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This is a guide to using [YubiKey](https://www.yubico.com/products/yubikey-hardware/) as a [SmartCard](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/38924/how-does-storing-gpg-ssh-private-keys-on-smart-cards-compare-to-plain-usb-drives) for storing GPG encryption, signing and authentication keys, which can also be used for SSH. Many of the principles in this document are applicable to other smart card devices.

Keys stored on YubiKey are [non-exportable](https://support.yubico.com/support/solutions/articles/15000010242-can-i-duplicate-or-back-up-a-yubikey-) (as opposed to file-based keys that are stored on disk) and are convenient for everyday use. Instead of having to remember and enter passphrases to unlock SSH/GPG keys, YubiKey needs only a physical touch after being unlocked with a PIN. All signing and encryption operations happen on the card, rather than in OS memory.



> **Security Note**: If you followed this guide before Jan 2021, your GPG *PIN* and *Admin PIN* may be set to their default values (`123456` and `12345678` respectively). This would allow an attacker to use your Yubikey or reset your PIN. Please see the [Change PIN](#change-pin) section for details on how to change your PINs.

If you have a comment or suggestion, please open an [Issue](https://github.com/drduh/YubiKey-Guide/issues) on GitHub.

- [Purchase](#purchase)
- [Prepare environment](#prepare-environment)
- [Required software](#required-software)
  * [Debian and Ubuntu](#debian-and-ubuntu)
  * [Arch](#arch)
  * [RHEL7](#rhel7)
  * [NixOS](#nixos)
  * [OpenBSD](#openbsd)
  * [macOS](#macos)
  * [Windows](#windows)
- [Entropy](#entropy)
- [Creating keys](#creating-keys)
  * [Temporary working directory](#temporary-working-directory)
  * [Harden configuration](#harden-configuration)
- [Master key](#master-key)
- [Sign with existing key](#sign-with-existing-key)
- [Sub-keys](#sub-keys)
  * [Signing](#signing)
  * [Encryption](#encryption)
  * [Authentication](#authentication)
  * [Add extra identities](#add-extra-identities)
- [Verify](#verify)
- [Export secret keys](#export-secret-keys)
- [Revocation certificate](#revocation-certificate)
- [Backup](#backup)
- [Export public keys](#export-public-keys)
- [Configure Smartcard](#configure-smartcard)
  * [Change PIN](#change-pin)
  * [Enable KDF](#enable-kdf)
  * [Set information](#set-information)
- [Transfer keys](#transfer-keys)
  * [Signing](#signing-1)
  * [Encryption](#encryption-1)
  * [Authentication](#authentication-1)
- [Verify card](#verify-card)
- [Multiple YubiKeys](#multiple-yubikeys)
- [Cleanup](#cleanup)
- [Using keys](#using-keys)
- [Rotating keys](#rotating-keys)
  * [Setup environment](#setup-environment)
  * [Renewing sub-keys](#renewing-sub-keys)
  * [Rotating keys](#rotating-keys-1)
- [Adding notations](#adding-notations)
- [SSH](#ssh)
  * [Create configuration](#create-configuration)
  * [Replace agents](#replace-agents)
  * [Copy public key](#copy-public-key)
  * [(Optional) Save public key for identity file configuration](#optional-save-public-key-for-identity-file-configuration)
  * [Connect with public key authentication](#connect-with-public-key-authentication)
  * [Import SSH keys](#import-ssh-keys)
  * [Remote machines (SSH Agent Forwarding)](#remote-machines-ssh-agent-forwarding)
      - [Use ssh-agent](#use-ssh-agent)
      - [Use S.gpg-agent.ssh](#use-sgpg-agentssh)
      - [Chained SSH Agent Forwarding](#chained-ssh-agent-forwarding)
  * [GitHub](#github)
  * [OpenBSD](#openbsd-1)
  * [Windows](#windows-1)
    + [WSL](#wsl)
      - [Use ssh-agent or use S.weasel-pegant](#use-ssh-agent-or-use-sweasel-pegant)
      - [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
      - [WSL configuration](#wsl-configuration)
      - [Remote host configuration](#remote-host-configuration)
  * [macOS](#macos-1)
- [Remote Machines (GPG Agent Forwarding)](#remote-machines-gpg-agent-forwarding)
  * [Steps for older distributions](#steps-for-older-distributions)
  * [Chained GPG Agent Forwarding](#chained-gpg-agent-forwarding)
- [Using Multiple Keys](#using-multiple-keys)
- [Require touch](#require-touch)
- [Email](#email)
  * [Mailvelope on macOS](#mailvelope-on-macos)
  * [Mutt](#mutt)
- [Reset](#reset)
- [Recovery after reset](#recovery-after-reset)
- [Notes](#notes)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
- [Alternatives](#alternatives)
- [Links](#links)


# Purchase

All YubiKeys except the blue "security key" model are compatible with this guide. NEO models are limited to 2048-bit RSA keys. Compare YubiKeys [here](https://www.yubico.com/products/yubikey-hardware/compare-products-series/). Yubico have also just released a press release and blog post about supporting resident ssh keys on their Yubikeys including blue "security key 5 NFC" with OpenSSH 8.2 or later, see [here](https://www.yubico.com/blog/github-now-supports-ssh-security-keys/) for details.

To verify a YubiKey is genuine, open a [browser with U2F support](https://support.yubico.com/support/solutions/articles/15000009591-how-to-confirm-your-yubico-device-is-genuine-with-u2f) to [https://www.yubico.com/genuine/](https://www.yubico.com/genuine/). Insert a Yubico device, and select *Verify Device* to begin the process. Touch the YubiKey when prompted, and if asked, allow it to see the make and model of the device. If you see *Verification complete*, the device is authentic.

This website verifies YubiKey device attestation certificates signed by a set of Yubico certificate authorities, and helps mitigate [supply chain attacks](https://media.defcon.org/DEF%20CON%2025/DEF%20CON%2025%20presentations/DEF%20CON%2025%20-%20r00killah-and-securelyfitz-Secure-Tokin-and-Doobiekeys.pdf).

You will also need several small storage devices (microSD cards work well) for storing encrypted backups of your keys.

# Prepare environment

To create cryptographic keys, a secure environment that can be reasonably assured to be free of adversarial control is recommended. Here is a general ranking of environments most to least likely to be compromised:

1. Daily-use operating system
1. Virtual machine on daily-use host OS (using [virt-manager](https://virt-manager.org/), VirtualBox, or VMWare)
1. Separate hardened [Debian](https://www.debian.org/) or [OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/) installation which can be dual booted
1. Live image, such as [Debian Live](https://www.debian.org/CD/live/) or [Tails](https://tails.boum.org/index.en.html)
1. Secure hardware/firmware ([Coreboot](https://www.coreboot.org/), [Intel ME removed](https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner))

1. Dedicated air-gapped system with no networking capabilities

This guide recommends using a bootable "live" Debian Linux image to provide such an environment, however, depending on your threat model, you may want to take fewer or more steps to secure it.

To use Debian Live, download the latest image:

$ curl -LfO https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/SHA512SUMS

$ curl -LfO https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/SHA512SUMS.sign

$ curl -LfO https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/$(awk '/xfce.iso/ {print $2}' SHA512SUMS)


Verify the signature of the hashes file with GPG:

$ gpg --verify SHA512SUMS.sign SHA512SUMS

gpg: Signature made Sat 09 May 2020 05:17:57 PM PDT

gpg: using RSA key DF9B9C49EAA9298432589D76DA87E80D6294BE9B

gpg: Can't check signature: No public key

$ gpg --keyserver hkps://keyring.debian.org --recv DF9B9C49EAA9298432589D76DA87E80D6294BE9B

gpg: key 0xDA87E80D6294BE9B: public key "Debian CD signing key <debian-cd@lists.debian.org>" imported

gpg: Total number processed: 1

gpg: imported: 1

$ gpg --verify SHA512SUMS.sign SHA512SUMS

gpg: Signature made Sat 09 May 2020 05:17:57 PM PDT

gpg: using RSA key DF9B9C49EAA9298432589D76DA87E80D6294BE9B

gpg: Good signature from "Debian CD signing key <debian-cd@lists.debian.org>" [unknown]

gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!

gpg: There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.

Primary key fingerprint: DF9B 9C49 EAA9 2984 3258 9D76 DA87 E80D 6294 BE9B


If the public key cannot be received, try changing the DNS resolver and/or use a different keyserver:

$ gpg --keyserver hkps://keyserver.ubuntu.com:443 --recv DF9B9C49EAA9298432589D76DA87E80D6294BE9B


Ensure the SHA512 hash of the live image matches the one in the signed file.

$ grep $(sha512sum debian-live-*-amd64-xfce.iso) SHA512SUMS

SHA512SUMS:799ec1fdb098caa7b60b71ed1fdb1f6390a1c6717b4314265e7042fa271c84f67fff0d0380297f60c4bcd0c1001e08623ab3d2a2ad64079d83d1795c40eb7a0a debian-live-10.5.0-amd64-xfce.iso


See [Verifying authenticity of Debian CDs](https://www.debian.org/CD/verify) for more information.

Mount a storage device and copy the image to it:



$ sudo dmesg | tail

usb-storage 3-2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected

scsi host2: usb-storage 3-2:1.0

scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access TS-RDF5 SD Transcend TS3A PQ: 0 ANSI: 6

sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0

sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] 31116288 512-byte logical blocks: (15.9 GB/14.8 GiB)

sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off

sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 23 00 00 00

sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA

sdb: sdb1 sdb2

sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk

$ sudo dd if=debian-live-10.4.0-amd64-xfce.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M; sync

465+1 records in

465+1 records out

1951432704 bytes (2.0 GB, 1.8 GiB) copied, 42.8543 s, 45.5 MB/s




$ dmesg | tail -n2

sd2 at scsibus4 targ 1 lun 0: <TS-RDF5, SD Transcend, TS3A> SCSI4 0/direct removable serial.0000000000000

sd2: 15193MB, 512 bytes/sector, 31116288 sectors

$ doas dd if=debian-live-10.4.0-amd64-xfce.iso of=/dev/rsd2c bs=4m

465+1 records in

465+1 records out

1951432704 bytes transferred in 139.125 secs (14026448 bytes/sec)


Shut down the computer and disconnect internal hard drives and all unnecessary peripheral devices. If being run within a VM, this part can be skipped as no such devices should be attached to the VM since the image will still be run as a "live image".

# Required software

Boot the live image and configure networking.



Open the terminal and install required software packages.

