OpenPGP smartcard under GNOME on Debian 10 Buster

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Debian buster is almost released, and today I celebrate midsummer by installing (a pre-release) of it on my Lenovo X201 laptop. Everything went smooth, except for the usual issues with smartcards under GNOME. I use a FST-01G running Gnuk, but the same issue apply to all OpenPGP cards including YubiKeys. I wrote about this problem for earlier releases, read Smartcards on Debian 9 Stretch and Smartcards on Debian 8 Jessie. Some things have changed – now GnuPG‘s internal ccid support works, and dirmngr is installed by default when you install Debian with GNOME. I thought I’d write a new post for the new release.

After installing Debian and logging into GNOME, I start a terminal and attempt to use the smartcard as follows.

jas@latte:~$ gpg --card-status
gpg: error getting version from 'scdaemon': No SmartCard daemon
gpg: OpenPGP card not available: No SmartCard daemon
jas@latte:~$

The reason is that the scdaemon package is not installed. Install it as follows.

jas@latte:~$ sudo apt-get install scdaemon

After this, gpg --card-status works. It is now using GnuPG’s internal CCID library, which appears to be working. The pcscd package is not required to get things working any more — however installing it also works, and you might need pcscd if you use other applications that talks to the smartcard.

jas@latte:~$ gpg --card-status
Reader ...........: Free Software Initiative of Japan Gnuk (FSIJ-1.2.14-67252015) 00 00
Application ID ...: D276000124010200FFFE672520150000
Version ..........: 2.0
Manufacturer .....: unmanaged S/N range
Serial number ....: 67252015
Name of cardholder: Simon Josefsson
Language prefs ...: sv
Sex ..............: man
URL of public key : https://josefsson.org/key-20190320.txt
Login data .......: jas
Signature PIN ....: inte tvingad
Key attributes ...: ed25519 cv25519 ed25519
Max. PIN lengths .: 127 127 127
PIN retry counter : 3 3 3
Signature counter : 710
KDF setting ......: off
Signature key ....: A3CC 9C87 0B9D 310A BAD4  CF2F 5172 2B08 FE47 45A2
      created ....: 2019-03-20 23:40:49
Encryption key....: A9EC 8F4D 7F1E 50ED 3DEF  49A9 0292 3D7E E76E BD60
      created ....: 2019-03-20 23:40:26
Authentication key: CA7E 3716 4342 DF31 33DF  3497 8026 0EE8 A9B9 2B2B
      created ....: 2019-03-20 23:40:37
General key info..: [none]
jas@latte:~$

As before, using the key does not work right away:

jas@latte:~$ echo foo|gpg -a --sign
gpg: no default secret key: No public key
gpg: signing failed: No public key
jas@latte:~$

This is because GnuPG does not have the public key that correspond to the private key inside the smartcard.

jas@latte:~$ gpg --list-keys
jas@latte:~$ gpg --list-secret-keys
jas@latte:~$

You may retrieve your public key from the clouds as follows. With Debian Buster, the dirmngr package is installed by default so there is no need to install it. Alternatively, if you configured your smartcard with a public key URL that works, you may type “retrieve” into the gpg --card-edit interactive interface. This could be considered slightly more reliable (at least from a self-hosting point of view), because it uses your configured URL for retrieving the public key rather than trusting clouds.

jas@latte:~$ gpg --recv-keys "A3CC 9C87 0B9D 310A BAD4  CF2F 5172 2B08 FE47 45A2"
gpg: key D73CF638C53C06BE: public key "Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>" imported
gpg: marginals needed: 3  completes needed: 1  trust model: pgp
gpg: depth: 0  valid:   2  signed:   0  trust: 0-, 0q, 0n, 0m, 0f, 2u
gpg: next trustdb check due at 2019-10-22
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1
jas@latte:~$

Now signing with the smart card works! Yay! Btw: compare the output size with the output size in the previous post to understand the size advantage with Ed25519 over RSA.

jas@latte:~$ echo foo|gpg -a --sign
-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----

owGbwMvMwCEWWKTN8c/ddRHjaa4khlieP//S8vO5OkpZGMQ4GGTFFFkWn5nTzj3X
kGvXlfP6MLWsTCCFDFycAjARscUM/5MnXTF9aSG4ScVa3sDiB2//nPSVz13Mkpbo
nlzSezowRZrhn+Ky7/O6M7XljzzJvtJhfPvOyS+rpyqJlD+buumL+/eOPywA
=+WN7
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

