Restoring encrypted files keeps asking for the password

[Vadim Peretokin]

I was using the 'restore files' dunctionality and manually clicking on 200+ files (because Deja Dup does not offer a 'tick all' option in the file list) while it was searching for more files, and the password dialog kept coming up... I already told it to remember the password, but it kept scanning and the password dialog kept coming up.

Description: Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS

deja-dup 22.0-0ubuntu4
duplicity 0.6.18-0ubuntu3.1

org.gnome.DejaDup backend 'file'
org.gnome.DejaDup delete-after 28
org.gnome.DejaDup exclude-list ['$TRASH', '$DOWNLOAD']
org.gnome.DejaDup include-list [<my files>]
org.gnome.DejaDup last-backup '2013-08-23T21:14:13.294313Z'
org.gnome.DejaDup last-restore '2013-08-24T04:10:33.294572Z'
org.gnome.DejaDup last-run '2013-08-24T04:10:33.294572Z'
org.gnome.DejaDup periodic true
org.gnome.DejaDup periodic-period 1
org.gnome.DejaDup prompt-check 'disabled'
org.gnome.DejaDup root-prompt true
org.gnome.DejaDup welcomed true
org.gnome.DejaDup.File icon '. GThemedIcon drive-harddisk-usb drive-harddisk drive'
org.gnome.DejaDup.File name '2.0 TB Hard Disk: Elements'
org.gnome.DejaDup.File path '<>'
org.gnome.DejaDup.File relpath b'Backups/vadi@gooseberry'
org.gnome.DejaDup.File short-name 'Elements'
org.gnome.DejaDup.File type 'volume'
org.gnome.DejaDup.File uuid 'F824FD9424FD565A'
org.gnome.DejaDup.Rackspace container 'gooseberry'
org.gnome.DejaDup.Rackspace username ''
org.gnome.DejaDup.S3 bucket ''
org.gnome.DejaDup.S3 folder 'gooseberry'
org.gnome.DejaDup.S3 id ''
org.gnome.DejaDup.U1 folder 'deja-dup/gooseberry'

[Michael Terry (mterry)]

After some testing, I think I know what could cause this (now very old) bug. There was a bug in deja-dup/duplicity that allowed for an accidental change in password when making the occasional full backup checkpoint (bug 918489, fixed in deja-dup 34.3).

Here's how this would be reproduced, using deja-dup <= 34.2:
- Create a new backup with password 'a'
- Keep backing up until deja-dup decides to make a new backup. Then either have a different password saved in gnome-keyring or enter a different password when it prompts. Say, 'b'
- Now you have two backup chains with different passwords, but deja-dup will keep adding new backups.
- Until either your cache gets blown away or deja-dup decides to do its every-two-months backup-validation check. (Or in your case, you need to restore missing files.)
- When either happens, duplicity will try to download the encrypted manifest files for all the backups and deja-dup will prompt you for the decryption password.
- If you enter 'a', it will choke on your second backup and show the password prompt again. If you enter 'b' it will choke on the first. Thus you get eternal backup prompts.

The only way to recover is to blow away older backups (or the whole thing) and start over. If you were trying to restore, your files can be manually recovered using duplicity though.

Anyway. That's my research into what this bug was likely about. I'll mark it as a dup of bug 918489 (which has been fixed for a while).