## Debian and Ubuntu



$ sudo apt update

$ sudo apt -y upgrade

$ sudo apt -y install wget gnupg2 gnupg-agent dirmngr cryptsetup scdaemon pcscd secure-delete hopenpgp-tools yubikey-personalization


You may additionally need (particularly for Ubuntu 18.04 and 20.04):

$ sudo apt -y install libssl-dev swig libpcsclite-dev


To download a copy of this guide:

$ wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/drduh/YubiKey-Guide/master/README.md


To install and use the `ykman` utility:

$ sudo apt -y install python3-pip python3-pyscard

$ pip3 install PyOpenSSL

$ pip3 install yubikey-manager

$ sudo service pcscd start

$ ~/.local/bin/ykman openpgp info


## Arch

$ sudo pacman -Syu gnupg pcsclite ccid hopenpgp-tools yubikey-personalization


## RHEL7

$ sudo yum install -y gnupg2 pinentry-curses pcsc-lite pcsc-lite-libs gnupg2-smime


## NixOS

Generate a NixOS LiveCD image with the given config:

yubikey-installer.nix

{ nixpkgs ? <nixpkgs>, system ? "x86_64-linux" } :

let

config = { pkgs, ... }:

with pkgs; {

imports = [ <nixpkgs/nixos/modules/installer/cd-dvd/installation-cd-graphical-plasma5.nix> ];

boot.kernelPackages = linuxPackages_latest;

services.pcscd.enable = true;

services.udev.packages = [ yubikey-personalization ];

environment.systemPackages = [ gnupg pinentry-curses pinentry-qt paperkey wget ];

programs = {

ssh.startAgent = false;

gnupg.agent = {

enable = true;

enableSSHSupport = true;

};

};

};

evalNixos = configuration: import <nixpkgs/nixos> {

inherit system configuration;

};

in {

iso = (evalNixos config).config.system.build.isoImage;

}


Build the installer and copy it to a USB drive.

$ nix build -f yubikey-installer.nix --out-link installer

$ sudo cp -v installer/iso/*.iso /dev/sdb; sync

'installer/iso/nixos-20.03.git.c438ce1-x86_64-linux.iso' -> '/dev/sdb'


On NixOS, ensure that you have `pinentry-program /run/current-system/sw/bin/pinentry-curses` in your `$GNUPGHOME/gpg-agent.conf` before running any `gpg` commands.


## OpenBSD

$ doas pkg_add gnupg pcsc-tools


## macOS

Download and install [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) and the following packages:

$ brew install gnupg yubikey-personalization hopenpgp-tools ykman pinentry-mac wget




## Windows

Download and install [Gpg4Win](https://www.gpg4win.org/) and [PuTTY](https://putty.org).

You may also need more recent versions of [yubikey-personalization](https://developers.yubico.com/yubikey-personalization/Releases/) and [yubico-c](https://developers.yubico.com/yubico-c/Releases/).

# Entropy

Generating cryptographic keys requires high-quality [randomness](https://www.random.org/randomness/), measured as entropy.

To check the available entropy available on Linux:

$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail

849


Most operating systems use software-based pseudorandom number generators. On newer machines there are CPU based hardware random number generators (HRNG) or you can use a separate hardware device like the White Noise or [OneRNG](https://onerng.info/onerng/) will [increase the speed](https://lwn.net/Articles/648550/) of entropy generation and possibly the quality.

From YubiKey firmware version 5.2.3 onwards - which introduces "Enhancements to OpenPGP 3.4 Support" - we can gather additional entropy from the YubiKey itself via the SmartCard interface.

## YubiKey

To feed the system's PRNG with entropy generated by the YubiKey itself, issue:

$ echo "SCD RANDOM 512" | gpg-connect-agent | sudo tee /dev/random | hexdump -C

This will seed the Linux kernel's PRNG with additional 512 bytes retrieved from the YubiKey.

## OneRNG

Install [rng-tools](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Rng-tools) software:

$ sudo apt -y install at rng-tools python3-gnupg openssl


If you have a hardware device other than the CPU based one, install the accompany software and point rng-tools to its `/dev/` device.

OneRNG specific example:

$ sudo apt -y install python-gnupg

$ wget https://github.com/OneRNG/onerng.github.io/raw/master/sw/onerng_3.6-1_all.deb

$ sha256sum onerng_3.6-1_all.deb

a9ccf7b04ee317dbfc91518542301e2d60ebe205d38e80563f29aac7cd845ccb onerng_3.6-1_all.deb

$ sudo dpkg -i onerng_3.6-1_all.deb

$ echo "HRNGDEVICE=/dev/ttyACM0" | sudo tee /etc/default/rng-tools


Plug in the device and restart rng-tools:

$ sudo atd

$ sudo service rng-tools restart


Test by emptying `/dev/random` - the light on the device will dim briefly:

$ cat /dev/random >/dev/null

[Press Control-C]


After a few seconds, verify the available entropy pool is quickly re-seeded:

$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail

3049


An entropy pool value greater than 2000 is sufficient.

# Creating keys

## Temporary working directory

Create a temporary directory which will be cleared on [reboot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tmpfs) and set it as the GnuPG directory:

$ export GNUPGHOME=$(mktemp -d -t gnupg_$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M)_XXX)


Otherwise, to preserve the working environment, set the GnuPG directory to your home folder:

$ export GNUPGHOME=~/gnupg-workspace


## Harden configuration

Create a hardened configuration in the temporary working directory with the following options:

$ wget -O $GNUPGHOME/gpg.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/drduh/config/master/gpg.conf

$ grep -ve "^#" $GNUPGHOME/gpg.conf

personal-cipher-preferences AES256 AES192 AES

personal-digest-preferences SHA512 SHA384 SHA256

personal-compress-preferences ZLIB BZIP2 ZIP Uncompressed

default-preference-list SHA512 SHA384 SHA256 AES256 AES192 AES ZLIB BZIP2 ZIP Uncompressed

cert-digest-algo SHA512

s2k-digest-algo SHA512

s2k-cipher-algo AES256

charset utf-8

fixed-list-mode

no-comments

no-emit-version

keyid-format 0xlong

list-options show-uid-validity

verify-options show-uid-validity

with-fingerprint

require-cross-certification

no-symkey-cache

use-agent

throw-keyids


Disable networking for the remainder of the setup.

# Master key

The first key to generate is the master key. It will be used for certification only: to issue sub-keys that are used for encryption, signing and authentication.



You'll be prompted to enter and verify a passphrase - keep it handy as you'll need it multiple times later.

Generate a strong passphrase which could be written down in a secure place or memorized:

$ gpg --gen-random --armor 0 24

ydOmByxmDe63u7gqx2XI9eDgpvJwibNH


Use upper case letters for improved readability if they are written down:

$ LC_ALL=C tr -dc '[:upper:]' < /dev/urandom | fold -w 20 | head -n1

BSSYMUGGTJQVWZZWOPJG






Generate a new key with GPG, selecting `(8) RSA (set your own capabilities)`, `Certify` capability only and `4096` bit key size.

Do not set the master key to expire - see [Note #3](#notes).

$ gpg --expert --full-generate-key

Please select what kind of key you want:

(1) RSA and RSA (default)

(2) DSA and Elgamal

(3) DSA (sign only)

(4) RSA (sign only)

(7) DSA (set your own capabilities)

(8) RSA (set your own capabilities)

(9) ECC and ECC

(10) ECC (sign only)

(11) ECC (set your own capabilities)

(13) Existing key

Your selection? 8

Possible actions for a RSA key: Sign Certify Encrypt Authenticate

Current allowed actions: Sign Certify Encrypt

(S) Toggle the sign capability

(E) Toggle the encrypt capability

(A) Toggle the authenticate capability

(Q) Finished

Your selection? E

Possible actions for a RSA key: Sign Certify Encrypt Authenticate

Current allowed actions: Sign Certify

(S) Toggle the sign capability

(E) Toggle the encrypt capability

(A) Toggle the authenticate capability

(Q) Finished

Your selection? S

Possible actions for a RSA key: Sign Certify Encrypt Authenticate

Current allowed actions: Certify

(S) Toggle the sign capability

(E) Toggle the encrypt capability

(A) Toggle the authenticate capability

(Q) Finished

Your selection? Q

RSA keys may be between 1024 and 4096 bits long.

What keysize do you want? (2048) 4096

Requested keysize is 4096 bits

Please specify how long the key should be valid.

0 = key does not expire

<n> = key expires in n days

<n>w = key expires in n weeks

<n>m = key expires in n months

<n>y = key expires in n years

Key is valid for? (0) 0

Key does not expire at all

Is this correct? (y/N) y


Input any name and email address:

GnuPG needs to construct a user ID to identify your key.

Real name: Dr Duh

Email address: doc@duh.to

Comment: [Optional - leave blank]

You selected this USER-ID:

"Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>"

Change (N)ame, (C)omment, (E)mail or (O)kay/(Q)uit? o

We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform

some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the

disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number

generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.

gpg: /tmp.FLZC0xcM/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created

gpg: key 0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB marked as ultimately trusted

gpg: directory '/tmp.FLZC0xcM/openpgp-revocs.d' created

gpg: revocation certificate stored as '/tmp.FLZC0xcM/openpgp-revocs.d/011CE16BD45B27A55BA8776DFF3E7D88647EBCDB.rev'

public and secret key created and signed.

pub rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB 2017-10-09 [C]

Key fingerprint = 011C E16B D45B 27A5 5BA8 776D FF3E 7D88 647E BCDB

uid Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>


Export the key ID as a [variable](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1158091/defining-a-variable-with-or-without-export/1158231#1158231) (`KEYID`) for use later:

$ export KEYID=0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB


# Sign with existing key

(Optional) If you already have a PGP key, you may want to sign the new key with the old one to prove that the new key is controlled by you.

Export your existing key to move it to the working keyring:

$ gpg --export-secret-keys --armor --output /tmp/new.sec


Then sign the new key:

$ gpg --default-key $OLDKEY --sign-key $KEYID


# Sub-keys

Edit the master key to add sub-keys:

$ gpg --expert --edit-key $KEYID

Secret key is available.

sec rsa4096/0xEA5DE91459B80592

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>


Use 4096-bit RSA keys.

Use a 1 year expiration for sub-keys - they can be renewed using the offline master key. See [rotating keys](#rotating-keys).

## Signing

Create a [signing key](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5421107/can-rsa-be-both-used-as-encryption-and-signature/5432623#5432623) by selecting `addkey` then `(4) RSA (sign only)`:

gpg> addkey

Key is protected.

You need a passphrase to unlock the secret key for

user: "Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>"

4096-bit RSA key, ID 0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB, created 2016-05-24

Please select what kind of key you want:

(3) DSA (sign only)

(4) RSA (sign only)

(5) Elgamal (encrypt only)

(6) RSA (encrypt only)

(7) DSA (set your own capabilities)

(8) RSA (set your own capabilities)

Your selection? 4

RSA keys may be between 1024 and 4096 bits long.

What keysize do you want? (2048) 4096

Requested keysize is 4096 bits

Please specify how long the key should be valid.

0 = key does not expire

<n> = key expires in n days

<n>w = key expires in n weeks

<n>m = key expires in n months

<n>y = key expires in n years

Key is valid for? (0) 1y

Key expires at Mon 10 Sep 2018 00:00:00 PM UTC

Is this correct? (y/N) y

Really create? (y/N) y

We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform

some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the

disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number

generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>


## Encryption

Next, create an [encryption key](https://www.cs.cornell.edu/courses/cs5430/2015sp/notes/rsa_sign_vs_dec.php) by selecting `(6) RSA (encrypt only)`:

gpg> addkey

Please select what kind of key you want:

(3) DSA (sign only)

(4) RSA (sign only)

(5) Elgamal (encrypt only)

(6) RSA (encrypt only)

(7) DSA (set your own capabilities)

(8) RSA (set your own capabilities)

(10) ECC (sign only)

(11) ECC (set your own capabilities)

(12) ECC (encrypt only)

(13) Existing key

Your selection? 6

RSA keys may be between 1024 and 4096 bits long.

