Provided by:
cryptsetup-bin_1.4.1-2ubuntu4_i386 
NAME
cryptsetup - setup cryptographic volumes for dm-crypt (including LUKS
extension)
SYNOPSIS
cryptsetup <options> <action> <action args>
DESCRIPTION
cryptsetup is used to conveniently setup dm-crypt managed device-mapper
mappings.
PLAIN MODE
For basic (plain) dm-crypt mappings, there are four operations.
create <name> <device>
creates a mapping with <name> backed by device <device>.
<options> can be [--hash, --cipher, --verify-passphrase, --key-
file, --key-size, --offset, --skip, --size, --readonly,
--shared, --allow-discards]
remove <name>
removes an existing mapping <name>.
status <name>
reports the status for the mapping <name>.
resize <name>
resizes an active mapping <name>.
If --size (in sectors) is not specified, the size of the
underlying block device is used.
LUKS EXTENSION
LUKS, Linux Unified Key Setup, is a standard for hard disk encryption.
It standardizes a partition header as well as the format of the bulk
data. LUKS can manage multiple passwords that can be individually
revoked and effectively scrubbed from persistent media, and that are
protected against dictionary attacks with PBKDF2.
Each password, usually called a key in this document, is associated
with a slot, of which there are typically 8. Key operations that do
not specify a slot affect the first slot matching the supplied key.
These are valid LUKS actions:
luksFormat <device> [<key file>]
initializes a LUKS partition and sets the initial key, either
via prompting or via <key file>.
<options> can be [--cipher, --verify-passphrase, --key-size,
--key-slot, --key-file (takes precedence over optional second
argument), --keyfile-size, --use-random | --use-urandom,
--uuid].
luksOpen <device> <name>
opens the LUKS partition <device> and sets up a mapping <name>
after successful verification of the supplied key material
(either via key file by --key-file, or via prompting).
<options> can be [--key-file, --keyfile-size, --readonly,
--allow-discards, --header, --key-slot].
luksClose <name>
identical to remove.
luksSuspend <name>
suspends active device (all IO operations are frozen) and wipes
encryption key from kernel. Kernel version 2.6.19 or later is
required.
After that operation you have to use luksResume to reinstate
encryption key (and resume device) or luksClose to remove mapped
device.
WARNING: never try to suspend device where is the cryptsetup
binary itself.
<options> can be [--header].
luksResume <name>
Resumes suspended device and reinstates encryption key. You will
need provide passphrase identical to luksOpen command (using
prompting or key file).
<options> can be [--key-file, --keyfile-size, --header]
luksAddKey <device> [<new key file>]
add a new key file/passphrase. An existing passphrase or key
file (via --key-file) must be supplied. The key file with the
new material is supplied as a positional argument.
<options> can be [--key-file, --keyfile-size, --new-keyfile-
size, --key-slot].
luksRemoveKey <device> [<key file>]
remove supplied key or key file from LUKS device in the manner
of luksKillSlot.
luksChangeKey <device> [<new key file>]
change existing key file or passphrase. An existing passphrase
or key file (via --key-file) must be supplied. The key file
with the new material is supplied as a positional argument.
If no key slot is specified (and there is still free key slot on
device) new slot is allocated before the old is purged.
If --key-slot option is specified (or there is no free slot)
command will overwrite existing slot.
WARNING: Be sure you have another slot active or header backup
when using explicit key slot (so you can unlock the device even
after possible media failure during slot swap).
<options> can be [--key-file, --keyfile-size,--new-keyfile-size,
--key-slot].
luksKillSlot <device> <key slot number>
wipe key with number <key slot> from LUKS device. A remaining
passphrase or key file (via --key-file) must be supplied.
<options> can be [--key-file, --keyfile-size].
luksUUID <device>
print UUID, if <device> has a LUKS header.
set new UUID if --uuid option is specified.
isLuks <device>
returns true, if <device> is a LUKS partition. Otherwise, false.
luksDump <device>
dumps the header information of a LUKS partition.
If --dump-master-key option is used, the volume (master) key is
dumped instead of keyslot info.
Because this information can be used to access encrypted device
without passphrase knowledge (even without LUKS header) use this
option very carefully.
Dump with volume key (either printed or stored to file) should
be always stored encrypted and on safe place.
LUKS passphrase or key file is required for volume key dump.