As before, encrypting to myself does not work smoothly because of the trust setting on the public key. Witness the problem here:

jas@latte:~$ echo foo|gpg -a --encrypt -r simon@josefsson.org
gpg: 02923D7EE76EBD60: There is no assurance this key belongs to the named user

sub  cv25519/02923D7EE76EBD60 2019-03-20 Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>
 Primary key fingerprint: B1D2 BD13 75BE CB78 4CF4  F8C4 D73C F638 C53C 06BE
      Subkey fingerprint: A9EC 8F4D 7F1E 50ED 3DEF  49A9 0292 3D7E E76E BD60

It is NOT certain that the key belongs to the person named
in the user ID.  If you *really* know what you are doing,
you may answer the next question with yes.

Use this key anyway? (y/N) 
gpg: signal Interrupt caught ... exiting

jas@latte:~$

You update the trust setting with the gpg --edit-key command. Take note that this is not the general way of getting rid of the “There is no assurance this key belongs to the named user” warning — using a ultimate trust setting is normally only relevant for your own keys, which is the case here.

jas@latte:~$ gpg --edit-key simon@josefsson.org
gpg (GnuPG) 2.2.12; Copyright (C) 2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

Secret subkeys are available.

pub  ed25519/D73CF638C53C06BE
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: SC  
     trust: unknown       validity: unknown
ssb  cv25519/02923D7EE76EBD60
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: E   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
ssb  ed25519/80260EE8A9B92B2B
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: A   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
ssb  ed25519/51722B08FE4745A2
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: S   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
[ unknown] (1). Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>

gpg> trust
pub  ed25519/D73CF638C53C06BE
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: SC  
     trust: unknown       validity: unknown
ssb  cv25519/02923D7EE76EBD60
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: E   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
ssb  ed25519/80260EE8A9B92B2B
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: A   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
ssb  ed25519/51722B08FE4745A2
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: S   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
[ unknown] (1). Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>

Please decide how far you trust this user to correctly verify other users' keys
(by looking at passports, checking fingerprints from different sources, etc.)

  1 = I don't know or won't say
  2 = I do NOT trust
  3 = I trust marginally
  4 = I trust fully
  5 = I trust ultimately
  m = back to the main menu

Your decision? 5
Do you really want to set this key to ultimate trust? (y/N) y

pub  ed25519/D73CF638C53C06BE
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: SC  
     trust: ultimate      validity: unknown
ssb  cv25519/02923D7EE76EBD60
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: E   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
ssb  ed25519/80260EE8A9B92B2B
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: A   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
ssb  ed25519/51722B08FE4745A2
     created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22  usage: S   
     card-no: FFFE 67252015
[ unknown] (1). Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>
Please note that the shown key validity is not necessarily correct
unless you restart the program.

gpg> quit
jas@latte:~$

Confirm gpg --list-keys indicate that the key is now trusted, and encrypting to yourself should work.

jas@latte:~$ gpg --list-keys
/home/jas/.gnupg/pubring.kbx
----------------------------
pub   ed25519 2019-03-20 [SC] [expires: 2019-10-22]
      B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE
uid           [ultimate] Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>
sub   ed25519 2019-03-20 [A] [expires: 2019-10-22]
sub   ed25519 2019-03-20 [S] [expires: 2019-10-22]
sub   cv25519 2019-03-20 [E] [expires: 2019-10-22]

jas@latte:~$ gpg --list-secret-keys
/home/jas/.gnupg/pubring.kbx
----------------------------
sec#  ed25519 2019-03-20 [SC] [expires: 2019-10-22]
      B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE
uid           [ultimate] Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>
ssb>  ed25519 2019-03-20 [A] [expires: 2019-10-22]
ssb>  ed25519 2019-03-20 [S] [expires: 2019-10-22]
ssb>  cv25519 2019-03-20 [E] [expires: 2019-10-22]

jas@latte:~$ echo foo|gpg -a --encrypt -r simon@josefsson.org
gpg: checking the trustdb
gpg: marginals needed: 3  completes needed: 1  trust model: pgp
gpg: depth: 0  valid:   1  signed:   0  trust: 0-, 0q, 0n, 0m, 0f, 1u
gpg: next trustdb check due at 2019-10-22
-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----

