[Bug 1044156] Re: gpg key retrieval gives bogus, confusing error message

[Paul Abrahams]

I don't think that ufw/iptables has anything to do with the problem.
Look at this:

root at Lenovo-Z580:~# host pgpkeys.mit.edu
pgpkeys.mit.edu is an alias for CRYPTONOMICON.mit.edu.
CRYPTONOMICON.mit.edu has address 18.9.60.141
root at Lenovo-Z580:~# gpg --keyserver hkp://pgpkeys.mit.edu --recv-keys A8AA1FAA3F055C03
gpg: requesting key 3F055C03 from hkp server pgpkeys.mit.edu
?: pgpkeys.mit.edu: Host not found
gpgkeys: HTTP fetch error 7: couldn't connect: Success
gpg: no valid OpenPGP data found.
gpg: Total number processed: 0
root at Lenovo-Z580:~# gpg --keyserver hkp://18.9.60.141 --recv-keys A8AA1FAA3F055C03
gpg: requesting key 3F055C03 from hkp server 18.9.60.141
gpg: /root/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: key 3F055C03: public key "Launchpad PPA for Daniel Richter" imported
gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1  (RSA: 1)

If you use the Web address of the keyserver, the key retrieval fails.
If you use its IP address, the key retrieval succeeds.  If there was any
kind of firewall problem involved, either both of these should succeed
or both of these should fail (or it's a pitiful firewall indeed).  The
problem seems to lie in the way that gpg resolves URLs, or perhaps in
how it finds a nameserver to resolve them.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1044156

Title:
  gpg key retrieval gives bogus, confusing error message

Status in “gnupg” package in Ubuntu:
  Incomplete

Bug description:
  I attempted to install a key using gpg as follows:

  pwa at pwa-K60IJ:~/Documents$ gpg --keyserver hkp://subkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys A8AA1FAA3F055C03
  gpg: requesting key 3F055C03 from hkp server subkeys.pgp.net
  ?: subkeys.pgp.net: Host not found
  gpgkeys: HTTP fetch error 7: couldn't connect: Success
  gpg: no valid OpenPGP data found.
  gpg: Total number processed: 0

  I don't know why I got this error (I'm not behind a proxy server), but
  that's not the point of my filing this bug report.  Whatever the
  problem is, it's not a case of "host not found".   The host is there
  and I can link to it.  The error message is clearly bogus, and very
  misleading.  It needs to reflect what the problem really is.

  I'm running Kubuntu 12.04. and gpg 1.4.11.  The command cited above
  seems to work for most people, but it doesn't work for me.

  PS - I attempted to file this report under package gpg, but got a
  message that gpg does not exist in ubuntu.  Yet gpg shows up under the
  package name search in the bug reporter.

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