<options> can be [--dump-master-key, --key-file, --keyfile-
size].
luksHeaderBackup <device> --header-backup-file <file>
Stores binary backup of LUKS header and keyslot areas.
WARNING: Please note that with this backup file (and old
passphrase knowledge) you can decrypt data even if old
passphrase was wiped from real device.
Also note that anti-forensic splitter is not used during
manipulation with backup file.
luksHeaderRestore <device> --header-backup-file <file>
Restores binary backup of LUKS header and keyslot areas from
specified file.
WARNING: All the keyslot areas are overwritten, only active
keyslots form backup file are available after issuing this
command.
This command allows restoring header if device do not contain
LUKS header or if the master key size and data offset in LUKS
header on device match the backup file.
For more information about LUKS, see
http://code.google.com/p/cryptsetup/wiki/Specification
loop-AES EXTENSION
cryptsetup supports mapping of loop-AES encrypted partition using
compatible dm-crypt mode.
loopaesOpen <device> <name> --key-file <keyfile>
opens the loop-AES <device> and sets up a mapping <name>.
N.B. If key file is in GPG encrypted format, you have to use
--key-file=- and decrypt it before use. gpg --decrypt <keyfile>
| cryptsetup loopaesOpen --key-file=- <device> <name>
Use --key-file to specify proper key length, default compiled-in
parameters are visible in --help output.
Use --offset to specify device offset. Note the units need to be
specified in 512 bytes sectors.
Use --skip to specify IV offset. If original device used offset
and not used it in IV sector calculations, you have to
explicitly use --skip 0 in addition to offset parameter.
Use --hash to override hash function for password hashing
(otherwise it is detected according to key size).
<options> can be [--key-file, --key-size, --offset, --skip,
--hash, --readonly, --allow-discards].
loopaesClose <name>
identical to remove.
For more information about loop-AES, see http://loop-
aes.sourceforge.net
OPTIONS
--verbose, -v
Print more verbose messages.
--debug
Run in debug mode with full diagnostic logs.
--hash, -h
For create and loopaesOpen action specifies hash to use for
password hashing.
For luksFormat action specifies hash used in LUKS key setup
scheme and volume key digest.
WARNING: setting hash other than sha1 causes LUKS device
incompatible with older version of cryptsetup.
The hash string is passed to libgcrypt, so all hash algorithms
are supported (for luksFormat algorithm must provide at least 20
byte long hash). Default is set during compilation, compatible
values with old version of cryptsetup are "ripemd160" for create
action and "sha1" for luksFormat.
Use cryptsetup --help to show defaults.
--cipher, -c
set cipher specification string.
Default mode is configurable during compilation, you can see
compiled-in default using cryptsetup --help. If not changed,
the default is for plain dm-crypt and LUKS mappings "aes-cbc-
essiv:sha256".
For XTS mode, kernel version 2.6.24 or more recent is required.
Use "aes-xts-plain64" cipher specification and set key size to
256 (or 512) bits (see -s option). Note that plain64 IV
(Initialization Vector) is available since kernel version 2.6.33
and it is full 64bit version of plain IV. For more info please
see FAQ.
--verify-passphrase, -y
query for passwords twice. Useful when creating a (regular)
mapping for the first time, or when running luksFormat.
--key-file, -d
use file as key material.
With LUKS, key material supplied in key files via -d are always
used for existing passphrases, except in luksFormat action where
-d is equivalent to positional key file argument.
If you want to set a new key via a key file, you have to use a
positional arg to luksAddKey.
If the key file is "-", stdin will be used. With the "-" key
file reading will not stop when new line character is detected.
See section NOTES ON PASSWORD PROCESSING for more information.
--keyfile-size, -l value
Limits read from key file to value bytes. Usable together with
all commands using key file.
--new-keyfile-size value
Limits read from new key file to value bytes in luksAddKey when
adding new key file. Default is exhaustive read from key file.
--master-key-file
Use pre-generated master key stored in file. For luksFormat it
allows LUKS header reformatting with the same master key (if all
other parameters are the same existing encrypted data remains
intact).
For luksAddKey it allows adding new passphrase with only master
key knowledge.
--dump-master-key
For luksDump it allows LUKS header dump including volume
(master) key. Use with care (this information allows access to
device without passphrase knowledge).
See luksDump for more info.
