Whonix ™ Main, VirtualBox, APT Repository and Source Code Signing Key | Whonix ™ KVM Signing Key

Introduction[edit]

Since all Whonix ™ VirtualBox releases are signed with the same key, it is unnecessary to verify the key every time a new release is announced. Trust in the key might gradually increase over time, but cryptographic signatures must still be verified every time a new release is downloaded.

This page is strongly related to the Placing Trust in Whonix ™ page.

Digital signatures can increase security but this requires knowledge. Learn more about digital software signature verification.

Download the OpenPGP Key[edit]

Optional: Complete the steps below if unfamiliar with GnuPG or if they haven't already been performed.

Have GnuPG initialize your user data folder. ^[1]

gpg --fingerprint

gpg --fingerprint

Set warning free permissions.

chmod --recursive og-rwx ~/.gnupg

chmod --recursive og-rwx ~/.gnupg

1. Securely download Patrick Schleizer's (adrelanos') OpenPGP key. ^[2] ^[3]

derivative.asc

2. Store the key as derivative.asc.

3. Check fingerprints/owners without importing anything. ^[4]

gpg --keyid-format long --import --import-options show-only --with-fingerprint derivative.asc

gpg --keyid-format long --import --import-options show-only --with-fingerprint derivative.asc

4. Verify the output.

The most important check is confirming the key fingerprint exactly matches the output below. ^[5]

      Key fingerprint = 916B 8D99 C38E AF5E 8ADC  7A2A 8D66 066A 2EEA CCDA

The message gpg: key 8D66066A2EEACCDA: 104 signatures not checked due to missing keys is related to the The OpenPGP Web of Trust. Advanced users can learn more about this below.

Warning:

Do not continue if the fingerprint does not match! This risks using infected or erroneous files! The whole point of verification is to confirm file integrity.

5. Import the key.

gpg --import derivative.asc

gpg --import derivative.asc

The output should include the key was imported.

gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1

If the Whonix ™ signing key was already imported in the past, the output should include the key is unchanged.

gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:              unchanged: 1

If the following message appears at the end of the output.

gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found

This extra message does not relate to the Whonix ™ signing key itself, but instead usually means the user has not created an OpenPGP key yet, which is of no importance when verifying virtual machine images.

Analyze the other messages as usual.

6. Advanced users can check Web of Trust further below for better security.

7. Complete the Whonix ™ verification steps.

If verifying Whonix ™ images, navigate to the relevant verification page below to finish the process:

Advanced Users[edit]

OpenPGP Web of Trust[edit]

A few people have signed Patrick Schleizer's (adrelanos') OpenPGP key in The OpenPGP Web of Trust.

Jan Dittberner ^[6] (Debian Developer) ^[7] signed Patrick's key. So did intrigeri (Tails developer, Debian Developer); Peter Palfrader (Debian Developer); Richard King; and Michael Carbone (accessnow.org).

Users relying on Debian or one of the many Debian derivatives (like Ubuntu) already trust apt, the APT repository of the relevant distribution. This means the Debian keyring can be installed as a trusted source for obtaining Jan's, intrigeri's or Peter's key, to check their signature on Patrick's key.

1. Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

sudo apt update

2. Install the Debian keyring.

sudo apt install debian-keyring

sudo apt install debian-keyring

3. Extract a signer's key from the Debian keyring and import it into your own keyring.

Here is an example using Jan's key.

gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring /usr/share/keyrings/debian-keyring.gpg --armor --export B2FF1D95CE8F7A22DF4CF09BA73E0055558FB8DD | gpg --import

gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring /usr/share/keyrings/debian-keyring.gpg --armor --export B2FF1D95CE8F7A22DF4CF09BA73E0055558FB8DD | gpg --import

4. Optional: Try to establish a better trust path to the signer by checking signatures on the signer's key.

Check signatures on Patrick's key.

gpg --check-sigs 916B8D99C38EAF5E8ADC7A2A8D66066A2EEACCDA

gpg --check-sigs 916B8D99C38EAF5E8ADC7A2A8D66066A2EEACCDA

The output of the above command should show signatures on Patrick's key, which should include the signer's signature.

Download the signify Key[edit]

Advanced users only!

^[8]

untrusted comment: Patrick Schleizer adrelanos@riseup.net signify public key
RWQ6KRormNEETq+M8IysxRe/HAWlqZRlO8u7ACIiv5poAW0ztsirOjCQ

Troubleshooting[edit]

When a GPG error is encountered, first try a web search for the relevant error. The security stackexchange website ^[archive] can also help to resolve GPG problems. Describe the problem thoroughly, but be sure it is GPG-related and not specific to Whonix ™.

More help resources are available on the Support page.

License[edit]

Whonix ™ Main/Project Signing Key wiki page Copyright (C) Amnesia <amnesia at boum dot org>
Whonix ™ Main/Project Signing Key wiki page Copyright (C) 2012 - 2021 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LP <adrelanos@whonix.org>
This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details see the wiki source code.
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; see the wiki source code for details.

Footnotes[edit]

↑ This will fix eventual gpg: WARNING: unsafe ownership warnings.
↑
```
curl --tlsv1.3 --proto =https --max-time 180 --output derivative.asc https://www.whonix.org/derivative.asc
```
curl --tlsv1.3 --proto =https --max-time 180 --output derivative.asc https://www.whonix.org/derivative.asc
↑
↑ https://forums.whonix.org/t/gpg-show-key-warning-gpg-warning-no-command-supplied-trying-to-guess-what-you-mean/7859 ^[archive]
↑ Minor changes in the output such as new uids (email addresses) or newer expiration dates are inconsequential.
↑ http://www.dittberner.info/de/content/jan-dittberner ^[archive]
↑ https://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=Jan+Dittberner ^[archive]