Input/output error with eCryptfs on Hardy Heron 8.04.1

[vlc]

Binary package hint: ecryptfs-utils

When configuring an eCryptfs directory as specified in http://ecryptfs.sourceforge.net/README, I cannot decrypt the stored files any more after unmounting / mounting the directory:

$ echo hello > ~/Secret/test.txt
$ cat ~/Secret/test.txt
hello
$ umount ~/Secret
$ mount -i ~/Secret
$ cat ~/Secret/test.txt
cat: /home/vlc/Secret/test.txt: Input/output error

The following errors can be found in the system log:

> The lower file appears to be a non-encrypted eCryptfs file; this is not supported in this version of the eCryptfs kernel module
> Error attempting to read the [user.ecryptfs] xattr from the lower file; return value = [4294967201]
> Valid eCryptfs headers not found in file header region or xattr region
> Attempt to read file that is not in a valid eCryptfs format, and plaintext passthrough mode is not enabled; returning -EIO

Ubuntu version: 8.04.1
ecryptfs-utils version: 38-2

Attached in file ecryptfs.txt please find the exact steps I executed to configure the eCryptfs directory.

[Dustin Kirkland  (kirkland)]

What is the output of the following:
 $ uname -a
...
 $ dpkg -l | grep linux-

:-Dustin

[vlc (vlc)]

$ uname -a
Linux EDDIE 2.6.24-22-generic #1 SMP Mon Nov 24 18:32:42 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linu

$ dpkg -l | grep linux-
ii linux-generic 2.6.24.22.24 Complete Generic Linux kernel
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-16 2.6.24-16.30 Header files related to Linux kernel version
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-16-generic 2.6.24-16.30 Linux kernel headers for version 2.6.24 on x
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-17 2.6.24-17.31 Header files related to Linux kernel version
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-17-generic 2.6.24-17.31 Linux kernel headers for version 2.6.24 on x
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-18 2.6.24-18.32 Header files related to Linux kernel version
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-18-generic 2.6.24-18.32 Linux kernel headers for version 2.6.24 on x
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-19 2.6.24-19.41 Header files related to Linux kernel version
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-19-generic 2.6.24-19.41 Linux kernel headers for version 2.6.24 on x
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-21 2.6.24-21.43 Header files related to Linux kernel version
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-21-generic 2.6.24-21.43 Linux kernel headers for version 2.6.24 on x
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-22 2.6.24-22.45 Header files related to Linux kernel version
ii linux-headers-2.6.24-22-generic 2.6.24-22.45 Linux kernel headers for version 2.6.24 on x
ii linux-headers-generic 2.6.24.22.24 Generic Linux kernel headers
ii linux-image-2.6.24-16-generic 2.6.24-16.30 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii linux-image-2.6.24-17-generic 2.6.24-17.31 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii linux-image-2.6.24-18-generic 2.6.24-18.32 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii linux-image-2.6.24-19-generic 2.6.24-19.41 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii linux-image-2.6.24-21-generic 2.6.24-21.43 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii linux-image-2.6.24-22-generic 2.6.24-22.45 Linux kernel image for version 2.6.24 on x86
ii linux-image-generic 2.6.24.22.24 Generic Linux kernel image
ii linux-libc-dev 2.6.24-22.45 ...

[Dustin Kirkland  (kirkland)]

Looks like the first echo didn't actually write encrypted data.
There's a lot of things that could have gone wrong with this. For one
thing, if you were in the ~/ directory when you did these tests, that
probably wouldn't work.

After performing the mount, and the unmount, try 'cat /proc/mounts' to
make sure that the mounts succeeded.

More generally, I really don't recommend ecryptfs in Hardy. It's far
more mature in Intrepid.

:-Dustin

[vlc (vlc)]

With "if you were in the ~/ directory when you did these tests" you mean ALL steps I performed to install the encrypted directory as well as the test? Which directory is better suited?

I checked in "/proc/mounts" and the directory was mounted:

$ cat /proc/mounts | grep Secret
/home/vlc/Secret /home/vlc/Secret ecryptfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,dir=/home/vlc/Secret 0 0

The problem is that Intrepid does not boot on my PC, not even the Live-CD. Can you recommend another encryption method for Hardy? I'm not bound to eCryptfs.

Thanks!

[Dustin Kirkland  (kirkland)]

On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 4:48 AM, vlc <email address hidden> wrote:
> The problem is that Intrepid does not boot on my PC, not even the Live-
> CD. Can you recommend another encryption method for Hardy? I'm not bound
> to eCryptfs.

Can you live-upgrade to Intrepid?

:-Dustin

[vlc (vlc)]

Well, as this is my productive system, I would not like to take the risk breaking it.

When browsing the repositories, I can find several other crypting utilities like bcrypt, ccrypt, cryptmount, ... Do you have an idea which of them has a good support in Hardy?

Thanks a lot!

[Dustin Kirkland  (kirkland)]

On Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 1:55 PM, vlc <email address hidden> wrote:
> Well, as this is my productive system, I would not like to take the risk
> breaking it.
>
> When browsing the repositories, I can find several other crypting
> utilities like bcrypt, ccrypt, cryptmount, ... Do you have an idea which
> of them has a good support in Hardy?

I don't know. ecryptfs is my expertise.

:-Dustin

[Dustin Kirkland  (kirkland)]

Thanks for the bug report.

I can't reproduce this specific issue. The reporter states that he's moved on, away from eCryptfs.

Please re-open if you can reproduce this specific issue, and provide more detail.

Thanks,

:-Dustin

[Philipp Morger (philipp-morger)]

Hi

Mar 28 17:43:19 serenity kernel: [81123.741796] Valid eCryptfs headers not found in file header region or xattr region
Mar 28 17:43:19 serenity kernel: [81123.741809] Either the lower file is not in a valid eCryptfs format, or the key could not be retrieved. Plaintext passthrough mode is not enabled; returning -EIO
Mar 28 17:43:19 serenity kernel: [81123.741969] Valid eCryptfs headers not found in file header region or xattr region
Mar 28 17:43:19 serenity kernel: [81123.741976] Either the lower file is not in a valid eCryptfs format, or the key could not be retrieved. Plaintext passthrough mode is not enabled; returning -EIO

Please note, this is lucid BETA 1.

[Philipp Morger (philipp-morger)]

273818 0 -rw-r--r-- 1 phoenix phoenix 0 Mar 11 07:04 ./ECRYPTFS_FNEK_ENCRYPTED.FXb.....

I don't know if the issue is some 0 byte files....

I read, that some folks have issues with ext4 and loosing data reported by bug #317781.

So if an 0 byte file is placed in my .Private, then maybe ecryptfs can't read it.... though I don't know if I simply can delete those 0 byte files....

[Dustin Kirkland  (kirkland)]

Marking this bug "won't-fix". Hardy's version of ecryptfs-utils was very pre-GA, and is unsupportable. Sorry.