hF4DApI9fuduvWASAQdA4FIwM27EFqNK1I5eZERaZVDAXJDmYLZQHjZD8TexT3gw
7SDaeTLm7s0QSyKtsRugRpex6eSVhfA3WG8fUOyzbNv4o7AC/TQdhZ2TDtXZGFtY
0j8BRYIjVDbYOIp1NM3kHnMGHWEJRsTbtLCitMWmLdp4C98DE/uVkwjw98xEJauR
/9ZNmmvzuWpaHuEJNiFjORA=
=tAXh
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----
jas@latte:~$

The issue with OpenSSH and GNOME Keyring still exists as in previous releases.

jas@latte:~$ ssh-add -L
The agent has no identities.
jas@latte:~$ echo $SSH_AUTH_SOCK 
/run/user/1000/keyring/ssh
jas@latte:~$

The trick we used last time still works, and as far as I can tell, it is still the only recommended method to disable the gnome-keyring ssh component. Notice how we also configure GnuPG’s gpg-agent to enable SSH daemon support.

jas@latte:~$ mkdir ~/.config/autostart
jas@latte:~$ cp /etc/xdg/autostart/gnome-keyring-ssh.desktop ~/.config/autostart/
jas@latte:~$ echo 'Hidden=true' >> ~/.config/autostart/gnome-keyring-ssh.desktop 
jas@latte:~$ echo enable-ssh-support >> ~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf

Log out of GNOME and log in again. Now the environment variable points to gpg-agent’s socket, and SSH authentication using the smartcard works.

jas@latte:~$ echo $SSH_AUTH_SOCK 
/run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh
jas@latte:~$ ssh-add -L
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAILzCFcHHrKzVSPDDarZPYqn89H5TPaxwcORgRg+4DagE cardno:FFFE67252015
jas@latte:~$

Topics for further discussion and research this time around includes:

  1. Should scdaemon (and possibly pcscd) be pre-installed on Debian desktop systems?
  2. Could gpg --card-status attempt to import the public key and secret key stub automatically? Alternatively, some new command that automate the bootstrapping of a new smartcard.
  3. Should GNOME keyring support smartcards?
  4. Why is GNOME keyring used by default for SSH rather than gpg-agent?
  5. Should gpg-agent default to enable the SSH daemon?
  6. What could be done to automatically infer the trust setting for a smartcard based private key?

Thanks for reading and happy smartcarding!

Offline Ed25519 OpenPGP key with subkeys on FST-01G running Gnuk

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Below I describe how to generate an OpenPGP key and import its subkeys to a FST-01G device running Gnuk. See my earlier post on planning for my new OpenPGP key and the post on preparing the FST-01G to run Gnuk. For comparison with a RSA/YubiKey based approach, you can read about my setup from 2014.

Most of the steps below are covered by the Gnuk manual. The primary complication for me is the use of a offline machine and storing GnuPG directory stored on a USB memory device.

Offline machine

I use a laptop that is not connected to the Internet and boot it from a read-only USB memory stick. Finding a live CD that contains the necessary tools for using GnuPG with smartcards (gpg-agent, scdaemon, pcscd) is significantly harder than it should be. Using a rarely audited image begs the question of whether you can trust it. A patched kernel/gpg to generate poor randomness would be an easy and hard to notice hack. I’m using the PGP/PKI Clean Room Live CD. Recommendations on more widely used and audited alternatives would be appreciated. Select “Advanced Options” and “Run Shell” to escape the menus. Insert a new USB memory device, and prepare it as follows: 

pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo wipefs -a /dev/sdX
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo fdisk /dev/sdX
# create a primary partition of Linux type
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdX1
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo mount /dev/sdX1 /mnt
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo mkdir /mnt/gnupghome
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo chown pgp.pgp /mnt/gnupghome
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo chmod go-rwx /mnt/gnupghome

GnuPG configuration

Set your GnuPG home directory to point to the gnupghome directory on the USB memory device. You will need to do this in every terminal windows you open that you want to use GnuPG in. 

pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ export GNUPGHOME=/mnt/gnupghome
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$

At this point, you should be able to run gpg --card-status and get output from the smartcard.

