In this paper, we draw connections between ideal lattices and multivariate polynomial rings over integers using Gröbner bases. Univariate ideal lattices are ideals in the residue class ring, Z[x]/(f) (here f is a monic polynomial) and cryptographic primitives have been built based on these objects. Ideal lattices in the univariate case are generalizations of cyclic lattices. We introduce the notion of multivariate cyclic lattices and show that ideal lattices are a generalization of them in the multivariate case too. Based on multivariate ideal lattices, we construct hash functions using Gröbner basis techniques. We define a worst case problem, shortest substitution problem with respect to an ideal in Z[x1,...,xn], and use its computational hardness to establish the collision resistance of the hash functions. © 2018 World Scientific Publishing Company.