What keysize do you want? (2048) 4096

Requested keysize is 4096 bits

Please specify how long the key should be valid.

0 = key does not expire

<n> = key expires in n days

<n>w = key expires in n weeks

<n>m = key expires in n months

<n>y = key expires in n years

Key is valid for? (0) 1y

Key expires at Mon 10 Sep 2018 00:00:00 PM UTC

Is this correct? (y/N) y

Really create? (y/N) y

We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform

some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the

disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number

generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>


## Authentication

Finally, create an [authentication key](https://superuser.com/questions/390265/what-is-a-gpg-with-authenticate-capability-used-for).

GPG doesn't provide an authenticate-only key type, so select `(8) RSA (set your own capabilities)` and toggle the required capabilities until the only allowed action is `Authenticate`:

gpg> addkey

Please select what kind of key you want:

(3) DSA (sign only)

(4) RSA (sign only)

(5) Elgamal (encrypt only)

(6) RSA (encrypt only)

(7) DSA (set your own capabilities)

(8) RSA (set your own capabilities)

(10) ECC (sign only)

(11) ECC (set your own capabilities)

(12) ECC (encrypt only)

(13) Existing key

Your selection? 8

Possible actions for a RSA key: Sign Encrypt Authenticate

Current allowed actions: Sign Encrypt

(S) Toggle the sign capability

(E) Toggle the encrypt capability

(A) Toggle the authenticate capability

(Q) Finished

Your selection? S

Possible actions for a RSA key: Sign Encrypt Authenticate

Current allowed actions: Encrypt

(S) Toggle the sign capability

(E) Toggle the encrypt capability

(A) Toggle the authenticate capability

(Q) Finished

Your selection? E

Possible actions for a RSA key: Sign Encrypt Authenticate

Current allowed actions:

(S) Toggle the sign capability

(E) Toggle the encrypt capability

(A) Toggle the authenticate capability

(Q) Finished

Your selection? A

Possible actions for a RSA key: Sign Encrypt Authenticate

Current allowed actions: Authenticate

(S) Toggle the sign capability

(E) Toggle the encrypt capability

(A) Toggle the authenticate capability

(Q) Finished

Your selection? Q

RSA keys may be between 1024 and 4096 bits long.

What keysize do you want? (2048) 4096

Requested keysize is 4096 bits

Please specify how long the key should be valid.

0 = key does not expire

<n> = key expires in n days

<n>w = key expires in n weeks

<n>m = key expires in n months

<n>y = key expires in n years

Key is valid for? (0) 1y

Key expires at Mon 10 Sep 2018 00:00:00 PM UTC

Is this correct? (y/N) y

Really create? (y/N) y

We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform

some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the

disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number

generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>


Finish by saving the keys.

gpg> save


## Add extra identities

(Optional) To add additional email addresses or identities, use `adduid`:

gpg> adduid

Real name: Dr Duh

Email address: DrDuh@other.org

Comment:

You selected this USER-ID:

"Dr Duh <DrDuh@other.org>"

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

[ unknown] (2). Dr Duh <DrDuh@other.org>

gpg> trust

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

[ unknown] (2). Dr Duh <DrDuh@other.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

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

[ unknown] (2). Dr Duh <DrDuh@other.org>

gpg> uid 1

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: A

[ultimate] (1)* Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

[ unknown] (2). Dr Duh <DrDuh@other.org>

gpg> primary

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: A

[ultimate] (1)* Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

[ unknown] (2) Dr Duh <DrDuh@other.org>

gpg> save


By default, the last identity added will be the primary user ID - use `primary` to change that.

# Verify

List the generated secret keys and verify the output:

$ gpg -K

/tmp.FLZC0xcM/pubring.kbx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB 2017-10-09 [C]

Key fingerprint = 011C E16B D45B 27A5 5BA8 776D FF3E 7D88 647E BCDB

uid Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15 2017-10-09 [S] [expires: 2018-10-09]

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF 2017-10-09 [E] [expires: 2018-10-09]

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D 2017-10-09 [A] [expires: 2018-10-09]


Add any additional identities or email addresses you wish to associate using the `adduid` command.



$ gpg --export $KEYID | hokey lint


The output will display any problems with your key in red text. If everything is green, your key passes each of the tests. If it is red, your key has failed one of the tests.

> hokey may warn (orange text) about cross certification for the authentication key. GPG's [Signing Subkey Cross-Certification](https://gnupg.org/faq/subkey-cross-certify.html) documentation has more detail on cross certification, and gpg v2.2.1 notes "subkey <keyid> does not sign and so does not need to be cross-certified". hokey may also indicate a problem (red text) with `Key expiration times: []` on the primary key (see [Note #3](#notes) about not setting an expiry for the primary key).

# Export secret keys

The master key and sub-keys will be encrypted with your passphrase when exported.

Save a copy of your keys:

$ gpg --armor --export-secret-keys $KEYID > $GNUPGHOME/mastersub.key

$ gpg --armor --export-secret-subkeys $KEYID > $GNUPGHOME/sub.key


On Windows, note that using any extension other than `.gpg` or attempting IO redirection to a file will garble the secret key, making it impossible to import it again at a later date:

$ gpg -o \path\to\dir\mastersub.gpg --armor --export-secret-keys $KEYID

$ gpg -o \path\to\dir\sub.gpg --armor --export-secret-subkeys $KEYID


# Revocation certificate

Although we will backup and store the master key in a safe place, it is best practice to never rule out the possibility of losing it or having the backup fail. Without the master key, it will be impossible to renew or rotate subkeys or generate a revocation certificate, the PGP identity will be useless.

Even worse, we cannot advertise this fact in any way to those that are using our keys. It is reasonable to assume this *will* occur at some point and the only remaining way to deprecate orphaned keys is a revocation certificate.

To create the revocation certificate:

$ gpg --output $GNUPGHOME/revoke.asc --gen-revoke $KEYID


The `revoke.asc` certificate file should be stored (or printed) in a (secondary) place that allows retrieval in case the main backup fails.

# Backup

Once keys are moved to YubiKey, they cannot be moved again! Create an **encrypted** backup of the keyring on removable media so you can keep it offline in a safe place.
	


As an additional backup measure, consider using a [paper copy](https://www.jabberwocky.com/software/paperkey/) of the keys. The [Linux Kernel Maintainer PGP Guide](https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/process/maintainer-pgp-guide.html#back-up-your-master-key-for-disaster-recovery) points out that such printouts *are still password-protected*. It recommends to *write the password on the paper*, since it will be unlikely that you remember the original key password that was used when the paper backup was created. Obviously, you need a really good place to keep such a printout.



Attach another external storage device and check its label:

$ sudo dmesg | tail

mmc0: new high speed SDHC card at address a001

mmcblk0: mmc0:a001 SS16G 14.8 GiB

$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk0

Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 14.9 GiB, 15931539456 bytes, 31116288 sectors

Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes

Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Write it with random data to prepare for encryption:

$ sudo dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=4M status=progress


Erase and create a new partition table:

$ sudo fdisk /dev/mmcblk0

Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.33.1).

Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.

Be careful before using the write command.

Device does not contain a recognized partition table.

Created a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0x3c1ad14a.

Command (m for help): g

Created a new GPT disklabel (GUID: 4E7495FD-85A3-3E48-97FC-2DD8D41516C3).

Command (m for help): w

The partition table has been altered.

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.

Syncing disks.


Create a new partition with a 25 Megabyte size:

$ sudo fdisk /dev/mmcblk0

Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.33.1).

Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.

Be careful before using the write command.

Command (m for help): n

Partition type

p primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free)

e extended (container for logical partitions)

Select (default p): p

Partition number (1-4, default 1):

First sector (2048-31116287, default 2048):

Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-31116287, default 31116287): +25M

Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 25 MiB.

Command (m for help): w

The partition table has been altered.

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.

Syncing disks.


Use [LUKS](https://askubuntu.com/questions/97196/how-secure-is-an-encrypted-luks-filesystem) to encrypt the new partition:

$ sudo cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/mmcblk0p1

WARNING!

========

This will overwrite data on /dev/mmcblk0p1 irrevocably.

Are you sure? (Type uppercase yes): YES

Enter passphrase for /dev/mmcblk0p1:

Verify passphrase:


Mount the partition:

$ sudo cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/mmcblk0p1 secret

Enter passphrase for /dev/mmcblk0p1:


Create a filesystem:

$ sudo mkfs.ext2 /dev/mapper/secret -L gpg-$(date +%F)

Creating filesystem with 9216 1k blocks and 2304 inodes

Superblock backups stored on blocks:

8193

Allocating group tables: done

Writing inode tables: done

Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done


Mount the filesystem and copy the temporary directory with the keyring:

$ sudo mkdir /mnt/encrypted-storage

$ sudo mount /dev/mapper/secret /mnt/encrypted-storage

$ sudo cp -avi $GNUPGHOME /mnt/encrypted-storage/




$ sudo cp onerng_3.6-1_all.deb /mnt/encrypted-storage/


Keep the backup mounted if you plan on setting up two or more keys as `keytocard` **will [delete](https://lists.gnupg.org/pipermail/gnupg-users/2016-July/056353.html) the local copy** on save.

Unmount, close and disconnect the encrypted volume:

$ sudo umount /mnt/encrypted-storage/

$ sudo cryptsetup luksClose secret





Attach a USB disk and determine its label:

$ dmesg | grep sd.\ at

sd2 at scsibus5 targ 1 lun 0: <TS-RDF5, SD Transcend, TS37> SCSI4 0/direct removable serial.00000000000000000000


Print the existing partitions to make sure it's the right device:

$ doas disklabel -h sd2


Initialize the disk by creating an `a` partition with FS type `RAID` and size of 25 Megabytes:

$ doas fdisk -giy sd2

Writing MBR at offset 0.

Writing GPT.

$ doas disklabel -E sd2

Label editor (enter '?' for help at any prompt)

sd2> a a

offset: [64]

size: [31101776] 25M

FS type: [4.2BSD] RAID

sd2*> w

sd2> q

No label changes


Encrypt with bioctl:

$ doas bioctl -c C -l sd2a softraid0

New passphrase:

Re-type passphrase:

softraid0: CRYPTO volume attached as sd3


Create an `i` partition on the new crypto volume and the filesystem:

$ doas fdisk -giy sd3

Writing MBR at offset 0.

Writing GPT.

$ doas disklabel -E sd3

Label editor (enter '?' for help at any prompt)

sd3> a i

offset: [64]

size: [16001]

FS type: [4.2BSD]

sd3*> w

sd3> q

No label changes.

$ doas newfs sd3i


Mount the filesystem and copy the temporary directory with the keyring:

$ doas mkdir /mnt/encrypted-storage

$ doas mount /dev/sd3i /mnt/encrypted-storage

$ doas cp -avi $GNUPGHOME /mnt/encrypted-storage


Keep the backup mounted if you plan on setting up two or more keys as `keytocard` **will [delete](https://lists.gnupg.org/pipermail/gnupg-users/2016-July/056353.html) the local copy** on save.

