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The MixColumns operation performed by the Rijndael cipher, along with the shift-rows step, is the primary source of diffusion in Rijndael. Each column is treated as a polynomial over GF(2⁸) and is then multiplied modulo $x^4+1$ with a fixed polynomial $c(x)=3x^3+x^2+x+2$; the inverse of this polynomial is $c^{-1}(x)=11x^3+13x^2+9x+14$.

MixColumns

The MixColumns step can be performed by multiplying a coordinate vector of four numbers in Rijndael's Galois field by the following circulant MDS matrix:

$\left[\begin{array}{c}{b}_0\\ b_1\\ b_2\\ b_3\end{array}\right]=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}2& 3& 1& 1\\ 1& 2& 3& 1\\ 1& 1& 2& 3\\ 3& 1& 1& 2\end{array}\right]\left[\begin{array}{c}{a}_0\\ a_1\\ a_2\\ a_3\end{array}\right]$

This can also be seen as the following:

$b_0=2a_0+3a_1+1a_2+1a_3$

$b_1=1a_0+2a_1+3a_2+1a_3$

$b_2=1a_0+1a_1+2a_2+3a_3$

$b_3=3a_0+1a_1+1a_2+2a_3$

Since this math is done in Rijndael's Galois field, the addition above is actually an exclusive or operation, and multiplication is a complicated operation.

Implementation example

This can be simplified somewhat in actual implementation by replacing the multiply by 2 with a single shift and conditional exclusive or, and replacing a multiply by 3 with a multiply by 2 combined with an exclusive or. A C example of such an implementation follows:

void gmix_column(unsigned char *r) {
        unsigned char a[4];
        unsigned char b[4];
	unsigned char c;
	unsigned char h;
	/* The array 'a' is simply a copy of the input array 'r'
         * The array 'b' is each element of the array 'a' multiplied by 2
         * in Rijndael's Galois field
         * a[n] ^ b[n] is element n multiplied by 3 in Rijndael's Galois field */ 
	for(c=0;c<4;c++) {
		a[c] = r[c];
                /* h is 0xff if the high bit of r[c] is set, 0 otherwise */
		h = (unsigned char)((signed char)r[c] >> 7); /* arithmetic right shift, thus shifting in either zeros or ones */
		b[c] = r[c] << 1; /* implicitly removes high bit because b[c] is an 8-bit char, so we xor by 0x1b and not 0x11b in the next line */
		b[c] ^= 0x1B & h; /* Rijndael's Galois field */
	}
	r[0] = b[0] ^ a[3] ^ a[2] ^ b[1] ^ a[1]; /* 2 * a0 + a3 + a2 + 3 * a1 */
	r[1] = b[1] ^ a[0] ^ a[3] ^ b[2] ^ a[2]; /* 2 * a1 + a0 + a3 + 3 * a2 */
	r[2] = b[2] ^ a[1] ^ a[0] ^ b[3] ^ a[3]; /* 2 * a2 + a1 + a0 + 3 * a3 */
	r[3] = b[3] ^ a[2] ^ a[1] ^ b[0] ^ a[0]; /* 2 * a3 + a2 + a1 + 3 * a0 */
}

A C# example

private Byte GMul(Byte a, Byte b) { // Galois Field (256) Multiplication of two Bytes
   Byte p = 0;
   Byte counter;
   Byte hi_bit_set;
   for (counter = 0; counter < 8; counter++) {
      if ((b & 1) != 0) {
         p ^= a;
      }
      hi_bit_set = (Byte) (a & 0x80);
      a <<= 1;
      if (hi_bit_set != 0) {
         a ^= 0x1b; /* x^8 + x^4 + x^3 + x + 1 */
      }
      b >>= 1;
   }
   return p;
}

private void MixColumns() { // 's' is the main State matrix, 'ss' is a temp matrix of the same dimensions as 's'.
   Array.Clear(ss, 0, ss.Length); 