Create master key

Create a master key and make a backup copy of the GnuPG home directory with it, together with an export ASCII version. 

pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg --quick-gen-key "Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>" ed25519 sign 216d
gpg: keybox '/mnt/gnupghome/pubring.kbx' created
gpg: /mnt/gnupghome/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: key D73CF638C53C06BE marked as ultimately trusted
gpg: directory '/mnt/gnupghome/openpgp-revocs.d' created
gpg: revocation certificate stored as '/mnt/gnupghome/openpgp-revocs.d/B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE.rev'
pub   ed25519 2019-03-20 [SC] [expires: 2019-10-22]
      B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE
      B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE
uid                      Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>

pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg -a --export-secret-keys B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE > $GNUPGHOME/masterkey.txt
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo cp -a $GNUPGHOME $GNUPGHOME-backup-masterkey
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$

Create subkeys

Create subkeys and make a backup of them too, as follows.

pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg --quick-add-key B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE cv25519 encr 216d
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg --quick-add-key B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE ed25519 auth 216d
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg --quick-add-key B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE ed25519 sign 216d
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg -a --export-secret-keys B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE > $GNUPGHOME/mastersubkeys.txt
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg -a --export-secret-subkeys B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE > $GNUPGHOME/subkeys.txt
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ sudo cp -a $GNUPGHOME $GNUPGHOME-backup-mastersubkeys
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$

Move keys to card

Prepare the card by setting Admin PIN, PIN, your full name, sex, login account, and key URL as you prefer, following the Gnuk manual on card personalization.

Move the subkeys from your GnuPG keyring to the FST01G using the keytocard command.

Take a final backup — because moving the subkeys to the card modifes the local GnuPG keyring — and create a ASCII armored version of the public key, to be transferred to your daily machine. 

pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg --list-secret-keys
/mnt/gnupghome/pubring.kbx
--------------------------
sec   ed25519 2019-03-20 [SC] [expires: 2019-10-22]
      B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE
uid           [ultimate] Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>
ssb>  cv25519 2019-03-20 [E] [expires: 2019-10-22]
ssb>  ed25519 2019-03-20 [A] [expires: 2019-10-22]
ssb>  ed25519 2019-03-20 [S] [expires: 2019-10-22]

pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg -a --export-secret-keys B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE > $GNUPGHOME/masterstubs.txt
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg -a --export-secret-subkeys B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE > $GNUPGHOME/subkeysstubs.txt
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ gpg -a --export B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE > $GNUPGHOME/publickey.txt
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$ cp -a $GNUPGHOME $GNUPGHOME-backup-masterstubs
pgp@pgplive:/home/pgp$

Transfer to daily machine

Copy publickey.txt to your day-to-day laptop and import it and create stubs using --card-status. 

jas@latte:~$ gpg --import < publickey.txt 
gpg: key D73CF638C53C06BE: public key "Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>" imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1
jas@latte:~$ gpg --card-status

Reader ...........: Free Software Initiative of Japan Gnuk (FSIJ-1.2.14-67252015) 00 00
Application ID ...: D276000124010200FFFE672520150000
Version ..........: 2.0
Manufacturer .....: unmanaged S/N range
Serial number ....: 67252015
Name of cardholder: Simon Josefsson
Language prefs ...: sv
Sex ..............: male
URL of public key : https://josefsson.org/key-20190320.txt
Login data .......: jas
Signature PIN ....: not forced
Key attributes ...: ed25519 cv25519 ed25519
Max. PIN lengths .: 127 127 127
PIN retry counter : 3 3 3
Signature counter : 0
Signature key ....: A3CC 9C87 0B9D 310A BAD4  CF2F 5172 2B08 FE47 45A2
      created ....: 2019-03-20 23:40:49
Encryption key....: A9EC 8F4D 7F1E 50ED 3DEF  49A9 0292 3D7E E76E BD60
      created ....: 2019-03-20 23:40:26
Authentication key: CA7E 3716 4342 DF31 33DF  3497 8026 0EE8 A9B9 2B2B
      created ....: 2019-03-20 23:40:37
General key info..: sub  ed25519/51722B08FE4745A2 2019-03-20 Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>
sec   ed25519/D73CF638C53C06BE  created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22
ssb>  cv25519/02923D7EE76EBD60  created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22
                                card-no: FFFE 67252015
ssb>  ed25519/80260EE8A9B92B2B  created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22
                                card-no: FFFE 67252015
ssb>  ed25519/51722B08FE4745A2  created: 2019-03-20  expires: 2019-10-22
                                card-no: FFFE 67252015
jas@latte:~$

Before the key can be used after the import, you must update the trust database for the secret key.

