids33` provided to `secp256k1_frost_nonce_process`
+   are sorted lexicographically.
+5. A unique nonce per signing session is generated in `secp256k1_frost_nonce_gen`.
+   See the corresponding comment in `include/secp256k1_frost.h` for how to ensure that.
+6. The `secp256k1_frost_secnonce` structure is never copied or serialized.
+   See also the comment on `secp256k1_frost_secnonce` in `include/secp256k1_frost.h`.
+7. Opaque data structures are never written to or read from directly.
+   Instead, only the provided accessor functions are used.
+8. If adaptor signatures are used, all partial signatures are verified.
+
+# Key Generation
+
+1. Generate a keypair with `secp256k1_keypair_create` and obtain the x-only
+   public key with `secp256k1_keypair_xonly_pub`, and distribute it to each
+   other participant to be used as an authentication key and identifier.
+2. Generate a VSS commitment, proof-of-knowledge, and shares with
+   `secp256k1_frost_shares_gen`. The VSS commitment and proof-of-knowledge must
+   be broadcast to all participants. Assign each participant a share according
+   to the order of `ids33` and distribute the shares to the participants using
+   a secure channel.
+3. After receiving a share and commitment set from each participant, call
+   `secp256k1_frost_share_agg` to compute the aggregate share, group public
+   key, and VSS hash. If this function returns an error,
+   `secp256k1_frost_share_verify` is called on each share to determine which
+   participants submitted faulty shares.
+4. Optionally compute the public verification share by calling
+   `secp256k1_frost_compute_pubshare` with the x-only public key of each
+   participant. This share is required by `secp256k1_frost_partial_sig_verify`
+   to verify partial signatures generated by `secp256k1_frost_partial_sign`.
+
+# Tweaking
+
+
+A (Taproot) tweak can be added to the resulting public key with
+`secp256k1_xonly_pubkey_tweak_add`, after converting it to an xonly pubkey if
+necessary with `secp256k1_xonly_pubkey_from_pubkey`.
+
+An ordinary tweak can be added to the resulting public key with
+`secp256k1_ec_pubkey_tweak_add`, after converting it to an ordinary pubkey if
+necessary with `secp256k1_frost_pubkey_get`.
+
+Tweaks can also be chained together by tweaking an already tweaked key.
+
+# Signing
+
+1. Optionally add a tweak by calling `secp256k1_frost_pubkey_tweak` and then
+   `secp256k1_frost_pubkey_xonly_tweak_add` for a Taproot tweak and
+   `secp256k1_frost_pubkey_ec_tweak_add` for an ordinary tweak.
+2. Generate a pair of secret and public nonce with `secp256k1_frost_nonce_gen`
+   and send the public nonce to the other signers.
+3. Process the aggregate nonce with `secp256k1_frost_nonce_process`.
+4. Create a partial signature with `secp256k1_frost_partial_sign`.
+5. Verify the partial signatures (optional in some scenarios) with
+   `secp256k1_frost_partial_sig_verify`.
+6. Someone (not necessarily the signer) obtains all partial signatures and
+   aggregates them into the final Schnorr signature using
+   `secp256k1_frost_partial_sig_agg`.
+
+The aggregate signature can be verified with `secp256k1_schnorrsig_verify`.
+
+Note that steps 1 to 3 can happen before the message to be signed is known to
+the signers. Therefore, the communication round to exchange nonces can be
+viewed as a pre-processing step that is run whenever convenient to the signers.
+This disables some of the defense-in-depth measures that may protect against
+API misuse in some cases. Similarly, the API supports an alternative protocol
+flow where generating the key (see Key Generation above) is allowed to happen
+after exchanging nonces (step 2).
+
+# Verification
+
+A participant who wants to verify the partial signatures, but does not sign
+itself may do so using the above instructions except that the verifier skips
+steps 2 and 4.