---
title: 'Vac 101: Membership with Bloom Filters and Cuckoo Filters'
date: 2024-07-19 12:00:00
authors: marvin
published: false
slug: vac101-membership-with-bloom-filters-and-cuckoo-filters
categories: research

toc_min_heading_level: 2
toc_max_heading_level: 4
---

We examine two data structures: Bloom filters and Cuckoo filters.

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## Membership with Bloom Filters and Cuckoo Filters

The ability to efficiently query the membership of an element in a given data set is crucial.
In certain applications, it is more important to output a result quickly than to have a 'perfect' result.
In particular, false positives may be an acceptable tradeoff for speed.
In this blog, we examine [Bloom](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/362686.362692) and [Cuckoo](https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dga/papers/cuckoo-conext2014.pdf) data filters.
Both of these filters are data structures that can be used for membership proofs.

Everyone is familiar with the process of creating a new account for various websites, whether it is an e-mail account or a social media account.
Consider when you enter your desired username.
Many sites provide real-time feedback, as you type, on the availability of a given string.
In this scenario, it is necessary that the result is seemingly instant, regardless of the number of existing accounts.
However, it is not important that the usernames that are flagged as unavailable are, in fact, in use.
That is, it is sufficient to have a probabilistic check for membership.

**Bloom filters** and **Cuckoo filters** are data structures that can be used to accumulate data with a fixed amount of space.
The associated filter $F$ for a digest of data $D$ can be queried to determine whether an element is (possibly) a member of $D$:

- **0:** The queried element is definitely not a member of digest $D$.
- **1:** The entry is possibly a member of the digest $D$.

The algorithms associated with Bloom filters and Cuckoo filters, which we will discuss shortly, are deterministic.
The possibility of false positives arises from the query algorithm.


## Bloom filters
A **Bloom filter** is a data structure that can be used to accumulate an arbitrary amount of data with a fixed amount of space.
Bloom filters have been a popular data structure for proof of non-membership due to their small storage size.
Specifically, a Bloom filter consists of a binary string ${\bf{v}} \in \{0,1\}^n$ and $k$ hash functions $\{h_i: \{0,1\}^* \rightarrow \{0,\dots,n-1\}\}_{i=0}^{k-1}$.
We note that each hash function $h_i$ is used to determine an index of our binary string ${\bf{v}}$ to flip the associated bit to 1.
The binary string ${\bf{v}}$ is initialized with every entry as 0.
The hash functions do not need to be cryptographic hash functions.


- **Append:** Suppose that we wish to add the element $x$ to the Bloom filter.
    - Define the vector ${\bf{b}} \in \{0,\dots,n-1\}^k$ so that ${\bf{b}}[i] := h_i(x)$ for each $i \in \{0,\dots,k-1\}$.
    - Update the binary string ${\bf{v}}[{\bf{b}}[i]] \leftarrow 1$ for each $i \in \{0,\dots,k-1\}$.
   
- **Query:** Suppose that we wish to query the Bloom filter for element $y$.
    - Return 1 provided ${\bf{v}}[h_i(y)] = 1$ for every $i \in \{0,\dots,k-1\}$. Otherwise, return 0.
    
The algorithm **Query** will output 1 for every element $y$ that has been added to the Bloom filter.
This is a consequence of the **Append** algorithm.
However, due to potential collisions over a set of hash functions, it is possible for false positives to occur.
Moreover, the possibility of collisions makes it impossible to remove elements from the Bloom filter.

### Complexity
The storage of a Bloom filter requires constant space.
Specifically, the Bloom filter uses $n$ bits regardless of the size of the digest.
So, regardless of the number of elements that we append, the Bloom filter will use $n$ bits.
Further, if we assume that each of the $k$ hash functions runs in constant time, then we can append/query an entry in $O(k)$.