Now you should have a offline master key with subkey stubs. Note in the output below that the master key is not available (sec#) and the subkeys are stubs for smartcard keys (ssb>). 

jas@latte:~$ gpg --list-secret-keys
sec#  ed25519 2019-03-20 [SC] [expires: 2019-10-22]
      B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE
uid           [ultimate] Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>
ssb>  cv25519 2019-03-20 [E] [expires: 2019-10-22]
ssb>  ed25519 2019-03-20 [A] [expires: 2019-10-22]
ssb>  ed25519 2019-03-20 [S] [expires: 2019-10-22]

jas@latte:~$

If your environment variables are setup correctly, SSH should find the authentication key automatically. 

jas@latte:~$ ssh-add -L
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAILzCFcHHrKzVSPDDarZPYqn89H5TPaxwcORgRg+4DagE cardno:FFFE67252015
jas@latte:~$

GnuPG and SSH are now ready to be used with the new key. Thanks for reading!

Installing Gnuk on FST-01G running NeuG

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The FST-01G device that you order from the FSF shop runs NeuG. To be able to use the device as a OpenPGP smartcard, you need to install Gnuk. While Niibe covers this on his tutorial, I found the steps a bit complicated to follow. The following guides you from buying the device to getting a FST-01G running Gnuk ready for use with GnuPG.

Once you have received the device and inserted it into a USB port, your kernel log (sudo dmesg) will show something like the following:

[628772.874658] usb 1-1.5.1: New USB device found, idVendor=234b, idProduct=0004
[628772.874663] usb 1-1.5.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[628772.874666] usb 1-1.5.1: Product: Fraucheky
[628772.874669] usb 1-1.5.1: Manufacturer: Free Software Initiative of Japan
[628772.874671] usb 1-1.5.1: SerialNumber: FSIJ-0.0
[628772.875204] usb-storage 1-1.5.1:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[628772.875452] scsi host6: usb-storage 1-1.5.1:1.0
[628773.886539] scsi 6:0:0:0: Direct-Access     FSIJ     Fraucheky        1.0  PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
[628773.887522] sd 6:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
[628773.888931] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] 128 512-byte logical blocks: (65.5 kB/64.0 KiB)
[628773.889558] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[628773.889564] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 03 00 00 00
[628773.890305] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] No Caching mode page found
[628773.890314] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[628773.902617]  sdb:
[628773.906066] sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk

The device comes up as a USB mass storage device. Conveniently, it contain documentation describing what it is, and you identify the version of NeuG it runs as follows. 

jas@latte:~/src/gnuk$ head /media/jas/Fraucheky/README 
NeuG - a true random number generator implementation (for STM32F103)

							  Version 1.0.7
							     2018-01-19
						           Niibe Yutaka
				      Free Software Initiative of Japan

To convert the device into the serial-mode that is required for the software upgrade, use the eject command for the device (above it came up as /dev/sdb): sudo eject /dev/sdb. The kernel log will now contain something like this: 

[628966.847387] usb 1-1.5.1: reset full-speed USB device number 27 using ehci-pci
[628966.955723] usb 1-1.5.1: device firmware changed
[628966.956184] usb 1-1.5.1: USB disconnect, device number 27
[628967.115322] usb 1-1.5.1: new full-speed USB device number 28 using ehci-pci
[628967.233272] usb 1-1.5.1: New USB device found, idVendor=234b, idProduct=0001
[628967.233277] usb 1-1.5.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[628967.233280] usb 1-1.5.1: Product: NeuG True RNG
[628967.233283] usb 1-1.5.1: Manufacturer: Free Software Initiative of Japan
[628967.233286] usb 1-1.5.1: SerialNumber: FSIJ-1.0.7-67252015
[628967.234034] cdc_acm 1-1.5.1:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device

The strings NeuG True RNG and FSIJ-1.0.7 suggest it is running NeuG version 1.0.7.