Otherwise, unmount and disconnect the encrypted volume:

$ doas umount /mnt/encrypted-storage

$ doas bioctl -d sd3


See [OpenBSD FAQ#14](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq14.html#softraidCrypto) for more information.

# Export public keys



Create another partition on the removable storage device to store the public key, or reconnect networking and upload to a key server.



$ sudo fdisk /dev/mmcblk0

Command (m for help): n

Partition type

p primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)

e extended (container for logical partitions)

Select (default p):

Partition number (2-4, default 2):

First sector (22528-31116287, default 22528):

Last sector, +sectors or +size{K,M,G,T,P} (22528-31116287, default 31116287): +25M

Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux' and of size 25 MiB.

Command (m for help): w

The partition table has been altered.

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.

Syncing disks.

$ sudo mkfs.ext2 /dev/mmcblk0p2

Creating filesystem with 10240 1k blocks and 2560 inodes

Superblock backups stored on blocks:

8193

Allocating group tables: done

Writing inode tables: done

Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

$ sudo mkdir /mnt/public

$ sudo mount /dev/mmcblk0p2 /mnt/public/

$ gpg --armor --export $KEYID | sudo tee /mnt/public/gpg-$KEYID-$(date +%F).asc




$ doas disklabel -E sd2

Label editor (enter '?' for help at any prompt)

sd2> a b

offset: [32130]

size: [31069710] 25M

FS type: [swap] 4.2BSD

sd2*> w

sd2> q

No label changes.

$ doas newfs sd2b

$ doas mkdir /mnt/public

$ doas mount /dev/sd2b /mnt/public

$ gpg --armor --export $KEYID | doas tee /mnt/public/gpg-$KEYID-$(date +%F).asc




$ gpg -o \path\to\dir\pubkey.gpg --armor --export $KEYID




(Optional) Upload the public key to a [public keyserver](https://debian-administration.org/article/451/Submitting_your_GPG_key_to_a_keyserver):

$ gpg --send-key $KEYID

$ gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --send-key $KEYID

$ gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --send-key $KEYID

$ gpg --keyserver hkps://keyserver.ubuntu.com:443 --send-key $KEYID


After some time, the public key will propagate to [other](https://pgp.key-server.io/pks/lookup?search=doc%40duh.to&fingerprint=on&op=vindex) [servers](https://pgp.mit.edu/pks/lookup?search=doc%40duh.to&op=index).

# Configure Smartcard

Plug in a YubiKey and use GPG to configure it as a smartcard:

$ gpg --card-edit

Reader ...........: Yubico Yubikey 4 OTP U2F CCID

Application ID ...: D2760001240102010006055532110000

Version ..........: 3.4

Manufacturer .....: Yubico

Serial number ....: 05553211

Name of cardholder: [not set]

Language prefs ...: [not set]

Sex ..............: unspecified

URL of public key : [not set]

Login data .......: [not set]

Signature PIN ....: not forced

Key attributes ...: rsa2048 rsa2048 rsa2048

Max. PIN lengths .: 127 127 127

PIN retry counter : 3 0 3

Signature counter : 0

KDF setting ......: off

Signature key ....: [none]

Encryption key....: [none]

Authentication key: [none]

General key info..: [none]






Use the [YubiKey Manager](https://developers.yubico.com/yubikey-manager) application (note, this is not the similarly named older YubiKey NEO Manager) to enable CCID functionality.

## Enable KDF
Key Derived Function (KDF) enables YubiKey to store the hash of PIN, preventing the PIN from being passed as plain text. Note that this requires a relatively new version of GnuPG to work, and may not be compatible with other GPG clients (notably mobile clients). These incompatible clients will be unable to use the YubiKey GPG functions as the PIN will always be rejected. If you are not sure you will only be using your YubiKey on supported platforms, it may be better to skip this step.

gpg/card> admin

Admin commands are allowed

gpg/card> kdf-setup


## Change PIN

The [GPG interface](https://developers.yubico.com/PGP/) is separate from other modules on a Yubikey such as the [PIV interface](https://developers.yubico.com/PIV/Introduction/YubiKey_and_PIV.html). The GPG interface has its own *PIN*, *Admin PIN*, and *Reset Code* - these should be changed from default values!

Entering the user *PIN* incorrectly three times will cause the PIN to become blocked; it can be unblocked with either the *Admin PIN* or *Reset Code*.

Entering the *Admin PIN* or *Reset Code* incorrectly three times destroys all GPG data on the card. The Yubikey will have to be reconfigured.

Name       | Default Value | Use
-----------|---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------
PIN        | `123456`      | decrypt and authenticate (SSH)
Admin PIN  | `12345678`    | reset *PIN*, change *Reset Code*, add keys and owner information
Reset code | _**None**_      | reset *PIN* ([more information](https://forum.yubico.com/viewtopicd01c.html?p=9055#p9055))

Values are valid up to 127 ASCII characters and must be at least 6 (*PIN*) or 8 (*Admin PIN*, *Reset Code*) characters. See the GnuPG documentation on [Managing PINs](https://www.gnupg.org/howtos/card-howto/en/ch03s02.html) for details.

To update the GPG PINs on the Yubikey:

gpg/card> passwd

gpg: OpenPGP card no. D2760001240102010006055532110000 detected

1 - change PIN

2 - unblock PIN

3 - change Admin PIN

4 - set the Reset Code

Q - quit

Your selection? 3

PIN changed.

1 - change PIN

2 - unblock PIN

3 - change Admin PIN

4 - set the Reset Code

Q - quit

Your selection? 1

PIN changed.

1 - change PIN

2 - unblock PIN

3 - change Admin PIN

4 - set the Reset Code

Q - quit

Your selection? q


The number of retry attempts can be changed with the following command, documented [here](https://docs.yubico.com/software/yubikey/tools/ykman/OpenPGP_Commands.html#ykman-openpgp-access-set-retries-options-pin-retries-reset-code-retries-admin-pin-retries):

ykman openpgp access set-retries 5 5 5


## Set information

Some fields are optional.

gpg/card> name

Cardholder's surname: Duh

Cardholder's given name: Dr

gpg/card> lang

Language preferences: en

gpg/card> login

Login data (account name): doc@duh.to

gpg/card> list

Application ID ...: D2760001240102010006055532110000

Version ..........: 3.4

Manufacturer .....: unknown

Serial number ....: 05553211

Name of cardholder: Dr Duh

Language prefs ...: en

Sex ..............: unspecified

URL of public key : [not set]

Login data .......: doc@duh.to

Private DO 4 .....: [not set]

Signature PIN ....: not forced

Key attributes ...: rsa2048 rsa2048 rsa2048

Max. PIN lengths .: 127 127 127

PIN retry counter : 3 0 3

Signature counter : 0

KDF setting ......: on

Signature key ....: [none]

Encryption key....: [none]

Authentication key: [none]

General key info..: [none]

gpg/card> quit


# Transfer keys



Previous GPG versions required the `toggle` command before selecting keys. The currently selected key(s) are indicated with an `*`. When moving keys only one key should be selected at a time.

$ gpg --edit-key $KEYID

Secret key is available.

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>


## Signing

You will be prompted for the master key passphrase and Admin PIN.

Select and transfer the signature key.

gpg> key 1

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb* rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

gpg> keytocard

Please select where to store the key:

(1) Signature key

(3) Authentication key

Your selection? 1

You need a passphrase to unlock the secret key for

user: "Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>"

4096-bit RSA key, ID 0xBECFA3C1AE191D15, created 2016-05-24


## Encryption

Type `key 1` again to de-select and `key 2` to select the next key:

gpg> key 1

gpg> key 2

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb* rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

gpg> keytocard

Please select where to store the key:

(2) Encryption key

Your selection? 2

[...]


## Authentication

Type `key 2` again to deselect and `key 3` to select the last key:

gpg> key 2

gpg> key 3

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb* rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

gpg> keytocard

Please select where to store the key:

(3) Authentication key

Your selection? 3


Save and quit:

gpg> save


# Verify card

Verify the sub-keys have been moved to YubiKey as indicated by `ssb>`:

$ gpg -K

/tmp.FLZC0xcM/pubring.kbx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB 2017-10-09 [C]

Key fingerprint = 011C E16B D45B 27A5 5BA8 776D FF3E 7D88 647E BCDB

uid Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

ssb> rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15 2017-10-09 [S] [expires: 2018-10-09]

ssb> rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF 2017-10-09 [E] [expires: 2018-10-09]

ssb> rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D 2017-10-09 [A] [expires: 2018-10-09]


# Multiple YubiKeys

To provision additional security keys, restore the master key backup and repeat the [Configure Smartcard](#configure-smartcard) procedure.

$ mv -vi $GNUPGHOME $GNUPGHOME.1

renamed '/tmp.FLZC0xcM' -> '/tmp.FLZC0xcM.1'

$ cp -avi /mnt/encrypted-storage/tmp.XXX $GNUPGHOME

'/mnt/encrypted-storage/tmp.FLZC0xcM' -> '/tmp.FLZC0xcM'

$ cd $GNUPGHOME


## Switching between two or more Yubikeys.
	
When you add a GPG key to a Yubikey using the *keytocard* command, GPG deletes the key from your keyring and adds a *stub* pointing to that exact Yubikey (the stub identifies the GPG KeyID and the Yubikey's serial number).
	
However, when you do this same operation for a second Yubikey, the stub in your keyring is overwritten by the *keytocard* operation and now the stub points to your second Yubikey. Adding more repeats this overwriting operation.

In other words, the stub will point ONLY to the LAST Yubikey written to.
	
When using GPG key operations with the GPG key you placed onto the Yubikeys, GPG will request a specific Yubikey asking that you insert a Yubikey with a given serial number (referenced by the stub). GPG will not recognise another Yubikey with a different serial number without manual intervention.
	
You can force GPG to scan the card and re-create the stubs to point to another Yubikey. 

Having created two (or more Yubikeys) with the same GPG key (as described above) where the stubs are pointing to the second Yubikey:
	
Insert the first Yubikey (which has a different serial number) and run the following command:
	

$ gpg-connect-agent "scd serialno" "learn --force" /bye

GPG will then scan your first Yubikey for GPG keys and recreate the stubs to point to the GPG keyID and Yubikey Serial number of this first Yubikey.
	
To return to using the second Yubikey just repeat (insert other Yubikey and re-run command).
	
Obviously this command is not easy to remember so it is recommended to either create a script or a shell alias to make this more user friendly.
	