   for (int c = 0; c < 4; c++) {
      ss[0, c] = (Byte) (GMul(0x02, s[0, c]) ^ GMul(0x03, s[1, c]) ^ s[2, c] ^ s[3, c]);
      ss[1, c] = (Byte) (s[0, c] ^ GMul(0x02, s[1, c]) ^ GMul(0x03, s[2, c]) ^ s[3,c]);
      ss[2, c] = (Byte) (s[0, c] ^ s[1, c] ^ GMul(0x02, s[2, c]) ^ GMul(0x03, s[3, c]));
      ss[3, c] = (Byte) (GMul(0x03, s[0,c]) ^ s[1, c] ^ s[2, c] ^ GMul(0x02, s[3, c]));
   }

   ss.CopyTo(s, 0);
}

InverseMixColumns

The MixColumns operation has the following inverse (numbers are decimal):

$\left[\begin{array}{c}{r}_0\\ r_1\\ r_2\\ r_3\end{array}\right]=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}14& 11& 13& 9\\ 9& 14& 11& 13\\ 13& 9& 14& 11\\ 11& 13& 9& 14\end{array}\right]\left[\begin{array}{c}{a}_0\\ a_1\\ a_2\\ a_3\end{array}\right]$

Or:

$r_0=14a_0+11a_1+13a_2+9a_3$

$r_1=9a_0+14a_1+11a_2+13a_3$

$r_2=13a_0+9a_1+14a_2+11a_3$

$r_3=11a_0+13a_1+9a_2+14a_3$

Test vectors for MixColumns(); not for InvMixColumns

Hexadecimal		Decimal
Before	After	Before	After
db 13 53 45	8e 4d a1 bc	219 19 83 69	142 77 161 188
f2 0a 22 5c	9f dc 58 9d	242 10 34 92	159 220 88 157
01 01 01 01	01 01 01 01	1 1 1 1	1 1 1 1
c6 c6 c6 c6	c6 c6 c6 c6	198 198 198 198	198 198 198 198
d4 d4 d4 d5	d5 d5 d7 d6	212 212 212 213	213 213 215 214
2d 26 31 4c	4d 7e bd f8	45 38 49 76	77 126 189 248

Galois Multiplication lookup tables

Commonly, rather than implementing galois multiplication, Rijndael implementations simply use pre-calculated lookup tables to perform the byte multiplication by 2, 3, 9, 11, 13, and 14.

For instance, in C# these tables can be stored in Byte[256] arrays. In order to compute

p * 3

The result is obtained this way:

result = table_3[(int)p]

These lookup tables are as follows:

Multiply by 2:

0x00,0x02,0x04,0x06,0x08,0x0a,0x0c,0x0e,0x10,0x12,0x14,0x16,0x18,0x1a,0x1c,0x1e,
0x20,0x22,0x24,0x26,0x28,0x2a,0x2c,0x2e,0x30,0x32,0x34,0x36,0x38,0x3a,0x3c,0x3e,
0x40,0x42,0x44,0x46,0x48,0x4a,0x4c,0x4e,0x50,0x52,0x54,0x56,0x58,0x5a,0x5c,0x5e,
0x60,0x62,0x64,0x66,0x68,0x6a,0x6c,0x6e,0x70,0x72,0x74,0x76,0x78,0x7a,0x7c,0x7e,
0x80,0x82,0x84,0x86,0x88,0x8a,0x8c,0x8e,0x90,0x92,0x94,0x96,0x98,0x9a,0x9c,0x9e,
0xa0,0xa2,0xa4,0xa6,0xa8,0xaa,0xac,0xae,0xb0,0xb2,0xb4,0xb6,0xb8,0xba,0xbc,0xbe,
0xc0,0xc2,0xc4,0xc6,0xc8,0xca,0xcc,0xce,0xd0,0xd2,0xd4,0xd6,0xd8,0xda,0xdc,0xde,
0xe0,0xe2,0xe4,0xe6,0xe8,0xea,0xec,0xee,0xf0,0xf2,0xf4,0xf6,0xf8,0xfa,0xfc,0xfe,
0x1b,0x19,0x1f,0x1d,0x13,0x11,0x17,0x15,0x0b,0x09,0x0f,0x0d,0x03,0x01,0x07,0x05,
0x3b,0x39,0x3f,0x3d,0x33,0x31,0x37,0x35,0x2b,0x29,0x2f,0x2d,0x23,0x21,0x27,0x25,
0x5b,0x59,0x5f,0x5d,0x53,0x51,0x57,0x55,0x4b,0x49,0x4f,0x4d,0x43,0x41,0x47,0x45,
0x7b,0x79,0x7f,0x7d,0x73,0x71,0x77,0x75,0x6b,0x69,0x6f,0x6d,0x63,0x61,0x67,0x65,
0x9b,0x99,0x9f,0x9d,0x93,0x91,0x97,0x95,0x8b,0x89,0x8f,0x8d,0x83,0x81,0x87,0x85,
0xbb,0xb9,0xbf,0xbd,0xb3,0xb1,0xb7,0xb5,0xab,0xa9,0xaf,0xad,0xa3,0xa1,0xa7,0xa5,
0xdb,0xd9,0xdf,0xdd,0xd3,0xd1,0xd7,0xd5,0xcb,0xc9,0xcf,0xcd,0xc3,0xc1,0xc7,0xc5,
0xfb,0xf9,0xff,0xfd,0xf3,0xf1,0xf7,0xf5,0xeb,0xe9,0xef,0xed,0xe3,0xe1,0xe7,0xe5