### Example
Suppose that $k = 3$ and $n = 10$. 
Our Bloom filter is initialized as $\bf{v} = \begin{pmatrix}0&0&0&0&0&0&0&0&0&0\end{pmatrix}.$
Now, we will append the words $add$, $sum$, and $equal$.
Suppose that

$\begin{matrix}
h_0(add) = 1 & h_1(add) = 4 & h_2(add) = 7\\
h_0(sum) = 9 & h_1(sum) = 2 & h_2(sum) = 1\\
h_0(equal) = 5 & h_1(equal) = 8 & h_2(equal) = 0.
\end{matrix}$

After appending these words, the Bloom filter is $\bf{v} = \begin{pmatrix}1&1&1&0&1&1&0&1&1&1\end{pmatrix}.$

Now, suppose that we query the words $subtract$ and $multiple$ so that

$\begin{matrix} h_0(subtract) = 3 & h_1(subtract) = 5 & h_2(subtract) = 1\\ h_0(multiple) = 7 & h_1(multiple) = 1 & h_2(multiple) = 4\\
\end{matrix}$.

The query for $subtract$ returns 0 since ${\bf{v}}[3]=0$.
On the other hand, the query for $multiple$ returns 1 since ${\bf{v}}[1]=1, {\bf{v}}[4] = 1$, and ${\bf{v}}[7]=1$.
Even though $multiple$ was not used to generate the Bloom filter ${\bf{v}}$, our query returns the false positive.


### Probability of false positives
For our analysis, we will assume that the probabilities that arise in our analysis are independent. 
However, this assumption can be removed to gain the same approximation.

We note that for a single hash function, the probability that a specific bit is flipped to 1 is $1/n$.
So, the probability that the specific bit is not flipped by the hash function is $1-1/n$.
Applying our assumption that the $k$ hash functions are 'independent,'
the probability that the specific bit is not flipped by any of the hash functions is
$(1-1/n)^k$.

Recall the calculus fact $\lim_{\infty} (1-1/n)^n = e^{-1}$.
That is, as we increase the number of bits that our Bloom filter uses, the approximate probability that a given bit is not flipped by any of the $k$ hash functions is $e^{-k/n}$.

Suppose that $\ell$ entries have been added to the Bloom filter.
The probability that a specific bit is still 0 after the $\ell$ entries have been added is approximately $e^{-\ell k/n}$.
The probability that a queried element is erroneously claimed as a member of the digest is approximately
$(1-e^{-\ell k/n})^k$.

The following table provides concrete values for these approximations.

| $n$ | $k$ | $\ell$ | $(1-e^{-\ell k/n})^k$|
| -------- | -------- | -------- | --- |
| 32     |   3   |  3    | 0.01474 |
| 32     |   3   |  7    | 0.11143 |
| 32     |   3   |  12    |0.30802 |
| 32     |   3   |  17    |0.50595 |
| 32     |   3   |  28    |0.79804 |

Notice that the probability of false positives increases as the number of elements ($\ell$) that have been added to the digest increases.

### Sliding-Window Bloom filter
Our toy example and table illustrated an issue concerning Bloom filters.
The number of entries that can be added to a Bloom filter is restricted by our choice of $k$ and $n$.
Not only does the probability that false positives will occur increase,
but it is possible that our vector ${\bf{v}}$ can be a string of all 1s.
[Szepieniec and Værge](https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1208.pdf) proposed a modification to Bloom filters to handle this.

Instead of having a fixed number of bits for our Bloom filter, we dynamically allot memory based on the number of entries that have been added to the filter.
Given a predetermined threshold ($b$) for the number of entries, we shift our 'window' of flipping bits by $s$ bits.
Note that this means that it is necessary to keep track of when a given entry is added to the digest.
This means that querying the Sliding-Window Bloom filter will yield different results when different timestamps are used.