# Cleanup

Ensure you have:



Reboot or [securely delete](http://srm.sourceforge.net/) `$GNUPGHOME` and remove the secret keys from the GPG keyring:

$ sudo srm -r $GNUPGHOME || sudo rm -rf $GNUPGHOME

$ gpg --delete-secret-key $KEYID

$ unset GNUPGHOME




# Using keys

Download [drduh/config/gpg.conf](https://github.com/drduh/config/blob/master/gpg.conf):

$ cd ~/.gnupg ; wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/drduh/config/master/gpg.conf

$ chmod 600 gpg.conf


Install the required packages and mount the non-encrypted volume created earlier:



$ sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y gnupg2 gnupg-agent gnupg-curl scdaemon pcscd

$ sudo mount /dev/mmcblk0p2 /mnt




$ doas pkg_add gnupg pcsc-tools

$ doas mount /dev/sd2b /mnt


Import the public key file:

$ gpg --import /mnt/gpg-0x*.asc

gpg: key 0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB: public key "Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>" imported

gpg: Total number processed: 1

gpg: imported: 1


Or download the public key from a keyserver:

$ gpg --recv $KEYID

gpg: requesting key 0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB from hkps server hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net

[...]

gpg: key 0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB: public key "Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>" imported

gpg: Total number processed: 1

gpg: imported: 1


Edit the master key to assign it ultimate trust by selecting `trust` and `5`:

$ export KEYID=0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

$ gpg --edit-key $KEYID

gpg> trust

pub 4096R/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB created: 2016-05-24 expires: never usage: C

trust: unknown validity: unknown

sub 4096R/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15 created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

sub 4096R/0x5912A795E90DD2CF created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

sub 4096R/0x3F29127E79649A3D created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ unknown] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

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 4096R/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB created: 2016-05-24 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: unknown

sub 4096R/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15 created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

sub 4096R/0x5912A795E90DD2CF created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

sub 4096R/0x3F29127E79649A3D created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ unknown] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

gpg> quit


Remove and re-insert YubiKey and check the status:

$ gpg --card-status

Reader ...........: Yubico YubiKey OTP FIDO CCID 00 00

Application ID ...: D2760001240102010006055532110000

Version ..........: 3.4

Manufacturer .....: Yubico

Serial number ....: 05553211

Name of cardholder: Dr Duh

Language prefs ...: en

Sex ..............: unspecified

URL of public key : [not set]

Login data .......: doc@duh.to

Signature PIN ....: not forced

Key attributes ...: rsa4096 rsa4096 rsa4096

Max. PIN lengths .: 127 127 127

PIN retry counter : 3 3 3

Signature counter : 0

KDF setting ......: on

Signature key ....: 07AA 7735 E502 C5EB E09E B8B0 BECF A3C1 AE19 1D15

created ....: 2016-05-24 23:22:01

Encryption key....: 6F26 6F46 845B BEB8 BDF3 7E9B 5912 A795 E90D D2CF

created ....: 2016-05-24 23:29:03

Authentication key: 82BE 7837 6A3F 2E7B E556 5E35 3F29 127E 7964 9A3D

created ....: 2016-05-24 23:36:40

General key info..: pub 4096R/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15 2016-05-24 Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

sec# 4096R/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB created: 2016-05-24 expires: never

ssb> 4096R/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15 created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09

card-no: 0006 05553211

ssb> 4096R/0x5912A795E90DD2CF created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09

card-no: 0006 05553211

ssb> 4096R/0x3F29127E79649A3D created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09

card-no: 0006 05553211


`sec#` indicates the master key is not available (as it should be stored encrypted offline).



Encrypt a message to your own key (useful for storing password credentials and other data):

$ echo "test message string" | gpg --encrypt --armor --recipient $KEYID -o encrypted.txt


To encrypt to multiple recipients (or to multiple keys):

$ echo "test message string" | gpg --encrypt --armor --recipient $KEYID_0 --recipient $KEYID_1 --recipient $KEYID_2 -o encrypted.txt


Decrypt the message:

$ gpg --decrypt --armor encrypted.txt

gpg: anonymous recipient; trying secret key 0x0000000000000000 ...

gpg: okay, we are the anonymous recipient.

gpg: encrypted with RSA key, ID 0x0000000000000000

test message string


Sign a message:

$ echo "test message string" | gpg --armor --clearsign > signed.txt


Verify the signature:

$ gpg --verify signed.txt

gpg: Signature made Wed 25 May 2016 00:00:00 AM UTC

gpg: using RSA key 0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

gpg: Good signature from "Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>" [ultimate]

Primary key fingerprint: 011C E16B D45B 27A5 5BA8 776D FF3E 7D88 647E BCDB

Subkey fingerprint: 07AA 7735 E502 C5EB E09E B8B0 BECF A3C1 AE19 1D15


Use a [shell function](https://github.com/drduh/config/blob/master/zshrc) to make encrypting files easier:

secret () {

output=~/"${1}".$(date +%s).enc

gpg --encrypt --armor --output ${output} -r 0x0000 -r 0x0001 -r 0x0002 "${1}" && echo "${1} -> ${output}"

}

reveal () {

output=$(echo "${1}" | rev | cut -c16- | rev)

gpg --decrypt --output ${output} "${1}" && echo "${1} -> ${output}"

}


$ secret document.pdf

document.pdf -> document.pdf.1580000000.enc

$ reveal document.pdf.1580000000.enc

gpg: anonymous recipient; trying secret key 0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB ...

gpg: okay, we are the anonymous recipient.

gpg: encrypted with RSA key, ID 0x0000000000000000

document.pdf.1580000000.enc -> document.pdf


# Rotating keys

PGP does not provide forward secrecy - a compromised key may be used to decrypt all past messages. Although keys stored on YubiKey are difficult to steal, it is not impossible - the key and PIN could be taken, or a vulnerability may be discovered in key hardware or the random number generator used to create them, for example. Therefore, it is good practice to occassionally rotate sub-keys.

When a sub-key expires, it can either be renewed or replaced. Both actions require access to the offline master key. Renewing sub-keys by updating their expiration date indicates you are still in possession of the offline master key and is more convenient.

Replacing keys, on the other hand, is less convenient but more secure: the new sub-keys will **not** be able to decrypt previous messages, authenticate with SSH, etc. Contacts will need to receive the updated public key and any encrypted secrets need to be decrypted and re-encrypted to new sub-keys to be usable. This process is functionally equivalent to "losing" the YubiKey and provisioning a new one. However, you will always be able to decrypt previous messages using the offline encrypted backup of the original keys.

Neither rotation method is superior and it's up to personal philosophy on identity management and individual threat model to decide which one to use, or whether to expire sub-keys at all. Ideally, sub-keys would be ephemeral: used only once for each encryption, signing and authentication event, however in practice that is not really feasible nor worthwhile with YubiKey. Advanced users may want to dedicate an offline device for more frequent key rotations and ease of provisioning.

## Setup environment

To renew or rotate sub-keys, follow the same process as generating keys: boot to a secure environment, install required software and disconnect networking.

Connect the offline secret storage device with the master keys and identify the disk label:

$ sudo dmesg | tail

mmc0: new high speed SDHC card at address a001

mmcblk0: mmc0:a001 SS16G 14.8 GiB (ro)

mmcblk0: p1 p2


Decrypt and mount the offline volume:

$ sudo cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/mmcblk0p1 secret

Enter passphrase for /dev/mmcblk0p1:

$ sudo mount /dev/mapper/secret /mnt/encrypted-storage


Import the master key and configuration to a temporary working directory. Note that Windows users should import mastersub.gpg:

$ export GNUPGHOME=$(mktemp -d -t gnupg_$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M)_XXX)

$ gpg --import /mnt/encrypted-storage/tmp.XXX/mastersub.key

$ cp -v /mnt/encrypted-storage/tmp.XXX/gpg.conf $GNUPGHOME


Edit the master key:

$ export KEYID=0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

$ gpg --expert --edit-key $KEYID

Secret key is available

[...]


## Renewing sub-keys

Renewing sub-keys is simpler: you do not need to generate new keys, move keys to the YubiKey, or update any SSH public keys linked to the GPG key.  All you need to do is to change the expiry time associated with the public key (which requires access to the master key you just loaded) and then to export that public key and import it on any computer where you wish to use the **GPG** (as distinct from the SSH) key.

To change the expiration date of all sub-keys, start by selecting all keys:

$ gpg --edit-key $KEYID

Secret key is available.

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

gpg> key 1

Secret key is available.

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb* rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

gpg> key 2

Secret key is available.

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb* rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb* rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>

gpg> key 3

Secret key is available.

sec rsa4096/0xFF3E7D88647EBCDB

created: 2017-10-09 expires: never usage: C

trust: ultimate validity: ultimate

ssb* rsa4096/0xBECFA3C1AE191D15

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: S

ssb* rsa4096/0x5912A795E90DD2CF

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: E

ssb* rsa4096/0x3F29127E79649A3D

created: 2017-10-09 expires: 2018-10-09 usage: A

[ultimate] (1). Dr Duh <doc@duh.to>


Then, use the `expire` command to set a new expiration date.  (Despite the name, this will not cause currently valid keys to become expired.)

gpg> expire

Changing expiration time for a subkey.

Please specify how long the key should be valid.

0 = key does not expire

<n> = key expires in n days

<n>w = key expires in n weeks

<n>m = key expires in n months

<n>y = key expires in n years

Key is valid for? (0)

Follow these prompts to set a new expiration date, then `save` to save your changes.

Next, export the public key:

$ gpg --armor --export $KEYID > gpg-$KEYID-$(date +%F).asc


Transfer that public key to the computer from which you use your GPG key, and then import it with:

$ gpg --import gpg-0x*.asc


This will extend the validity of your GPG key and will allow you to use it for SSH authorization.  Note that you do _not_ need to update the SSH public key located on remote servers.

## Rotating keys

Rotating keys is more a bit more involved.  First, follow the original steps to generate each sub-key. Previous sub-keys may be kept or deleted from the identity.

Finish by exporting new keys:

$ gpg --armor --export-secret-keys $KEYID > $GNUPGHOME/mastersub.key

$ gpg --armor --export-secret-subkeys $KEYID > $GNUPGHOME/sub.key


Copy the **new** temporary working directory to encrypted offline storage, which should still be mounted:

$ sudo cp -avi $GNUPGHOME /mnt/encrypted-storage


There should now be at least two versions of the master and sub-keys backed up:

$ ls /mnt/encrypted-storage

lost+found tmp.ykhTOGjR36 tmp.2gyGnyCiHs


Unmount and close the encrypted volume:

$ sudo umount /mnt/encrypted-storage

$ sudo cryptsetup luksClose /dev/mapper/secret


Export the updated public key:

$ sudo mkdir /mnt/public

$ sudo mount /dev/mmcblk0p2 /mnt/public

$ gpg --armor --export $KEYID | sudo tee /mnt/public/$KEYID-$(date +%F).asc

$ sudo umount /mnt/public


Disconnect the storage device and follow the original steps to transfer new keys (4, 5 and 6) to the YubiKey, replacing existing ones. Reboot or securely erase the GPG temporary working directory.

# Adding notations

Notations can be added to user ID(s) and can be used in conjunction with [Keyoxide](https://keyoxide.org) to create [OpenPGP identity proofs](https://keyoxide.org/guides/openpgp-proofs).

Adding notations requires access to the master key so we can follow the setup instructions taken from this [section](#setup-environment) of this guide.

Please note that there is no need to connect the Yubikey to the setup environment and that we do not need to generate new keys, move keys to the YubiKey, or update any SSH public keys linked to the GPG key.

