SSCP Question #570: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is A: 128 bits. MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5) always produces a fixed-length 128-bit (16-byte) hash value regardless of the input size - this fixed-length output is a fundamental property of cryptographic hash functions. For comparison, SHA-1 produces 160-bit digests, SHA-256 produces 256-bit

Submitted by valeria.br· Apr 18, 2026Cryptography

Question

What is the length of an MD5 message digest?

Options

A128 bits
B160 bits
C256 bits
Dvaries depending upon the message size.

Explanation

MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5) always produces a fixed-length 128-bit (16-byte) hash value regardless of the input size - this fixed-length output is a fundamental property of cryptographic hash functions. For comparison, SHA-1 produces 160-bit digests, SHA-256 produces 256-bit digests. MD5 is now considered cryptographically broken due to demonstrated collision vulnerabilities and should not be used for security-sensitive purposes, though it is still used for non-security checksums.

Topics

#MD5#Hash functions#Message digest#Cryptographic algorithms

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