This can be done with $k$ hash functions as we used earlier.
Alternatively, Szepieniec and Værge proposed using the same hash function but to produce $k$ entries in the current window.
Specifically, we obtain the bits we wish to flip to 1s by computing $h(X || i)$ for each $i \in \{0,\dots, k-1\}$ and $X$ as we will define next.
For Sliding-Window Bloom filters, $X$ is more than just the element we wish to append to the filter.
Instead, $X$ consists of the element $x$ and a timestamp $t$. 
The timestamp $t$ is used to locate the correct window for bits, as we see below:

- **Append:** Suppose that we wish to add the element $x$ with timestamp $t$ to the Sliding-Window Bloom filter.
    - Define the vector ${\bf{b}} \in \{0,\dots,n-1\}^k$ so that ${\bf{b}}[i] := h(x||t||i)$ for each $i \in \{0,\dots,k-1\}$.
    - Update the binary string ${\bf{v}}[{\bf{b}}[i]+\lfloor t/b \rfloor s] \leftarrow 1$ for each $i \in \{0,\dots,k-1\}$.
   
- **Query:** Suppose that we wish to query the Bloom filter for element $y$ with timestamp $t$.
    - Return 1 provided ${\bf{v}}[h(y||t||i) + \lfloor t/b \rfloor s] = 1$ for every $i \in \{0,\dots,k-1\}$. Otherwise, return 0.
    

By incorporating a shifting window, we maintain efficient querying and appending at the cost of constant space.
However, by losing constant space, we gain 'infinite' scalability.

## Cuckoo filters
A Cuckoo filter is a data structure for probabilistic membership proofs based on Cuckoo hash tables.
The specific design goal for Cuckoo filters is to address the inability to remove elements from a Bloom Filter.
This is done by replacing a list of bits with a list of 'fingerprints.'
A fingerprint can be thought of as the hash value for an entry in the digest.
A Cuckoo filter is a fixed-length list of 'fingerprints.'
If the maximum number of entries that a Cuckoo filter can hold is $n$ and a fingerprint occupies $f$ bits,
then the Cuckoo filter occupies $nf$ bits.

Now, we describe the algorithms associated with the Cuckoo filter $C$ with hash function $hash(X)$ and fingerprint function $fingerprint(X)$.

- **Append:** Suppose that we wish to add the element $x$ to the Cuckoo filter.
    - If either position $i_x := hash(x)$ or $j_x := i \otimes hash(fingerprint(x))$ of $C$ is empty,
    then $fingerprint(x)$ is inserted into an empty position.
    - If both $i_x$ and $j_x$ are occupied with a fingerprint that is distinct from $fingerprint(x)$,
    then we select either $i_x$ or $j_x$ to insert $fingerprint(x)$.
    The fingerprint that had previously occupied this position cannot be discarried.
    Instead, we insert this fingerprint into its alternate location.
    This reshuffling process either ends with fingerprints all having their own bucket or one that cannot be inserted.
    In the case that we have a fingerprint that cannot be inserted, then the Cuckoo filter is overfilled.

- **Query:** Suppose that we wish to query the Cuckoo filter for element $y$.
    - Return 1 provided $fingerprint(y)$ is either in position $i_y$ or $j_y$.

- **Delete:** Suppose that we wish to delete the element $y$ from the Cuckoo filter.
    - If $y$ has been added to the Cuckoo filter, then $fingerprint(y)$ is either in position $i_y$ or $j_y$.
      We remove $fingerprint(y)$ from the appropriate position.

We note that false positives in Cuckoo filters only occur when an element shares a fingerprint and hash with a value that has already been added to the Cuckoo filter.

### Example
In this example, we will append the words $add$, $sum$, and $equal$ to a Cuckoo filter with 8 slots.

For each word $x$, we compute two indices:
$i_x := hash(x) \text{ and } j_x := hash(x) \otimes hash(fingerprint(x)).$
Suppose that we have the following values for
our words:

| word | $i_x$ | $j_x$|
|---|---|---|
|$add$| $(0,1,0)$ | $(1,0,0)$ |
|$sum$| $(1,0,1)$ | $(1,1,0)$ |
|$equal$| $(0,1,0)$ | $(1,0,1)$ |

For clarity of the example, we append the words directly to the buckets instead of fingerprints of our data.

| |0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4| 5| 6| 7|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|append $add$| ||$add$||||| |
|append $sum$| ||$add$|||$sum$|| |

Notice that both of the buckets (2 and 5) that $equal$ can map to are occupied.
So, we select one of these buckets (say 2) to insert $equal$ into.
Then, we have to insert $add$ to its possible bucket (1).
This leaves us with the Cuckoo filter:

|0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4| 5| 6| 7|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |$add$|$equal$|||$sum$|| |

### Complexity
Notice that deletions and queries to Cuckoo filters are done in constant time.
Specifically, only two locations need to be checked for any data $x$.
Appends may require shuffling previously added elements to their alternate locations.
As such, the append does not run in constant time.

