GPG - Invalid packet

[Steve Butler]

I had a similar problem with files coming from a mainframe environment.
They threw some switch that made the file a multiple of their sector length.
The trailing bytes became all hex zeros.  I edited the file to remove the
trailing bytes and GnuPG worked fine.  The sender never did admit that the
problem was theirs but subsequent files did not end at a sector boundary.
See if the file size is a multiple of 256 bytes.

The other thing that bites (or should I say bytes <<grin>>) is when somebody
ships the file to us in ASCII mode without using the --ascii-armor.  Since
our FTP server is running on Linux, any CR/LF combinations are transformed
into just the LF.  That will stop the decryption with all sorts of strange
results (depending on where the bytes were dropped).  

Right now none of our senders are using the --ascii-armor switch and we are
not using it for our recipients.  Been doing this for a couple of years.
Once it is set up and automated (on both ends) then it works like a charm.
But, everybody has to handle the file as binary.  Some folks have a hard
time grasping that concept -- especially one un-named vendor up here in the
USA Pacific Northwest (not Billy boy).

-----Original Message-----
From: Harper, Jason (GE Consumer Finance) [mailto:jason.harper at ge.com]
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 6:33 AM
To: Jim Hendrick; gnupg-users at gnupg.org
Subject: RE: GPG - Invalid packet


Jim,

No ascii-armor was used. The encryption command that was used on the NAI
system was:

pgp --encrypt --user mypublickey --encrypt-to-self datafile.dat  

jason

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Hendrick [mailto:jrhendri at maine.rr.com] 
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 9:20 AM
To: Harper, Jason (GE Consumer Finance); gnupg-users at gnupg.org
Subject: RE: GPG - Invalid packet

do you know if it was encrypted with ascii-armor?

I have seen problems with non-ascii systems sending files with wierd
characters.

Jim


> -----Original Message-----
> From: gnupg-users-bounces at gnupg.org
> [mailto:gnupg-users-bounces at gnupg.org]On Behalf Of Harper, Jason (GE 
> Consumer Finance)
> Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 8:56 AM
> To: gnupg-users at gnupg.org
> Subject: GPG - Invalid packet
> 
> 
> <<my deepest apologies if this got posted twice. I was [for some 
> reason] not subscribed on the correct e-mail address to post the first

> time>>
> 
> Dear Group,
> 
> I've been using gpg to do file encryption with partners of ours, but 
> we just ran into two odd issues:
> 
> 1. a GPG "don't know: invalid packet (ctb-1f) & (ctb-40) 2. a GPG 
> "problem reading source"
> 
> I've done the google thing on this, but I'm not making much progress.
> Does the list have any pointers for me to look at? We've not run into 
> this before.
> 
> The source file is being encrypted, and compressed and signed by an 
> NAI
> 7.11 Business PGP system, and we are opening on a Solaris 8 box with 
> gpg 1.2.3.  I've sanitized some of the data to protect the innocent..
> 
> Sample one:
> 
> gpg --output ce331 --decrypt CE_Con_1040326.dat
> gpg: WARNING: using insecure memory!
> gpg: please see http://www.gnupg.org/faq.html for more information
> gpg: encrypted with 3072-bit ELG-E key, ID xxxxxxxx, created
> 2001-08-23
>       "KEYNAME <key at mycorp.com>"
> gpg: encrypted with 1024-bit ELG-E key, ID xxxxxxxx, created
> 2004-03-25
>       "key at sample.com (COMPANY decription key) <key at sample.com>"
> gpg: Signature made Fri Mar 26 14:20:29 2004 EST using DSA key ID 
> xxxxxxxx
> gpg: Good signature from "COMPANY <key at sample.com>"
> gpg:                 aka "COMPANY <key at sample.com>"
> gpg: [don't know]: invalid packet (ctb=1f)
> gpg: WARNING: message was not integrity protected
> gpg: [don't know]: invalid packet (ctb=40)
>  
> Then it just ends, but we end up with a plain text file. 
> Accuracy of the
> file is unkown.  What is the CTB=1f and CTB=40
> 
> Sample two:
> 
> ->> gpg --output au331 --decrypt  AU_Con_1040331.dat
> gpg: WARNING: using insecure memory!
> gpg: please see http://www.gnupg.org/faq.html for more information
> gpg: encrypted with 3072-bit ELG-E key, ID xxxxxxxx, created
> 2001-08-23
>       "COMPANY <key at mycorp.com>"
> gpg: encrypted with 1024-bit ELG-E key, ID xxxxxxxx, created
> 2004-03-25
>       "key at sample.com (COMPANY decription key) <key at sample.com>"
> gpg: Signature made Fri Mar 26 14:20:46 2004 EST using DSA key ID 
> xxxxxxx
> gpg: Good signature from "COMPANY <key at sample.com>"
> gpg:                 aka "COMPANY <key at sample.com>"
> File `au331' exists. Overwrite (y/N)? yes
> gpg: Problem reading source (2386467048 bytes remaining)
> gpg: handle plaintext failed: file read error
> gpg: WARNING: message was not integrity protected
> 
> Thanks for any and all assistance.
> 
> jason
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> Gnupg-users at gnupg.org
> http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users
> 


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