Multiply by 3:

0x00,0x03,0x06,0x05,0x0c,0x0f,0x0a,0x09,0x18,0x1b,0x1e,0x1d,0x14,0x17,0x12,0x11,
0x30,0x33,0x36,0x35,0x3c,0x3f,0x3a,0x39,0x28,0x2b,0x2e,0x2d,0x24,0x27,0x22,0x21,
0x60,0x63,0x66,0x65,0x6c,0x6f,0x6a,0x69,0x78,0x7b,0x7e,0x7d,0x74,0x77,0x72,0x71,
0x50,0x53,0x56,0x55,0x5c,0x5f,0x5a,0x59,0x48,0x4b,0x4e,0x4d,0x44,0x47,0x42,0x41,
0xc0,0xc3,0xc6,0xc5,0xcc,0xcf,0xca,0xc9,0xd8,0xdb,0xde,0xdd,0xd4,0xd7,0xd2,0xd1,
0xf0,0xf3,0xf6,0xf5,0xfc,0xff,0xfa,0xf9,0xe8,0xeb,0xee,0xed,0xe4,0xe7,0xe2,0xe1,
0xa0,0xa3,0xa6,0xa5,0xac,0xaf,0xaa,0xa9,0xb8,0xbb,0xbe,0xbd,0xb4,0xb7,0xb2,0xb1,
0x90,0x93,0x96,0x95,0x9c,0x9f,0x9a,0x99,0x88,0x8b,0x8e,0x8d,0x84,0x87,0x82,0x81,
0x9b,0x98,0x9d,0x9e,0x97,0x94,0x91,0x92,0x83,0x80,0x85,0x86,0x8f,0x8c,0x89,0x8a,
0xab,0xa8,0xad,0xae,0xa7,0xa4,0xa1,0xa2,0xb3,0xb0,0xb5,0xb6,0xbf,0xbc,0xb9,0xba,
0xfb,0xf8,0xfd,0xfe,0xf7,0xf4,0xf1,0xf2,0xe3,0xe0,0xe5,0xe6,0xef,0xec,0xe9,0xea,
0xcb,0xc8,0xcd,0xce,0xc7,0xc4,0xc1,0xc2,0xd3,0xd0,0xd5,0xd6,0xdf,0xdc,0xd9,0xda,
0x5b,0x58,0x5d,0x5e,0x57,0x54,0x51,0x52,0x43,0x40,0x45,0x46,0x4f,0x4c,0x49,0x4a,
0x6b,0x68,0x6d,0x6e,0x67,0x64,0x61,0x62,0x73,0x70,0x75,0x76,0x7f,0x7c,0x79,0x7a,
0x3b,0x38,0x3d,0x3e,0x37,0x34,0x31,0x32,0x23,0x20,0x25,0x26,0x2f,0x2c,0x29,0x2a,
0x0b,0x08,0x0d,0x0e,0x07,0x04,0x01,0x02,0x13,0x10,0x15,0x16,0x1f,0x1c,0x19,0x1a