## Bloom filters vs Cuckoo filters
The design of Bloom filters is focused on space efficiency and quick query time.
Even though they occupy constant space,
Cuckoo filters require significantly more space for $n$ items than Bloom filters.
The worst-case append in a Cuckoo filter is slower than the append in a Bloom filter.
However, an append that does not require any shuffling in a Cuckoo filter can be quicker than appends in Bloom filters.
Cuckoo filters make up for these disadvantages with quicker query time and the ability to delete entries.
Further, the probability of false positives in Cuckoo filters is lower than the probability of false positives in Bloom filters.


## Combining Filters with RLN
In a series of posts ([1](https://vac.dev/rlog/rln-anonymous-dos-prevention),[2](https://vac.dev/rlog/rln-v3/),[3](https://vac.dev/rlog/rln-light-verifiers)),
various versons of rate limiting nullifiers (RLN) that are used by Waku has been discussed.
RLN uses a sparse Merkle tree for the membership set.
The computational power required to construct the Merkle tree prevent light clients from participating in verifying membership proofs.
In [Verifying RLN Proofs in Light Clients with Subtrees](https://vac.dev/rlog/rln-light-verifiers),
it was proposed to move the membership set on-chain so that it would not be necessary for a light client to construct the entire Merkle tree locally.
Unfortunately, the naive approach is not practical as the gas limit for a single call is too restrictive for an appropriately sized tree.
Instead, it was proposed to make utilize of subtrees.
In this section, we provide a discussion of an alternate solution for light clients by using filters for the membership set.
The two [parts of RLN](https://rate-limiting-nullifier.github.io/rln-docs/rln_in_details.html) that we will focus on are user registration and deletion.

Both Bloom and Cuckoo filters support user registration as this is can be done as an append.
The fixed size of these filters would restrict the total number of users that can register.
This can be migitated by using Sliding-Window Bloom filter as this supports system growth.
The Sliding-Window can be adapted to Cuckoo filters as well.
In the case of a Sliding-Window filter, an user would maintain the epoch of when they registered.
The registration of new users to Bloom filters can be done in constant time which is a significant improvement over appending to subtrees.
Unfortunately, the complexity of registration to Cuckoo filters cannot be as easily computed.

A user could be slashed from the RLN by sending too many messages in a given epoch.
Unfortunately, Bloom filters do not support the deletion of members.
Luckily, Cuckoo filters allow for deletions that can performed in constant time.

Cuckoo filter that use Sliding-Window could be used so that light clients are able to verify proofs of membership in the RLN.
These proofs are not a substitute to the usual proofs that a heavy client can verify due to the allowance of false positives.
However, with the allowance of false positives, a light client can participate in verification RLN proofs in an efficient manner.


### References
- [Space/Time Trade-offs in Hash Coding with Allowable Errors](https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/362686.362692)
- [David Wagner's Lecture Notes on Bloom filters](https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~daw/teaching/cs170-s03/Notes/lecture10.pdf)
- [Mutator Sets and their Application to Scalable Privacy](https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1208)
- [Cuckoo Filter: Practically Better than Bloom](https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dga/papers/cuckoo-conext2014.pdf)
- [Strengthening Anonymous DoS Prevention with Rate Limiting Nullifiers in Waku](https://vac.dev/rlog/rln-anonymous-dos-prevention)
- [RLN-v3: Towards a Flexible and Cost-Efficient Implementation](https://vac.dev/rlog/rln-v3/)
- [Verifying RLN Proofs in Light Clients with Subtrees](https://vac.dev/rlog/rln-light-verifiers)
- [RLN in details](https://rate-limiting-nullifier.github.io/rln-docs/rln_in_details.html)