After having completed the environment setup, it is possible to follow any of the guides listed under "Adding proofs" in the Keyoxide ["Guides"](https://keyoxide.org/guides/) page __up until the notation is saved using the `save` command__.

At this point the public key can be exported:

$ gpg --export $KEYID > pubkey.asc


The public key can now be transferred to the computer where the GPG key is used and it is imported with:

$ gpg --import pubkey.asc


N.B.: The `showpref` command can be issued to ensure that the notions were correctly added.

It is now possible to continue following the Keyoxide guide and upload the key to WKD or to keys.openpgp.org.

# SSH

_Note that if you want to use a **YubiKey ONLY for SSH** (and don't really care about PGP/GPG), then [since OpenSSH v8.2](https://www.openssh.com/txt/release-8.2) you alternatively can simply `ssh-keygen -t ed25519-sk` (without requiring anything else from this guide!), as explained [e.g. in this guide](https://github.com/vorburger/vorburger.ch-Notes/blob/develop/security/ed25519-sk.md). Yubico also recently announced support for resident ssh keys under OpenSSH 8.2+ on their blue "security key 5 nfc" as mentioned in their [blog post](https://www.yubico.com/blog/github-now-supports-ssh-security-keys/)._

[gpg-agent](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GnuPG#SSH_agent) supports the OpenSSH ssh-agent protocol (`enable-ssh-support`), as well as Putty's Pageant on Windows (`enable-putty-support`). This means it can be used instead of the traditional ssh-agent / pageant. There are some differences from ssh-agent, notably that gpg-agent does not _cache_ keys rather it converts, encrypts and stores them - persistently - as GPG keys and then makes them available to ssh clients. Any existing ssh private keys that you'd like to keep in `gpg-agent` should be deleted after they've been imported to the GPG agent.

When importing the key to `gpg-agent`, you'll be prompted for a passphrase to protect that key within GPG's key store - you may want to use the same passphrase as the original's ssh version. GPG can both cache passphrases for a determined period (ref. `gpg-agent`'s various `cache-ttl` options), and since version 2.1 can store and fetch passphrases via the macOS keychain. Note than when removing the old private key after importing to `gpg-agent`, keep the `.pub` key file around for use in specifying ssh identities (e.g. `ssh -i /path/to/identity.pub`).

Probably the biggest thing missing from `gpg-agent`'s ssh agent support is being able to remove keys. `ssh-add -d/-D` have no effect. Instead, you need to use the `gpg-connect-agent` utility to lookup a key's keygrip, match that with the desired ssh key fingerprint (as an MD5) and then delete that keygrip. The [gnupg-users mailing list](https://lists.gnupg.org/pipermail/gnupg-users/2016-August/056499.html) has more information.

## Create configuration

Create a hardened configuration for gpg-agent by downloading [drduh/config/gpg-agent.conf](https://github.com/drduh/config/blob/master/gpg-agent.conf):

$ cd ~/.gnupg

$ wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/drduh/config/master/gpg-agent.conf

$ grep -ve "^#" gpg-agent.conf

enable-ssh-support

default-cache-ttl 60

max-cache-ttl 120

pinentry-program /usr/bin/pinentry-curses






On macOS, use `brew install pinentry-mac` and set the program path to `pinentry-program /usr/local/bin/pinentry-mac` for Intel Macs, `/opt/homebrew/bin/pinentry-mac` for ARM/Apple Silicon Macs or `pinentry-program /usr/local/MacGPG2/libexec/pinentry-mac.app/Contents/MacOS/pinentry-mac` if using MacGPG Suite.

## Replace agents

To launch `gpg-agent` for use by SSH, use the `gpg-connect-agent /bye` or `gpgconf --launch gpg-agent` commands.

Add these to the shell `rc` file:

export GPG_TTY="$(tty)"

export SSH_AUTH_SOCK="/run/user/$UID/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh"

gpg-connect-agent updatestartuptty /bye > /dev/null


On modern systems, `gpgconf --list-dirs agent-ssh-socket` will automatically set `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` to the correct value and is better than hard-coding to `run/user/$UID/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh`, if available:

export GPG_TTY="$(tty)"

export SSH_AUTH_SOCK=$(gpgconf --list-dirs agent-ssh-socket)

gpgconf --launch gpg-agent


If you use fish, the correct lines for your `config.fish` would look like this (consider putting them into the `is-interactive` block depending on your use case):

set -x GPG_TTY (tty)

set -x SSH_AUTH_SOCK (gpgconf --list-dirs agent-ssh-socket)

gpgconf --launch gpg-agent


Note that if you use `ForwardAgent` for ssh-agent forwarding, `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` only needs to be set on the *local* laptop (workstation), where the YubiKey is plugged in.  On the *remote* server that we SSH into, `ssh` will automatically set `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` to something like `/tmp/ssh-mXzCzYT2Np/agent.7541` when we connect.  We therefore do **NOT** manually set `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` on the server - doing so would break [SSH Agent Forwarding](#remote-machines-ssh-agent-forwarding).

If you use `S.gpg-agent.ssh` (see [SSH Agent Forwarding](#remote-machines-ssh-agent-forwarding) for more info), `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` should also be set on the *remote*. However, `GPG_TTY` should not be set on the *remote*, explanation specified in that section.

## Copy public key



Copy and paste the output from `ssh-add` to the server's `authorized_keys` file:

$ ssh-add -L

ssh-rsa AAAAB4NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAACAz[...]zreOKM+HwpkHzcy9DQcVG2Nw== cardno:000605553211


## (Optional) Save public key for identity file configuration

By default, SSH attempts to use all the identities available via the agent. It's often a good idea to manage exactly which keys SSH will use to connect to a server, for example to separate different roles or [to avoid being fingerprinted by untrusted ssh servers](https://blog.filippo.io/ssh-whoami-filippo-io/). To do this you'll need to use the command line argument `-i [identity_file]` or the `IdentityFile` and `IdentitiesOnly` options in `.ssh/config`.

The argument provided to `IdentityFile` is traditionally the path to the _private_ key file (for example `IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa`). For the YubiKey - indeed, in general for keys stored in an ssh agent - `IdentityFile` should point to the _public_ key file, `ssh` will select the appropriate private key from those available via the ssh agent. To prevent `ssh` from trying all keys in the agent use the `IdentitiesOnly yes` option along with one or more `-i` or `IdentityFile` options for the target host.

To reiterate, with `IdentitiesOnly yes`, `ssh` will not automatically enumerate public keys loaded into `ssh-agent` or `gpg-agent`. This means `publickey` authentication will not proceed unless explicitly named by `ssh -i [identity_file]` or in `.ssh/config` on a per-host basis.

In the case of YubiKey usage, to extract the public key from the ssh agent:

$ ssh-add -L | grep "cardno:000605553211" > ~/.ssh/id_rsa_yubikey.pub


Then you can explicitly associate this YubiKey-stored key for used with a host, `github.com` for example, as follows:

$ cat << EOF >> ~/.ssh/config

Host github.com

IdentitiesOnly yes

IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa_yubikey.pub

EOF


## Connect with public key authentication

$ ssh git@github.com -vvv

[...]

debug2: key: cardno:000605553211 (0x1234567890),

debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey

debug3: start over, passed a different list publickey

debug3: preferred gssapi-keyex,gssapi-with-mic,publickey,keyboard-interactive,password

debug3: authmethod_lookup publickey

debug3: remaining preferred: keyboard-interactive,password

debug3: authmethod_is_enabled publickey

debug1: Next authentication method: publickey

debug1: Offering RSA public key: cardno:000605553211

debug3: send_pubkey_test

debug2: we sent a publickey packet, wait for reply

debug1: Server accepts key: pkalg ssh-rsa blen 535

debug2: input_userauth_pk_ok: fp e5:de:a5:74:b1:3e:96:9b:85:46:e7:28:53:b4:82:c3

debug3: sign_and_send_pubkey: RSA e5:de:a5:74:b1:3e:96:9b:85:46:e7:28:53:b4:82:c3

debug1: Authentication succeeded (publickey).

[...]




## Import SSH keys

If there are existing SSH keys that you wish to make available via `gpg-agent`, you'll need to import them. You should then remove the original private keys. When importing the key, `gpg-agent` uses the key's filename as the key's label; this makes it easier to follow where the key originated from. In this example, we're starting with just the YubiKey's key in place and importing `~/.ssh/id_rsa`:

$ ssh-add -l

4096 SHA256:... cardno:00060123456 (RSA)

$ ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa && rm ~/.ssh/id_rsa


When invoking `ssh-add`, it will prompt for the SSH key's passphrase if present, then the `pinentry` program will prompt and confirm for a new passphrase to use to encrypt the converted key within the GPG key store.

The migrated key will be listed in `ssh-add -l`:

$ ssh-add -l

4096 SHA256:... cardno:00060123456 (RSA)

2048 SHA256:... /Users/username/.ssh/id_rsa (RSA)


Or to show the keys with MD5 fingerprints, as used by `gpg-connect-agent`'s `KEYINFO` and `DELETE_KEY` commands:

$ ssh-add -E md5 -l

4096 MD5:... cardno:00060123456 (RSA)

2048 MD5:... /Users/username/.ssh/id_rsa (RSA)


When using the key `pinentry` will be invoked to request the key's passphrase. The passphrase will be cached for up to 10 minutes idle time between uses, to a maximum of 2 hours.

## Remote Machines (SSH Agent Forwarding)



There are two methods for ssh-agent forwarding, one is provided by OpenSSH and the other is provided by GnuPG.

The latter one may be more insecure as raw socket is just forwarded (not like `S.gpg-agent.extra` with only limited functionality; if `ForwardAgent` implemented by OpenSSH is just forwarding the raw socket, then they are insecure to the same degree). But for the latter one, one convenience is that one may forward once and use this agent everywhere in the remote. So again, proceed with caution!

For example, `tmux` does not have some environment variables like `$SSH_AUTH_SOCK` when you ssh into remote and attach an old `tmux` session. In this case if you use `ForwardAgent`, you need to find the socket manually and `export SSH_AUTH_SOCK=/tmp/ssh-agent-xxx/xxxx.socket` for each shell. But with `S.gpg-agent.ssh` in fixed place, one can just use it as ssh-agent in their shell rc file.

### Use ssh-agent 

In the above steps, you have successfully configured a local ssh-agent.

You should now be able to use `ssh -A remote` on the _local_ machine to log into _remote_, and should then be able to use YubiKey as if it were connected to the remote machine. For example, using e.g. `ssh-add -l` on that remote machine should show the public key from the YubiKey (note `cardno:`).  (If you don't want to have to remember to use `ssh -A`, you can use `ForwardAgent yes` in `~/.ssh/config`.  As a security best practice, always use `ForwardAgent yes` only for a single `Hostname`, never for all servers.)

### Use S.gpg-agent.ssh

First you need to go through [Remote Machines (GPG Agent Forwarding)](#remote-machines-gpg-agent-forwarding), know the conditions for gpg-agent forwarding and know the location of `S.gpg-agent.ssh` on both the local and the remote.