Now both Gnuk itself and reGNUal needs to be built, as follows. If you get any error message, you likely don’t have the necessary dependencies installed. 

jas@latte:~/src$ git clone https://salsa.debian.org/gnuk-team/gnuk/neug.git
jas@latte:~/src$ git clone https://salsa.debian.org/gnuk-team/gnuk/gnuk.git
jas@latte:~/src$ cd gnuk/src/
jas@latte:~/src/gnuk/src$ git submodule update --init
jas@latte:~/src/gnuk/src$ ./configure --vidpid=234b:0000
...
jas@latte:~/src/gnuk/src$ make
...
jas@latte:~/src/gnuk/src$ cd ../regnual/
jas@latte:~/src/gnuk/regnual$ make
jas@latte:~/src/gnuk/regnual$ cd ../../

You are now ready to flash the device, as follows. 

jas@latte:~/src$ sudo neug/tool/neug_upgrade.py -f gnuk/regnual/regnual.bin gnuk/src/build/gnuk.bin 
gnuk/regnual/regnual.bin: 4544
gnuk/src/build/gnuk.bin: 113664
CRC32: 931cab51

Device: 
Configuration: 1
Interface: 1
20000e00:20005000
Downloading flash upgrade program...
start 20000e00
end   20001f00
# 20001f00: 31 : 196
Run flash upgrade program...
Wait 3 seconds...
Device: 
08001000:08020000
Downloading the program
start 08001000
end   0801bc00
jas@latte:~/src$

Remove and insert the device and the kernel log should contain something like this: 

[629120.399875] usb 1-1.5.1: new full-speed USB device number 32 using ehci-pci
[629120.511003] usb 1-1.5.1: New USB device found, idVendor=234b, idProduct=0000
[629120.511008] usb 1-1.5.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[629120.511011] usb 1-1.5.1: Product: Gnuk Token
[629120.511014] usb 1-1.5.1: Manufacturer: Free Software Initiative of Japan
[629120.511017] usb 1-1.5.1: SerialNumber: FSIJ-1.2.14-67252015

The device can now be used with GnuPG as a smartcard device. 

jas@latte:~/src/gnuk$ gpg --card-status
Reader ...........: 234B:0000:FSIJ-1.2.14-67252015:0
Application ID ...: D276000124010200FFFE672520150000
Version ..........: 2.0
Manufacturer .....: unmanaged S/N range
Serial number ....: 67252015
Name of cardholder: [not set]
Language prefs ...: [not set]
Sex ..............: unspecified
URL of public key : [not set]
Login data .......: [not set]
Signature PIN ....: forced
Key attributes ...: rsa2048 rsa2048 rsa2048
Max. PIN lengths .: 127 127 127
PIN retry counter : 3 3 3
Signature counter : 0
Signature key ....: [none]
Encryption key....: [none]
Authentication key: [none]
General key info..: [none]
jas@latte:~/src/gnuk$

Congratulations!

OpenPGP 2019 Key Transition Statement

Posted on by

I have created a new OpenPGP key and will be transitioning away from my old key. If you have signed my old key, I would appreciate signatures on my new key as well. I have created a transition statement that can be downloaded from https://josefsson.org/key-transition-2019-03-20.txt.

Below is the signed statement.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512

OpenPGP Key Transition Statement for Simon Josefsson <simon@josefsson.org>

I have created a new OpenPGP key and will be transitioning away from
my old key.  The old key has not been compromised and will continue to
be valid for some time, but I prefer all future correspondence to be
encrypted to the new key, and will be making signatures with the new
key going forward.

I would like this new key to be re-integrated into the web of trust.
This message is signed by both keys to certify the transition.  My new
and old keys are signed by each other.  If you have signed my old key,
I would appreciate signatures on my new key as well, provided that
your signing policy permits that without re-authenticating me.

The old key, which I am transitioning away from, is:

pub   rsa3744 2014-06-22 [SC]
      9AA9 BDB1 1BB1 B99A 2128  5A33 0664 A769 5426 5E8C

The new key, to which I am transitioning, is:

pub   ed25519 2019-03-20 [SC]
      B1D2 BD13 75BE CB78 4CF4  F8C4 D73C F638 C53C 06BE

The key may be downloaded from: https://josefsson.org/key-20190320.txt

To fetch the full new key from a public key server using GnuPG, run:

  gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net \
      --recv-key B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE

If you already know my old key, you can now verify that the new key is
signed by the old one:

  gpg --check-sigs B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE

If you are satisfied that you've got the right key, and the User IDs
match what you expect, I would appreciate it if you would sign my key:

  gpg --sign-key B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE

You can upload your signatures to a public keyserver directly:

  gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net \
      --send-key B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE

Or email simon@josefsson.org (possibly encrypted) the output from:

  gpg --armor --export B1D2BD1375BECB784CF4F8C4D73CF638C53C06BE

If you'd like any further verification or have any questions about the
transition please contact me directly.

