New beta

[Werner Koch]

On Sun, 21 Sep 2014 11:59, peter at digitalbrains.com said:

> What is the net effect when GnuPG 1.4 encounters, for example, such a key:
>
> RSA pubkey with Certify and Sign capabilities
> RSA subkey with Encrypt capability, created 2014-04-01
> ECC subkey with Encrypt capability, created 2014-09-21
>
> Everything is non-expired. If I were to try to encrypt to it, would 1.4 pick the
> RSA subkey because it is valid and understandable to it, or would it fail to
> encrypt to this key because it can't parse ECC keys?

I did some tests:

  $ gpg1 -k 9613A41C
  pub   1024R/9613A41C 2014-09-22
  uid                  RSA+RSA key created by gpg1 (test)
  sub   1024R/0CA0BC98 2014-09-22
  sub      0e/A519E3EC 2014-09-22
  
  $ ../g10/gpg2 -k 9613A41C
  pub   rsa1024/9613A41C 2014-09-22
  uid       [ultimate] RSA+RSA key created by gpg1 (test)
  sub   rsa1024/0CA0BC98 2014-09-22
  sub   nistp256/A519E3EC 2014-09-22 nistp256

You can't see it in this output but the ECC keys has been created a
minute or so after the standard key (with gpg2 of course).  The initial
keyring was created by "gpg1 --export >pubring.gpg" and then gpg1 was
used to create a new standard key.  I redacted some diagnostics.

  $ fortune | ../g10/gpg2 -evar 9613A41C >x
  gpg: using subkey A519E3EC instead of primary key 9613A41C
  gpg: using PGP trust model
  gpg: This key belongs to us
  gpg: reading from '[stdin]'
  gpg: writing to stdout
  gpg: ECDH/AES256 encrypted for: "A519E3EC RSA+RSA key created by gpg1 (test)"

  $ ../g10/gpg2 <x
  gpg: encrypted with 256-bit ECDH key, ID A519E3EC, created 2014-09-22
        "RSA+RSA key created by gpg1 (test)"
  I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute --
  where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic)
  how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom
  to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or
  political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely
  because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the
  people who might elect him.
  - from John F. Kennedy's address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association
    September 12, 1960.

As expected the ECC key was used.  

  $ gpg1 <x
  gpg: encrypted with 0-bit [?] key, ID A519E3EC, created 2014-09-22
        "RSA+RSA key created by gpg1 (test)"
  gpg: public key decryption failed: unknown pubkey algorithm
  gpg: decryption failed: secret key not available

and gpg1 is not able to decrypt it.
  
  $ fortune | gpg1 -evar 9613A41C >x
  gpg: using subkey 0CA0BC98 instead of primary key 9613A41C
  gpg: using PGP trust model
  gpg: This key belongs to us
  gpg: reading from `[stdin]'
  gpg: writing to stdout
  gpg: RSA/AES256 encrypted for: "0CA0BC98 RSA+RSA key created by gpg1 (test)"

The RSA key was used.

  $ gpg1 <x
  You need a passphrase to unlock the secret key for
  user: "RSA+RSA key created by gpg1 (test)"
  1024-bit RSA key, ID 0CA0BC98, created 2014-09-22 (main key ID 9613A41C)
  
  gpg: encrypted with 1024-bit RSA key, ID 0CA0BC98, created 2014-09-22
        "RSA+RSA key created by gpg1 (test)"
  ... eighty years later he could still recall with the young pang of his
  original joy his falling in love with Ada.
                  -- Nabokov

and gpg1 is able to decrypt it.
  


Shalom-Salam,

   Werner

-- 
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