You may use the command:

$ gpgconf --list-dirs agent-ssh-socket


Then in your `.ssh/config` add one sentence for that remote

Host

Hostname remote-host.tld

StreamLocalBindUnlink yes

RemoteForward /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh

# RemoteForward [remote socket] [local socket]

# Note that ForwardAgent is not wanted here!


After successfully ssh into the remote, you should check that you have `/run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh` lying there.

Then in the *remote* you can type in command line or configure in the shell rc file with:

export SSH_AUTH_SOCK="/run/user/$UID/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh"


After typing or sourcing your shell rc file, with `ssh-add -l` you should find your ssh public key now.



### Chained SSH Agent Forwarding

If you use `ssh-agent` provided by OpenSSH and want to forward it into a *third* box, you can just `ssh -A third` on the *remote*.

Meanwhile, if you use `S.gpg-agent.ssh`, assume you have gone through the steps above and have `S.gpg-agent.ssh` on the *remote*, and you would like to forward this agent into a *third* box, first you may need to configure `sshd_config` and `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` of *third* in the same way as *remote*, then in the ssh config of *remote*, add the following lines

Host third

Hostname third-host.tld

StreamLocalBindUnlink yes

RemoteForward /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh

# RemoteForward [remote socket] [local socket]

# Note that ForwardAgent is not wanted here!


You should change the path according to `gpgconf --list-dirs agent-ssh-socket` on *remote* and *third*.

## GitHub

You can use YubiKey to sign GitHub commits and tags. It can also be used for GitHub SSH authentication, allowing you to push, pull, and commit without a password.

Login to GitHub and upload SSH and PGP public keys in Settings.

To configure a signing key:

	> git config --global user.signingkey $KEYID

Make sure the user.email option matches the email address associated with the PGP identity.

Now, to sign commits or tags simply use the `-S` option. GPG will automatically query YubiKey and prompt you for a PIN.

To authenticate:



Run the following commands:

	> git config --global core.sshcommand 'plink -agent'
	> git config --global gpg.program 'C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuPG\bin\gpg.exe'

You can then change the repository url to `git@github.com:USERNAME/repository` and any authenticated commands will be authorized by YubiKey.



## OpenBSD

Install and enable tools for use with PC/SC drivers, cards, readers, then reboot to recognize YubiKey:

$ doas pkg_add pcsc-tools

$ doas rcctl enable pcscd

$ doas reboot


## Windows

Windows can already have some virtual smartcard readers installed, like the one provided for Windows Hello. To ensure your YubiKey is the correct one used by scdaemon, you should add it to its configuration. You will need your device's full name. To find your device's full name, plug in your YubiKey and open PowerShell to run the following command:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-PnpDevice -Class SoftwareDevice | Where-Object {$_.FriendlyName -like "*YubiKey*"} | Select-Object -ExpandProperty FriendlyName

Yubico YubiKey OTP+FIDO+CCID 0


The name slightly differs according to the model. Thanks to [Scott Hanselman](https://www.hanselman.com/blog/HowToSetupSignedGitCommitsWithAYubiKeyNEOAndGPGAndKeybaseOnWindows.aspx) for sharing this information.



reader-port <your yubikey device's full name, e.g. Yubico YubiKey OTP+FIDO+CCID 0>




enable-ssh-support

enable-putty-support




gpg-connect-agent killagent /bye
gpg-connect-agent /bye



Copy this key to a file for later use. It represents the public SSH key corresponding to the secret key on the YubiKey. You can upload this key to any server you wish to SSH into.

Create a shortcut that points to `gpg-connect-agent /bye` and place it in the startup folder `shell:startup` to make sure the agent starts after a system shutdown. Modify the shortcut properties so it starts in a "Minimized" window, to avoid unnecessary noise at startup.

Now you can use PuTTY for public key SSH authentication. When the server asks for public key verification, PuTTY will forward the request to GPG, which will prompt you for a PIN and authorize the login using YubiKey.

### WSL

The goal here is to make the SSH client inside WSL work together with the Windows agent you are using (gpg-agent.exe in our case). Here is what we are going to achieve:
![WSL agent architecture](media/schema_gpg.png)



#### Use ssh-agent or use S.weasel-pegant

One way to forward is just `ssh -A` (still need to eval weasel to setup local ssh-agent), and only relies on OpenSSH. In this track, `ForwardAgent` and `AllowAgentForwarding` in ssh/sshd config may be involved; However, if you use the other way (gpg ssh socket forwarding), you should not enable `ForwardAgent` in ssh config. See [SSH Agent Forwarding](#remote-machines-ssh-agent-forwarding) for more info.

Another way is to forward the gpg ssh socket, as described below.

#### Prerequisites



#### WSL configuration

Download or clone [weasel-pageant](https://github.com/vuori/weasel-pageant).

Add `eval $(/mnt/c/<path of extraction>/weasel-pageant -r -a /tmp/S.weasel-pageant)` to shell rc file. Use a named socket here so it can be used in the `RemoteForward` directive of `~/.ssh/config`. Source it with `source ~/.bashrc`.

Display the SSH key with `$ ssh-add -l`

Edit `~/.ssh/config` to add the following for each host you want to use agent forwarding:

RemoteForward <remote SSH socket path> /tmp/S.weasel-pageant




#### Remote host configuration

You may have to add the following to the shell rc file. 

export SSH_AUTH_SOCK=$(gpgconf --list-dirs agent-ssh-socket)


Add the following to `/etc/ssh/sshd_config`:

StreamLocalBindUnlink yes


And reload the SSH daemon (e.g., `sudo service sshd reload`).

Unplug YubiKey, disconnect or reboot. Log back into Windows, open a WSL console and enter `ssh-add -l` - you should see nothing.

Plug in YubiKey, enter the same command to display the ssh key.

Log into the remote host, you should have the pinentry dialog asking for the YubiKey pin.

On the remote host, type `ssh-add -l` - if you see the ssh key, that means forwarding works!



## macOS

To use gui applications on macOS, [a little bit more setup is needed](https://jms1.net/yubikey/make-ssh-use-gpg-agent.md).

Create `$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/gnupg.gpg-agent.plist` with the following contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"

"http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>Label</key>

<string>gnupg.gpg-agent</string>

<key>RunAtLoad</key>

<true/>

<key>KeepAlive</key>

<false/>

<key>ProgramArguments</key>

<array>

<string>/usr/local/MacGPG2/bin/gpg-connect-agent</string>

<string>/bye</string>

</array>

</dict>

</plist>


launchctl load gnupg.gpg-agent.plist


Create `$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/gnupg.gpg-agent-symlink.plist` with the following contens:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/ProperyList-1.0/dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

<dict>

<key>Label</key>

<string>gnupg.gpg-agent-symlink</string>

<key>ProgramArguments</key>

<array>

<string>/bin/sh</string>

<string>-c</string>

<string>/bin/ln -sf $HOME/.gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh $SSH_AUTH_SOCK</string>

</array>

<key>RunAtLoad</key>

<true/>

</dict>

</plist>


launchctl load gnupg.gpg-agent-symlink.plist


You will need to either reboot, or log out and log back in, in order to activate these changes.

# Remote Machines (GPG Agent Forwarding)

This section is different from ssh-agent forwarding in [SSH](#ssh) as gpg-agent forwarding has a broader usage, not only limited to ssh.

To use YubiKey to sign a git commit on a remote host, or signing email/decrypt files on a remote host, configure and use GPG Agent Forwarding. To ssh through another network, especially to push to/pull from GitHub using ssh, see [Remote Machines (SSH Agent forwarding)](#remote-machines-ssh-agent-forwarding) for more info.

To do this, you need access to the remote machine and the YubiKey has to be set up on the host machine.

After gpg-agent forwarding, it is nearly the same as if YubiKey was inserted in the remote. Hence configurations except `gpg-agent.conf` for the remote can be the same as those for the local.



On the remote machine, edit `/etc/ssh/sshd_config` to set `StreamLocalBindUnlink yes`



Import public keys to the remote machine. This can be done by fetching from a keyserver. On the local machine, copy the public keyring to the remote machine:

$ scp ~/.gnupg/pubring.kbx remote:~/.gnupg/


On modern distributions, such as Fedora 30, there is typically no need to also set `RemoteForward` in `~/.ssh/config` as detailed in the next chapter, because the right thing happens automatically.

If any error happens (or there is no `gpg-agent.socket` in the remote) for modern distributions, you may go through the configuration steps in the next section.

## Steps for older distributions

On the local machine, run:

$ gpgconf --list-dirs agent-extra-socket


This should return a path to agent-extra-socket - `/run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.extra` - though on older Linux distros (and macOS) it may be `/home/<user>/.gnupg/S/gpg-agent.extra`

Find the agent socket on the **remote** machine:

$ gpgconf --list-dirs agent-socket


This should return a path such as `/run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent`

Finally, enable agent forwarding for a given machine by adding the following to the local machine's ssh config file `~/.ssh/config` (your agent sockets may be different):

Host

Hostname remote-host.tld

StreamLocalBindUnlink yes

RemoteForward /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.extra

# RemoteForward [remote socket] [local socket]


If you're still having problems, it may be necessary to edit `gpg-agent.conf` file on the *local* machines to add the following information:

pinentry-program /usr/bin/pinentry-gtk-2

extra-socket /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.extra






See [Issue #85](https://github.com/drduh/YubiKey-Guide/issues/85) for more information and troubleshooting.

## Chained GPG Agent Forwarding

Assume you have gone through the steps above and have `S.gpg-agent` on the *remote*, and you would like to forward this agent into a *third* box, first you may need to configure `sshd_config` of *third* in the same way as *remote*, then in the ssh config of *remote*, add the following lines:

Host third

Hostname third-host.tld

StreamLocalBindUnlink yes

RemoteForward /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent /run/user/1000/gnupg/S.gpg-agent

# RemoteForward [remote socket] [local socket]


You should change the path according to `gpgconf --list-dirs agent-socket` on *remote* and *third*.



# Using Multiple Keys

To use a single identity with multiple YubiKeys - or to replace a lost card with another - issue this command to switch keys:

$ gpg-connect-agent "scd serialno" "learn --force" /bye


Alternatively, use a script to delete the GnuPG shadowed key, where the card serial number is stored (see [GnuPG #T2291](https://dev.gnupg.org/T2291)):

$ cat >> ~/scripts/remove-keygrips.sh <<EOF

!/usr/bin/env bash

test ! "$@" && echo "Specify a key." && exit 1

KEYGRIPS="$(gpg --with-keygrip --list-secret-keys $@ | grep Keygrip | awk '{print $3}')"

for keygrip in $KEYGRIPS

do

rm "$HOME/.gnupg/private-keys-v1.d/$keygrip.key" 2> /dev/null

done

gpg --card-status

EOF

$ chmod +x ~/scripts/remove-keygrips.sh

$ ~/scripts/remove-keygrips.sh $KEYID


See discussion in Issues [#19](https://github.com/drduh/YubiKey-Guide/issues/19) and [#112](https://github.com/drduh/YubiKey-Guide/issues/112) for more information and troubleshooting steps.

# Require touch



By default, YubiKey will perform encryption, signing and authentication operations without requiring any action from the user, after the key is plugged in and first unlocked with the PIN.

