Search code examples
gnupg

GPG cannot decrypt files anymore after upgrade

I recently upgraded from Ubuntu 16.04 to 18.04, which came with a gpg upgrade from 0.5.0 to 0.6.0. Since that upgrade my GPG cannot decrypt files anymore:

mst@mst-nb1:~$ gpg --list-keys
/home/mst/.gnupg/pubring.kbx
----------------------------
pub   rsa4096 2016-03-13 [SC]
      6C6AE8C5E06D2AEF8FABE9C11EBC1C55E2D201A2
uid           [ultimate] Mauro Stettler <mauro.stettler@gmail.com>
sub   rsa4096 2016-03-13 [E]

mst@mst-nb1:~$ gpg --list-secret-keys
/home/mst/.gnupg/pubring.kbx
----------------------------
sec   rsa4096 2016-03-13 [SC]
      6C6AE8C5E06D2AEF8FABE9C11EBC1C55E2D201A2
uid           [ultimate] Mauro Stettler <mauro.stettler@gmail.com>
ssb   rsa4096 2016-03-13 [E]

mst@mst-nb1:~$ gpg -e -r 6C6AE8C5E06D2AEF8FABE9C11EBC1C55E2D201A2 abc
mst@mst-nb1:~$ gpg -d -u 6C6AE8C5E06D2AEF8FABE9C11EBC1C55E2D201A2 abc.gpg 
gpg: encrypted with 4096-bit RSA key, ID 8786533A08A9D4AD, created 2016-03-13
      "Mauro Stettler <mauro.stettler@gmail.com>"
gpg: public key decryption failed: End of file
gpg: decryption failed: No secret key

I have already tried wiping my ~/.gnupg folder and reimporting the keys, but that problem remains.

Solution

  • After a lot of trial & error I found the problem:

    I've had a self-built version of libtinfo5 installed. Apparently the system update caused this library not work properly anymore because it was built for the older system. Once I removed the custom built files and reinstalled libtinfo5 from apt everything worked fine again.