Multiply by 9:

0x00,0x09,0x12,0x1b,0x24,0x2d,0x36,0x3f,0x48,0x41,0x5a,0x53,0x6c,0x65,0x7e,0x77,
0x90,0x99,0x82,0x8b,0xb4,0xbd,0xa6,0xaf,0xd8,0xd1,0xca,0xc3,0xfc,0xf5,0xee,0xe7,
0x3b,0x32,0x29,0x20,0x1f,0x16,0x0d,0x04,0x73,0x7a,0x61,0x68,0x57,0x5e,0x45,0x4c,
0xab,0xa2,0xb9,0xb0,0x8f,0x86,0x9d,0x94,0xe3,0xea,0xf1,0xf8,0xc7,0xce,0xd5,0xdc,
0x76,0x7f,0x64,0x6d,0x52,0x5b,0x40,0x49,0x3e,0x37,0x2c,0x25,0x1a,0x13,0x08,0x01,
0xe6,0xef,0xf4,0xfd,0xc2,0xcb,0xd0,0xd9,0xae,0xa7,0xbc,0xb5,0x8a,0x83,0x98,0x91,
0x4d,0x44,0x5f,0x56,0x69,0x60,0x7b,0x72,0x05,0x0c,0x17,0x1e,0x21,0x28,0x33,0x3a,
0xdd,0xd4,0xcf,0xc6,0xf9,0xf0,0xeb,0xe2,0x95,0x9c,0x87,0x8e,0xb1,0xb8,0xa3,0xaa,
0xec,0xe5,0xfe,0xf7,0xc8,0xc1,0xda,0xd3,0xa4,0xad,0xb6,0xbf,0x80,0x89,0x92,0x9b,
0x7c,0x75,0x6e,0x67,0x58,0x51,0x4a,0x43,0x34,0x3d,0x26,0x2f,0x10,0x19,0x02,0x0b,
0xd7,0xde,0xc5,0xcc,0xf3,0xfa,0xe1,0xe8,0x9f,0x96,0x8d,0x84,0xbb,0xb2,0xa9,0xa0,
0x47,0x4e,0x55,0x5c,0x63,0x6a,0x71,0x78,0x0f,0x06,0x1d,0x14,0x2b,0x22,0x39,0x30,
0x9a,0x93,0x88,0x81,0xbe,0xb7,0xac,0xa5,0xd2,0xdb,0xc0,0xc9,0xf6,0xff,0xe4,0xed,
0x0a,0x03,0x18,0x11,0x2e,0x27,0x3c,0x35,0x42,0x4b,0x50,0x59,0x66,0x6f,0x74,0x7d,
0xa1,0xa8,0xb3,0xba,0x85,0x8c,0x97,0x9e,0xe9,0xe0,0xfb,0xf2,0xcd,0xc4,0xdf,0xd6,
0x31,0x38,0x23,0x2a,0x15,0x1c,0x07,0x0e,0x79,0x70,0x6b,0x62,0x5d,0x54,0x4f,0x46

Multiply by 11:

0x00,0x0b,0x16,0x1d,0x2c,0x27,0x3a,0x31,0x58,0x53,0x4e,0x45,0x74,0x7f,0x62,0x69,
0xb0,0xbb,0xa6,0xad,0x9c,0x97,0x8a,0x81,0xe8,0xe3,0xfe,0xf5,0xc4,0xcf,0xd2,0xd9,
0x7b,0x70,0x6d,0x66,0x57,0x5c,0x41,0x4a,0x23,0x28,0x35,0x3e,0x0f,0x04,0x19,0x12,
0xcb,0xc0,0xdd,0xd6,0xe7,0xec,0xf1,0xfa,0x93,0x98,0x85,0x8e,0xbf,0xb4,0xa9,0xa2,
0xf6,0xfd,0xe0,0xeb,0xda,0xd1,0xcc,0xc7,0xae,0xa5,0xb8,0xb3,0x82,0x89,0x94,0x9f,
0x46,0x4d,0x50,0x5b,0x6a,0x61,0x7c,0x77,0x1e,0x15,0x08,0x03,0x32,0x39,0x24,0x2f,
0x8d,0x86,0x9b,0x90,0xa1,0xaa,0xb7,0xbc,0xd5,0xde,0xc3,0xc8,0xf9,0xf2,0xef,0xe4,
0x3d,0x36,0x2b,0x20,0x11,0x1a,0x07,0x0c,0x65,0x6e,0x73,0x78,0x49,0x42,0x5f,0x54,
0xf7,0xfc,0xe1,0xea,0xdb,0xd0,0xcd,0xc6,0xaf,0xa4,0xb9,0xb2,0x83,0x88,0x95,0x9e,
0x47,0x4c,0x51,0x5a,0x6b,0x60,0x7d,0x76,0x1f,0x14,0x09,0x02,0x33,0x38,0x25,0x2e,
0x8c,0x87,0x9a,0x91,0xa0,0xab,0xb6,0xbd,0xd4,0xdf,0xc2,0xc9,0xf8,0xf3,0xee,0xe5,
0x3c,0x37,0x2a,0x21,0x10,0x1b,0x06,0x0d,0x64,0x6f,0x72,0x79,0x48,0x43,0x5e,0x55,
0x01,0x0a,0x17,0x1c,0x2d,0x26,0x3b,0x30,0x59,0x52,0x4f,0x44,0x75,0x7e,0x63,0x68,
0xb1,0xba,0xa7,0xac,0x9d,0x96,0x8b,0x80,0xe9,0xe2,0xff,0xf4,0xc5,0xce,0xd3,0xd8,
0x7a,0x71,0x6c,0x67,0x56,0x5d,0x40,0x4b,0x22,0x29,0x34,0x3f,0x0e,0x05,0x18,0x13,
0xca,0xc1,0xdc,0xd7,0xe6,0xed,0xf0,0xfb,0x92,0x99,0x84,0x8f,0xbe,0xb5,0xa8,0xa3

Multiply by 13:

0x00,0x0d,0x1a,0x17,0x34,0x39,0x2e,0x23,0x68,0x65,0x72,0x7f,0x5c,0x51,0x46,0x4b,
0xd0,0xdd,0xca,0xc7,0xe4,0xe9,0xfe,0xf3,0xb8,0xb5,0xa2,0xaf,0x8c,0x81,0x96,0x9b,
0xbb,0xb6,0xa1,0xac,0x8f,0x82,0x95,0x98,0xd3,0xde,0xc9,0xc4,0xe7,0xea,0xfd,0xf0,
0x6b,0x66,0x71,0x7c,0x5f,0x52,0x45,0x48,0x03,0x0e,0x19,0x14,0x37,0x3a,0x2d,0x20,
0x6d,0x60,0x77,0x7a,0x59,0x54,0x43,0x4e,0x05,0x08,0x1f,0x12,0x31,0x3c,0x2b,0x26,
0xbd,0xb0,0xa7,0xaa,0x89,0x84,0x93,0x9e,0xd5,0xd8,0xcf,0xc2,0xe1,0xec,0xfb,0xf6,
0xd6,0xdb,0xcc,0xc1,0xe2,0xef,0xf8,0xf5,0xbe,0xb3,0xa4,0xa9,0x8a,0x87,0x90,0x9d,
0x06,0x0b,0x1c,0x11,0x32,0x3f,0x28,0x25,0x6e,0x63,0x74,0x79,0x5a,0x57,0x40,0x4d,
0xda,0xd7,0xc0,0xcd,0xee,0xe3,0xf4,0xf9,0xb2,0xbf,0xa8,0xa5,0x86,0x8b,0x9c,0x91,
0x0a,0x07,0x10,0x1d,0x3e,0x33,0x24,0x29,0x62,0x6f,0x78,0x75,0x56,0x5b,0x4c,0x41,
0x61,0x6c,0x7b,0x76,0x55,0x58,0x4f,0x42,0x09,0x04,0x13,0x1e,0x3d,0x30,0x27,0x2a,
0xb1,0xbc,0xab,0xa6,0x85,0x88,0x9f,0x92,0xd9,0xd4,0xc3,0xce,0xed,0xe0,0xf7,0xfa,
0xb7,0xba,0xad,0xa0,0x83,0x8e,0x99,0x94,0xdf,0xd2,0xc5,0xc8,0xeb,0xe6,0xf1,0xfc,
0x67,0x6a,0x7d,0x70,0x53,0x5e,0x49,0x44,0x0f,0x02,0x15,0x18,0x3b,0x36,0x21,0x2c,
0x0c,0x01,0x16,0x1b,0x38,0x35,0x22,0x2f,0x64,0x69,0x7e,0x73,0x50,0x5d,0x4a,0x47,
0xdc,0xd1,0xc6,0xcb,0xe8,0xe5,0xf2,0xff,0xb4,0xb9,0xae,0xa3,0x80,0x8d,0x9a,0x97