To require a touch for each key operation, install [YubiKey Manager](https://developers.yubico.com/yubikey-manager/) and recall the Admin PIN:



Authentication:

$ ykman openpgp keys set-touch aut on


Signing:

$ ykman openpgp keys set-touch sig on


Encryption:

$ ykman openpgp keys set-touch enc on


Depending on how the YubiKey is going to be used, you may want to look at the policy options for each of these and adjust the above commands accordingly. They can be viewed with the following command:

$ ykman openpgp keys set-touch -h

Usage: ykman openpgp keys set-touch [OPTIONS] KEY POLICY

Set touch policy for OpenPGP keys.

KEY Key slot to set (sig, enc, aut or att).

POLICY Touch policy to set (on, off, fixed, cached or cached-fixed).

The touch policy is used to require user interaction for all operations using the private key on the YubiKey. The touch policy is set individually for each key slot. To see the current touch policy, run

$ ykman openpgp info

Touch policies:

Off (default) No touch required

On Touch required

Fixed Touch required, can't be disabled without a full reset

Cached Touch required, cached for 15s after use

Cached-Fixed Touch required, cached for 15s after use, can't be disabled

without a full reset

Options:

-a, --admin-pin TEXT Admin PIN for OpenPGP.

-f, --force Confirm the action without prompting.

-h, --help Show this message and exit.


If the YubiKey is going to be used within an email client that opens and verifies encrypted mail, `Cached` or `Cached-Fixed` may be desirable.

YubiKey will blink when it is waiting for a touch. On Linux you can also use [yubikey-touch-detector](https://github.com/maximbaz/yubikey-touch-detector) to have an indicator or notification that YubiKey is waiting for a touch.

# Email

GPG keys on YubiKey can be used with ease to encrypt and/or sign emails and attachments using [Thunderbird](https://www.thunderbird.net/), [Enigmail](https://www.enigmail.net) and [Mutt](http://www.mutt.org/). Thunderbird supports OAuth 2 authentication and can be used with Gmail. See [this guide](https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/how-use-pgp-linux) from EFF for detailed instructions. Mutt has OAuth 2 support since version 2.0.

## Mailvelope on macOS

[Mailvelope](https://www.mailvelope.com/en) allows GPG keys on YubiKey to be used with Gmail and others.



On macOS, install gpgme using Homebrew:

$ brew install gpgme


To allow Chrome to run gpgme, edit `~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/gpgmejson.json` and add:

{

"name": "gpgmejson",

"description": "Integration with GnuPG",

"path": "/usr/local/bin/gpgme-json",

"type": "stdio",

"allowed_origins": [

"chrome-extension://kajibbejlbohfaggdiogboambcijhkke/"

]

}


Edit the default path to allow Chrome to find GPG:

$ sudo launchctl config user path /usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin


Finally, install the [Mailvelope extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mailvelope/kajibbejlbohfaggdiogboambcijhkke) from the Chrome app store.

## Mutt

Mutt has both CLI and TUI interfaces, and the latter provides powerful functions for daily email processing. In addition, PGP can be integrated such that signing/encryption/verifying/decryption can be done without leaving TUI.

To enable GnuPG support, one can just use the config file `gpg.rc` provided by mutt, usually located at `/usr/share/doc/mutt/samples/gpg.rc` after installation. One only needs to edit the file on options like `pgp_default_key`, `pgp_sign_as` and `pgp_autosign`. After editting one can `source` this rcfile in their main `muttrc` to use it.



# Reset

If PIN attempts are exceeded, the card is locked and must be [reset](https://developers.yubico.com/ykneo-openpgp/ResetApplet.html) and set up again using the encrypted backup.

Copy the following script to a file and run `gpg-connect-agent -r $file` to lock and terminate the card. Then re-insert YubiKey to reset.

/hex

scd serialno

scd apdu 00 20 00 81 08 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

scd apdu 00 20 00 81 08 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

scd apdu 00 20 00 81 08 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

scd apdu 00 20 00 81 08 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

scd apdu 00 20 00 83 08 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

scd apdu 00 20 00 83 08 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

scd apdu 00 20 00 83 08 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

scd apdu 00 20 00 83 08 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40

scd apdu 00 e6 00 00

scd apdu 00 44 00 00

/echo Card has been successfully reset.


Or use `ykman` (sometimes in `~/.local/bin/`):

$ ykman openpgp reset

WARNING! This will delete all stored OpenPGP keys and data and restore factory settings? [y/N]: y

Resetting OpenPGP data, don't remove your YubiKey...

Success! All data has been cleared and default PINs are set.

PIN: 123456

Reset code: NOT SET

Admin PIN: 12345678


# Recovery after reset

If for whatever reason you need to reinstate your YubiKey from your master key backup (such as the one stored on an encrypted USB described in [Backup](#backup)), follow the following steps in [Rotating keys](#rotating-keys) to setup your environment, and then follow the steps of again [Configure Smartcard](#configure-smartcard).

Before you unmount your backup, ask yourself if you should make another one just in case.

# Notes

1. YubiKey has two configurations: one invoked with a short press, and the other with a long press. By default, the short-press mode is configured for HID OTP - a brief touch will emit an OTP string starting with `cccccccc`. If you rarely use the OTP mode, you can swap it to the second configuration via the YubiKey Personalization tool. If you *never* use OTP, you can disable it entirely using the [YubiKey Manager](https://developers.yubico.com/yubikey-manager) application (note, this not the similarly named older YubiKey NEO Manager).
1. Programming YubiKey for GPG keys still lets you use its other configurations - [U2F](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_2nd_Factor), [OTP](https://www.yubico.com/faq/what-is-a-one-time-password-otp/) and [static password](https://www.yubico.com/products/services-software/personalization-tools/static-password/) modes, for example.
1. Setting an expiry essentially forces you to manage your subkeys and announces to the rest of the world that you are doing so. Setting an expiry on a primary key is ineffective for protecting the key from loss - whoever has the primary key can simply extend its expiry period. Revocation certificates are [better suited](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/14718/does-openpgp-key-expiration-add-to-security/79386#79386) for this purpose. It may be appropriate for your use case to set expiry dates on subkeys.
1. To switch between two or more identities on different keys - unplug the first key and restart gpg-agent, ssh-agent and pinentry with `pkill gpg-agent ; pkill ssh-agent ; pkill pinentry ; eval $(gpg-agent --daemon --enable-ssh-support)`, then plug in the other key and run `gpg-connect-agent updatestartuptty /bye` - then it should be ready for use.
1. To use yubikeys on more than one computer with gpg: After the initial setup, import the public keys on the second workstation. Confirm gpg can see the card via `gpg --card-status`, Trust the public keys you imported ultimately (as above). At this point `gpg --list-secret-keys` should show your (trusted) key.

# Troubleshooting

- Use `man gpg` to understand GPG options and command-line flags.

- To get more information on potential errors, restart the `gpg-agent` process with debug output to the console with `pkill gpg-agent; gpg-agent --daemon --no-detach -v -v --debug-level advanced --homedir ~/.gnupg`.

- If you encounter problems connecting to YubiKey with GPG - try unplugging and re-inserting YubiKey, and restarting the `gpg-agent` process.

- If you receive the error, `gpg: decryption failed: secret key not available` - you likely need to install GnuPG version 2.x. Another possibility is that there is a problem with the PIN, e.g. it is too short or blocked.

- If you receive the error, `Yubikey core error: no yubikey present` - make sure the YubiKey is inserted correctly. It should blink once when plugged in.

- If you still receive the error, `Yubikey core error: no yubikey present` - you likely need to install newer versions of yubikey-personalize as outlined in [Required software](#required-software).

- If you receive the error, `Yubikey core error: write error` - YubiKey is likely locked. Install and run yubikey-personalization-gui to unlock it.

- If you receive the error, `Key does not match the card's capability` - you likely need to use 2048 bit RSA key sizes.

- If you receive the error, `sign_and_send_pubkey: signing failed: agent refused operation` - make sure you replaced `ssh-agent` with `gpg-agent` as noted above.

- If you still receive the error, `sign_and_send_pubkey: signing failed: agent refused operation` - [run the command](https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=835394) `gpg-connect-agent updatestartuptty /bye`

- If you still receive the error, `sign_and_send_pubkey: signing failed: agent refused operation` - edit `~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf` to set a valid `pinentry` program path, e.g. `pinentry-program /usr/local/bin/pinentry-mac` on macOS.

- If you receive the error, `The agent has no identities` from `ssh-add -L`, make sure you have installed and started `scdaemon`.

- If you receive the error, `Error connecting to agent: No such file or directory` from `ssh-add -L`, the UNIX file socket that the agent uses for communication with other processes may not be set up correctly. On Debian, try `export SSH_AUTH_SOCK="/run/user/$UID/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh"`. Also see that `gpgconf --list-dirs agent-ssh-socket` is returning single path, to existing `S.gpg-agent.ssh` socket.

- If you receive the error, `Permission denied (publickey)`, increase ssh verbosity with the `-v` flag and ensure the public key from the card is being offered: `Offering public key: RSA SHA256:abcdefg... cardno:00060123456`. If it is, ensure you are connecting as the right user on the target system, rather than as the user on the local system. Otherwise, be sure `IdentitiesOnly` is not [enabled](https://github.com/FiloSottile/whosthere#how-do-i-stop-it) for this host.

- If SSH authentication still fails - add up to 3 `-v` flags to the `ssh` client to increase verbosity.

- If it still fails, it may be useful to stop the background `sshd` daemon process service on the server (e.g. using `sudo systemctl stop sshd`) and instead start it in the foreground with extensive debugging output, using `/usr/sbin/sshd -eddd`. Note that the server will not fork and will only process one connection, therefore has to be re-started after every `ssh` test.

- If you receive the error, `Please insert the card with serial number: *` see [using of multiple keys](#using-multiple-keys).

- If you receive the error, `There is no assurance this key belongs to the named user` or `encryption failed: Unusable public key` use `gpg --edit-key` to set `trust` to `5 = I trust ultimately`.
  - If, when you try the above `--edit-key` command, you get the error 
    `Need the secret key to do this.`, you can manually specify trust for the key in
    `~/.gnupg/gpg.conf` by using the `trust-key [your key ID]` directive.

- If, when using a previously provisioned YubiKey on a new computer with `pass`, you see the
  following error on `pass insert`:
    ```
    gpg: 0x0000000000000000: There is no assurance this key belongs to the named user
    gpg: [stdin]: encryption failed: Unusable public key
    ```
    you need to adjust the trust associated with the key. See the above bullet.

- If you receive the error, `gpg: 0x0000000000000000: skipped: Unusable public key`, `signing failed: Unusable secret key`, or `encryption failed: Unusable public key` the sub-key may be expired and can no longer be used to encrypt nor sign messages. It can still be used to decrypt and authenticate, however.

- Refer to Yubico article [Troubleshooting Issues with GPG](https://support.yubico.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013714479-Troubleshooting-Issues-with-GPG) for additional guidance.

# Alternatives



# Links


  * https://developers.yubico.com/PGP/Card_edit.html