Automated Security Validation Framework for Post-Quantum Cryptographic Implementations: A Multi-Domain Pilot Study Achieving 90% Edge Case Coverage

We present an automated validation framework for post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) implementations addressing timing side-channels, state management errors, and resource exhaustion. Testing ASCON-128a, ML-KEM-768, and ML-DSA-65 across embedded IoT, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) platforms revealed standard implementations handle only 40–50% of security-critical edge cases. Through systematic remediation of five vulnerabilities—timing side-channel (EC004), ciphertext truncation (EC003), key integrity (EC005), nonce uniqueness (EC007), and operation sequencing (EC008)—our framework achieves comprehensive coverage, improving vulnerability detection by 80–125%. Statistical analysis (n = 15,000) confirms significant improvements (p < 0.001). The framework reduces validation time by 65% while maintaining 2.5–4.0% performance overhead. All implementations achieved CAVP (Cryptographic Algorithm Validation Program) compliance. Results demonstrate practical methodology for securing PQC implementations with acceptable performance impact.