--use-random
--use-urandom
For luksFormat it defines which kernel random number generator
will be used for long-term key (volume key).
See NOTES ON RNG for more information. Use cryptsetup --help to
show default RNG.
--key-slot, -S
For LUKS operations that add key material, this options allows
you to specify which key slot is selected for the new key. This
option can be used for luksFormat, luksOpen and luksAddKey.
--key-size, -s
set key size in bits.
Has to be a multiple of 8 bits. The key size is limited by the
used cipher.
See output of /proc/crypto for more information.
Can be used for create or luksFormat, all other LUKS actions
will use key-size specified by the LUKS header. Default is set
during compilation, if not changed it is 256 bits.
Use cryptsetup --help to show defaults.
--size, -b
force the size of the underlying device in sectors. This option
is only relevant for create and resize action.
--offset, -o
start offset in the backend device (in 512-byte sectors). This
option is only relevant for create and loopaesOpen action.
--skip, -p
how many sectors of the encrypted data to skip at the beginning.
This is different from the --offset options with respect to IV
calculations. Using --offset will shift the IV calculation by
the same negative amount. Hence, if --offset n, sector n will
be the first sector on the mapping with IV 0. Using --skip would
have resulted in sector n being the first sector also, but with
IV n. This option is only relevant for create and loopaesOpen
action.
--readonly
set up a read-only mapping.
--shared
create another non-overlapping mapping to one common ciphertext
device, e.g. to create hidden device inside another encrypted
device. This option is only relevant for create action. Use
--offset, --size and --skip to specify mapped area.
--iter-time, -i
The number of milliseconds to spend with PBKDF2 password
processing. This option is only relevant to the LUKS operations
as luksFormat or luksAddKey. Note that 0 means default.
--batch-mode, -q
Do not ask for confirmation. Use with care! This option is only
relevant for luksFormat, luksAddKey, luksRemoveKey or
luksKillSlot.
--timeout, -t
The number of seconds to wait before timeout. This option is
relevant every time a password is asked, like create, luksOpen,
luksFormat or luksAddKey. It has no effect if used in
conjunction with --key-file.
--tries, -T
How often the input of the passphrase shall be retried. This
option is relevant every time a password is asked, like create,
luksOpen, luksFormat or luksAddKey. The default is 3 tries.
--align-payload=value
Align payload at a boundary of value 512-byte sectors. This
option is relevant for luksFormat.
If not specified, cryptsetup tries to use topology info provided
by kernel for underlying device to get optimal alignment. If
not available (or calculated value is multiple of default) data
is by default aligned to 1 MiB boundary (2048 512-byte sectors).
For detached LUKS header it specifies offset on data device.
See also --header option.
--uuid=UUID
Use provided UUID in luksFormat command instead of generating
new one or change existing UUID in luksUUID command.
The UUID must be provided in standard UUID format (e.g.
12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc).
--allow-discards
Allow using of discards (TRIM) requests for device. This option
is only relevant for create, luksOpen or loopaesOpen.
WARNING: Assess the specific security risks carefully before
enabling this option. For example, allowing discards on
encrypted devices may lead to the leak of information about the
ciphertext device (filesystem type, used space etc.) if the
discarded blocks can be located easily on the device later.
Kernel version 3.1 or more recent is required. For older
versions is the option ignored.
--header
Set detached (separated) metadata device or file with LUKS
header.
This options allows separation of ciphertext device and on-disk
metadata header.
This option is only relevant for LUKS devices and can be used in
luksFormat, luksOpen, luksSuspend, luksResume and resize
commands.
If used with luksFormat the --align-payload option is taken as
absolute sector alignment on ciphertext device and can be zero.
For other commands with separated metadata device you have to
always specify path to metadata device (not to the ciphertext
device).
WARNING: There is no possible check that specified ciphertext
device is correct if on-disk header is detached. Use with care.
--version
Show the version.
RETURN CODES
Crypsetup returns 0 on success or non-zero on error.
Error codes are: 1 wrong parameters, 2 no permission (bad passphrase),
3 out of memory, 4 wrong device specified, 5 device already exists or
device is busy.
NOTES ON PASSWORD PROCESSING FOR PLAIN MODE
From a terminal: Password processing is new-line sensitive, meaning the
reading will stop after encountering \n. It will process the read
material (without newline) with the default hash or the hash given by
--hash. After hashing, it will be cropped to the key size given by -s.
