gpg2 - Unusable public key -No assurance key belongs to named user

Question

I'm using pass as my main password manager(which uses gpg2), but since a few days i can't create new keys, I always get the error message:

There is no assurance this key belongs to the named user
[stdin]: encryption failed: Unusable public key

I already set the the trust of my key to ultimate als suggested here

And also checked that my key is not expired. Any suggestions how to fix this or should i get a new key?

I voted to migrate your question to [su]. I think it might be a better fit there. — Tobi Nary, Feb 21 '18 at 15:22

score 8 · Answer 1 · answered May 23 '18 at 19:24

8

do gpg --edit-key <KEY_ID> and gpg>trust

If you're sure about the authenticity of your key, select the trust level 5.

answered May 23 '18 at 19:24

1

As i mentioned in my question i already tried this and it didn't resolve my issue. I solved it running pass init again on the directory with my gpg-key – MonoGenerator May 25 '18 at 11:13

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 22 '20 at 12:13

I had simillar issue. In my case I generated the GPG key for RSA (sign only).

It can be fixed either by regenerating it for RSA and RSA (default) of by adding a subkey for RSA (encrypt only).

The second option can be done by gpg --edit-key <KEY_ID> and gpg> addkey and select RSA (encrypt only)

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered May 25 '18 at 11:19

2

Solved the problem by running:pass init <gpg-id> which reencrypted the existing keys. Afterwards i was able to decrypt my keys again normaly

answered May 25 '18 at 11:19

MonoGenerator

3 Answers3