Multiply by 14:

0x00,0x0e,0x1c,0x12,0x38,0x36,0x24,0x2a,0x70,0x7e,0x6c,0x62,0x48,0x46,0x54,0x5a,
0xe0,0xee,0xfc,0xf2,0xd8,0xd6,0xc4,0xca,0x90,0x9e,0x8c,0x82,0xa8,0xa6,0xb4,0xba,
0xdb,0xd5,0xc7,0xc9,0xe3,0xed,0xff,0xf1,0xab,0xa5,0xb7,0xb9,0x93,0x9d,0x8f,0x81,
0x3b,0x35,0x27,0x29,0x03,0x0d,0x1f,0x11,0x4b,0x45,0x57,0x59,0x73,0x7d,0x6f,0x61,
0xad,0xa3,0xb1,0xbf,0x95,0x9b,0x89,0x87,0xdd,0xd3,0xc1,0xcf,0xe5,0xeb,0xf9,0xf7,
0x4d,0x43,0x51,0x5f,0x75,0x7b,0x69,0x67,0x3d,0x33,0x21,0x2f,0x05,0x0b,0x19,0x17,
0x76,0x78,0x6a,0x64,0x4e,0x40,0x52,0x5c,0x06,0x08,0x1a,0x14,0x3e,0x30,0x22,0x2c,
0x96,0x98,0x8a,0x84,0xae,0xa0,0xb2,0xbc,0xe6,0xe8,0xfa,0xf4,0xde,0xd0,0xc2,0xcc,
0x41,0x4f,0x5d,0x53,0x79,0x77,0x65,0x6b,0x31,0x3f,0x2d,0x23,0x09,0x07,0x15,0x1b,
0xa1,0xaf,0xbd,0xb3,0x99,0x97,0x85,0x8b,0xd1,0xdf,0xcd,0xc3,0xe9,0xe7,0xf5,0xfb,
0x9a,0x94,0x86,0x88,0xa2,0xac,0xbe,0xb0,0xea,0xe4,0xf6,0xf8,0xd2,0xdc,0xce,0xc0,
0x7a,0x74,0x66,0x68,0x42,0x4c,0x5e,0x50,0x0a,0x04,0x16,0x18,0x32,0x3c,0x2e,0x20,
0xec,0xe2,0xf0,0xfe,0xd4,0xda,0xc8,0xc6,0x9c,0x92,0x80,0x8e,0xa4,0xaa,0xb8,0xb6,
0x0c,0x02,0x10,0x1e,0x34,0x3a,0x28,0x26,0x7c,0x72,0x60,0x6e,0x44,0x4a,0x58,0x56,
0x37,0x39,0x2b,0x25,0x0f,0x01,0x13,0x1d,0x47,0x49,0x5b,0x55,0x7f,0x71,0x63,0x6d,
0xd7,0xd9,0xcb,0xc5,0xef,0xe1,0xf3,0xfd,0xa7,0xa9,0xbb,0xb5,0x9f,0x91,0x83,0x8d

References

• Rijndael specification (Zip compressed PDF file).
• FIPS PUB 197: the official AES standard (PDF file)

See also

• Advanced Encryption Standard