To verify the integrity of this statement:

  wget -q -O- https://josefsson.org/key-transition-2019-03-20.txt | gpg --verify

/Simon
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
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=r0qK
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Planning for a new OpenPGP key

Posted on by

I’m the process of migrating to a new OpenPGP key. I have been using GnuPG with keys stored on external hardware (smartcards) for a long time, and I’m firmly committed to that choice. Algorithm wise, RSA was the best choice back for me when I created my key in 2002, and I used it successfully with a non-standard key size for many years. In 2014 it was time for me to move to a new stronger key, and I still settled on RSA and a non-standard key size. My master key was 3744 bits instead of 1280 bits, and the smartcard subkeys were 2048 bits instead of 1024 bits. At that time, I had already moved from the OpenPGP smartcard to the NXP-based YubiKey NEO (version 3) that runs JavaCard applets. The primary relevant difference for me was the availability of source code for the OpenPGP implementation running on the device, in the ykneo-openpgp project. The device was still a proprietary hardware and firmware design though.

Five years later, it is time for a new key again, and I allow myself to revisit some decisions that I made last time.

GnuPG has supported Curve25519/Ed25519 for some time, and today I prefer it over RSA. Infrastructure has been gradually introducing support for it as well, to the point that I now believe I can cut the ropes to the old world with RSA. Having a offline master key is still a strong preference, so I will stick to that decision. You shouldn’t run around with your primary master key if it is possible to get by with subkeys for daily use, and that has worked well for me over the years.

Hardware smartcard support for Curve25519/Ed25519 has been behind software support. NIIBE Yutaka developed the FST-01 hardware device in 2011, and the more modern FST-01G device in 2016. He also wrote the Gnuk software implementation of the OpenPGP card specification that runs on the FST-01 hardware (and other devices). The FST-01 hardware design is open, and it only runs the Gnuk free software. You can buy the FST-01G device from the FSF. The device has not received the FSF Respects Your Freedom stamp, even though it is sold by FSF which seems a bit hypocritical. Hardware running Gnuk are the only free software OpenPGP smartcard that supports Curve25519/Ed25519 right now, to my knowledge. The physical form factor is not as slick as the YubiKey (especially the nano-versions of the YubiKey that can be emerged into the USB slot), but it is a trade-off I can live with. Niibe introduced the FST-01SZ at FOSDEM’19 but to me it does not appear to offer any feature over the FST-01G and is not available for online purchase right now.

I have always generated keys in software using GnuPG. My arguments traditionally was that I 1) don’t trust closed-source RSA key generation implementations, and 2) want to be able to reproduce my setup with a brand new device. With Gnuk the first argument doesn’t hold any longer. However, I still prefer to generate keys with GnuPG on a Linux-based Debian machine because that software stack is likely to receive more auditing than Gnuk. It is a delicated decision though, since GnuPG on Debian is many orders of complexity higher than the Gnuk software. My second argument is now the primary driver for this decision.

I prefer the SHA-2 family of hashes over SHA-1, and earlier had to configure GnuPG for this. Today I believe the defaults have been improved and this is no longer an issue.

Back in 2014, I had a goal of having a JPEG image embedded in my OpenPGP key. I never finished that process, and I have not been sorry for missing out on anything as a result. On the contrary, the size of the key with an embedded image woud have been even more problematic than the already large key holding 4 embedded RSA public keys in it.

To summarize, my requirements for my OpenPGP key setup in 2019 are:

  • Curve25519/Ed25519 algorithms.
  • Master key on USB stick.
  • USB stick only used on an offline computer.
  • Subkeys for daily use (signature, encryption and authentication).
  • Keys are generated in GnuPG software and imported to the smartcard.
  • Smartcard is open hardware and running free software.

Getting this setup up and running sadly requires quite some detailed work, which will be the topic of other posts… stay tuned!