veracrypt on tce-12.0-64 cannot create a crypto volume

[chattrhand]

Hello TinyCore Team,

now that I have some knowhow to work with tce-12.0-64 I'd like to use veracrypt for encrypted file containers.

I download and install veracrypt.tcz using the AppsBrowser.
Following mainly the "Verschlüsselte Container mit VeraCrypt: Schritt-für-Schritt Anleitung" by
https://www.rz.uni-wuerzburg.de/dienste/it-sicherheit/it-arbeitsplatzsicherheit/schritt-fuer-schritt-anleitung-veracrypt/

with some small deviations as:
- starting by the command line instead directly of the wBar icon,
- selecting slot 11 as my harddisk has 9 partitions, + one for USBStick
- click on [Create Volume]
- (o) Create an encrypted file container,- recommended for inexperienced users
- (o) Standard veraCrypt volume (just not a hidden one)
- [ /etc/sysconfig/tcedir/VCcryptoContainer]
- Encryption algorithm: AES, hash-algorithm: SHA-512
- Volume Size: [ 500   ][MB] where 46.1 GB available and 292 kB minimum.
  (and my Lenovo b4030 has only 1.7 GB RAM)
- Password: 20 alfanumerics
- Format Options: filesystem [ Linux ext4 ]
- Cross-Platform Support: (o) I will mount the volume only on Linux,
  so the warning popup window is taken to account
- Wild Mouse Movements to generate some entropy
- clicked on [Format] to set up the volume.

... And there the error message popping up:

  Failed to set up a loop device
  /etc/sysconfig/tcedir/VCcryptoContainer
                 OK

Closing the windows and exiting VeraCrypt I notice in the Terminal window about 60 error messages like this one; (where every item of the above list added two or more of them):

(veracrypt:8761): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:02:17.564: gtk_box_gadget_distribute: assertion 'size >= 0' failed in GtkRadioButton

Also I saw that the actual version of veracrypt is 1.24 while the tinycore repository shows:
Current:        2019/03/10 updated 1.21 -> 1.23

Is there a way to update, so that veracrypt and tinycore work together again?

Thanks in advance!

[Juanito]

updated - not tested

[chattrhand]

@Juanito thanks!

With veracrypt 1.24 and keepassx I can create a CryproContainer as a file, but I cannot open it to r/w data from/to it.

Will also try truecrypt on 32bit and tell you as soon as I've found the tricks.

Greetings

[chattrhand]

Hi Juanito,

trying to get veracrypt 1.24 to work I started it via Terminal to see the error messages, if there are any.

tc@box:~$ veracrypt

    VeraCrypt Window opens.
    Click on slot 13, as sda1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 are used by Windows8.1 and LinuxMint; sda6 is linux-swap
    sdb1 is the USB-Stick for TinyCoreLinux
    It's a Lenovo b4030 laptop with 1.7 GB RAM

    Click on  [Create Volume] and see the following error messages:

(veracrypt:12295): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:16:34.471: gtk_box_gadget_distribute: assertion 'size >= 0' failed in GtkRadioButton

(veracrypt:12295): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:16:34.472: gtk_box_gadget_distribute: assertion 'size >= 0' failed in GtkRadioButton

    Nevertheless the  "VeraCrypt Volume Creator Wizard"  opens.

    (o)Create an encrypted file container

    Click on                                         [ Next ]


    The next page of the "VeraCrypt Volume Creator Wizard"  opens:

    "Volume Type"

    (o)Standard VeraCrypt volum

     Meanwhile the Aterm window repeats the abovementioned error message some times:

(veracrypt:12295): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:20:25.789: gtk_box_gadget_distribute: assertion 'size >= 0' failed in GtkRadioButton

(veracrypt:12295): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:20:25.789: gtk_box_gadget_distribute: assertion 'size >= 0' failed in GtkRadioButton

... I omit the rest of the error message lines, they are the same.

    Click on                                         [ Next ]

     At this point I omit the rest of the description of the standard proceeding: An encrypted container was successfully created.

    It can be seen with fluff and even opened with editor (showing nonsense).

    veracrypt. does not open it, reporting an invalid container format or incorrect password, wrong slot number and so on.
    I repeated this with some variations, - no success.

Dependency problem? Please tell me if you need some more infos.

[Juanito]

I think the gtk errors can be ignored.

I'm afraid I have no idea how veracrypt is supposed to work - perhaps you could try contacting veracrypt?

https://www.idrix.fr/

[chattrhand]

hi Juanito,

thanks for your help. For now I will try it with  www.ubuntuusers.de  and hope I can apply it to TinyCore.

 

[chattrhand]

Hi Juanito,

To get more knowledge about veracrypt I installed it on a Manjaro system.
There it works fine, I can create an encrypted container, open it, write files to it,
close it, open it in new session with its password, read its contents and so on.

For opening the veracrypt container I both need the veracrypt and Manjaro user password.

TinyCore has neither root nor tc user password for authentication, due to its "nomadic" properties.

So I added  "secure" to my bootoptions and now have to enter & repeat root & tc password every time.
Did not help.

With  "adduser schreiber"  I added a new user account with a "good" password, thanks to KeePassX, added "user=schreiber" to my bootoptions, let the profile be copied to the new account, and it started. With the new account no passwords are required and veracrypt stops working when opening a container.

What am I missing?

[Juanito]

I'm sorry, but I don't know - perhaps one of the other users could help?

[GNUser]

Hi, chattrhand. Maybe your veracrypt issues will go away if we make TCL behave more like a traditional distro with regard to passwords.

Try the attached instructions (forum is broken and won't let me post the instructions here).

Reboot with the "user=schreiber" boot command after you follow the instructions, then try using veracrypt. Hopefully it will work just as it does in Manjaro. If not, the issue must be something other than passwords.

[GNUser]

In addition to how it handles passwords, I can think of three other differences between TCL and Manjaro etc that may be relevant to your problem:
a) By default TCL uses BusyBox. Just in case veracrypt is using GNUisms when it makes calls to mount, etc, try loading coreutils.tcz
b) TCL makes heavy use of loopback devices for mounting extensions (unless you're using copy2fs.flg), so make sure veracrypt is not accidentally using a loopback device that TCL is already using
c) Most of TCL's root filesystem exists only in RAM--if you're telling veracrypt to use a mountpoint in RAM but veracrypt assumes that the mountpoint is on a physical disk, that may cause problems. Choose a mountpoint somewhere on the harddrive (if your /home directory is persistent, then a mountpoint anywhere in /home would be fine)

Since I don't use veracrypt, these are just shots in the dark. I hope one of them lands on the target

[patham9]

Was a solution to this issue found?
I tried it but it always fails with "failed to set up a loop device" no matter if coreutils are installed or not. Also choosing a mount point on a physical location doesn't help.
Hence I suggest to remove this extension as it can't be used in this broken state.
In the future, I guess this project needs a quality review for extensions before they are accepted, as broken packages clearly aren't useful.