From stdin: Reading will continue until EOF (or until maximum input
size is reached), with the trailing newline stripped. The maximum
input size is defined by the same compiled-in default as for the
maximum key file size or can be overwrittten using --keysfile-size
option.
After that the read data will be hashed with the default hash or the
hash given by --hash and the result will be cropped to the keysize
given by -s.
If "plain" is used as an argument to the hash option, the input data
will not be hashed. Instead, it will be zero padded (if shorter than
the keysize) or truncated (if longer than the keysize) and used
directly as the key. No warning will be given if the amount of data
read from stdin is less than the keysize.
From a key file: It will be cropped to the size given by -s. If there
is insufficient key material in the key file, cryptsetup will quit with
an error.
If --key-file=- is used for reading the key from stdin, no trailing
newline is stripped from the input. Without that option, cryptsetup
strips trailing newlines from stdin input.
NOTES ON PASSWORD PROCESSING FOR LUKS
LUKS uses PBKDF2 to protect against dictionary attacks (see RFC 2898).
LUKS will always do an exhaustive password reading. Hence, password
can not be read from /dev/random, /dev/zero or any other stream that
does not terminate. To prevent exhausting of system memory, cryptsetup
limits maximum key file size. Compiled-in default is displayed in
--help output. You can limit reads from key file using --key-size
option, this option takes precedence over compiled-in default.
For any password creation action (luksAddKey, or luksFormat), the user
may specify how much the time the password processing should consume.
Increasing the time will lead to a more secure password, but also will
take luksOpen longer to complete. The default setting of one second is
sufficient for good security.
INCOHERENT BEHAVIOUR FOR INVALID PASSWORDS/KEYS
LUKS checks for a valid password or key when an encrypted partition is
unlocked. Thus the luksOpen action fails with invalid password or key,
contrary to the plain dm-crypt create action.
Please also be sure that you are using the same keyboard and language
setting as during device format.
NOTES ON SUPPORTED CIPHERS, MODES, HASHES AND KEY SIZES
The available combinations of ciphers, modes, hashes and key sizes
depend on kernel support. See /proc/crypto for a list of available
options. You might need to load additional kernel crypto modules in
order to get more options.
For --hash option all algorithms supported by gcrypt library are
available.
NOTES ON PASSWORDS
Mathematics can't be bribed. Make sure you keep your passwords safe.
There are a few nice tricks for constructing a fallback, when suddenly
out of (or after being) blue, your brain refuses to cooperate. These
fallbacks are possible with LUKS, as it's only possible with LUKS to
have multiple passwords.
NOTES ON RNG
Random Number Generator (RNG) used in cryptsetup always uses kernel RNG
without any modifications or additions to data stream procudes by
kernel (like internal random pool operations or mixing with the other
random sources).
There are two types of randomness cryptsetup/LUKS needs. One type
(which always uses /dev/urandom) is used for salt, AF splitter and for
wiping removed keyslot.
Second type is used for volume (master) key. You can switch between
using /dev/random and /dev/urandom here, see --use-random and --use-
urandom options. Using /dev/random on system without enough entropy
sources can cause luksFormat to block until the requested amount of
random data is gathered. See urandom(4) for more information.
NOTES ON LOOPBACK DEVICE USE
Cryptsetup is usually used directly over block device (like disk
partition or LVM volume). However if the device argument is file,
cryptsetup tries to allocate loopback device and map it into this file.
This mode requires Linux kernel 2.6.25 or more recent which supports
loop autoclear flag (loop device is cleared on last close
automatically).
When device mapping is active, you can see loop backing file in status
command output. Also see losetup(8).
AUTHORS
cryptsetup is written by Christophe Saout <christophe@saout.de>
LUKS extensions, and man page by Clemens Fruhwirth
<clemens@endorphin.org>
DEPRECATED ACTIONS
The reload action is no longer supported. Please use dmsetup(8) if you
need to directly manipulate with the device mapping table.
The luksDelKey was replaced with luksKillSlot.
REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs to <dm-crypt@saout.de> or Issues section on LUKS website.
Please attach output of failed command with added --debug option.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2004 Christophe Saout
Copyright (C) 2004-2006 Clemens Fruhwirth
Copyright (C) 2009-2011 Red Hat, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is
NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
SEE ALSO
LUKS website, http://code.google.com/p/cryptsetup/