# R08: Slalom at the Carnival: Privacy-preserving Inference with Masks from Public Knowledge

Carnival uses subset-sum-based masks to accelerate preprocessing for linear outsourcing. PLLM status: tracked.

[View canonical HTML](https://pllm.run/research/papers/r08-carnival/)

Document ID: `pllm.docs.research.papers.r08-carnival`  
Release: `0.1.0`

**Status:** `tracked`
**Year:** 2024
**Authors:** Ida Bruhns, Sebastian Berndt, Jonas Sander, Thomas Eisenbarth
**External source:** [Slalom at the Carnival: Privacy-preserving Inference with Masks from Public Knowledge](https://cic.iacr.org/p/1/3/40)

## Source contribution

Carnival uses subset-sum-based masks to accelerate preprocessing for linear outsourcing.

## PLLM perspective

Implement the exact published parameterized variant in an isolated comparison backend. Reproduce the reported Maverick attack before eligibility review.

Prior discussion identified this attack; no claim that our fresh full-ring masks instantiate Carnival.

This paper remains tracked. Named modules below are implementation targets, not finished PLLM components; no reproduction, integration, assurance, or matched benchmark is claimed.

The source's boundary remains binding: Maverick reports a privacy flaw for a Carnival instantiation. This is an attack-reproduction target, not an approved default or a blanket rejection of every variant.

## PLLM modules and documentation

Target module identifiers: `prepare.subset_sum`, `attack.carnival_projection`. These identifiers describe scoped work unless this page explicitly links an implementation source. Dependencies: R07.

- [Research backlog](/research/backlog/)
- [Reimplementation backlog](/research/backlog/)
- [Clean-room workflow](/research/clean-room/)

## Backlog

This source is assigned to reimplementation priority 1, **Delegated matrix-vector execution**. Its source-registry order is 8. Follow current gates and unfinished work in the [research backlog](/research/backlog/).