gnupg/doc/OpenPGP

		    GnuPG and OpenPGP
		    =================

   See RFC2440 for a description of OpenPGP.  We have an annotated version
   of this RFC online:	http://www.gnupg.org/rfc2440.html



  Compatibility Notes
  ===================
   GnuPG (>0.4.5) is in compliance with RFC2440 despite these exceptions:

    * (9.1) states that RSA SHOULD be implemented.  This is not done
      (except with an extension, usable outside the U.S.) due to
      patent problems.

    * (9.2) states that IDEA SHOULD be implemented.  This is not done
      due to patent problems.


   All MAY features are implemented with this exception:

    * multi-part armored messages are not supported.
      MIME should be used instead.

   Most of the OPTIONAL stuff is implemented.

   There are a couple of options which can be used to override some
   RFC requirements.  This is always mentioned with the description
   of that options.

   A special format of partial packet length exists for v3 packets
   which can be considered to be in compliance with RFC1991;  this
   format is only created if a special option is active.

   GnuPG uses a S2K mode of 101 for GNU extensions to the secret key
   protection algorithms.  This number is not defined in OpenPGP, but
   given the fact that this number is in a range which used at many
   other places in OpenPGP for private/experimenat algorithm identifiers,
   this should be not a so bad choice.	The 3 bytes "GNU" are used
   to identify this as a GNU extension - see the file DETAILS for a
   definition of the used data formats.



  Some Notes on OpenPGP / PGP Compatibility:
  ==========================================

     * PGP 5.x does not accept V4 signatures for anything other than
       key material.  The GnuPG option --force-v3-sigs mimics this
       behavior.

     * PGP 5.x does not recognize the "five-octet" lengths in
       new-format headers or in signature subpacket lengths.

     * PGP 5.0 rejects an encrypted session key if the keylength
       differs from the S2K symmetric algorithm. This is a bug in its
       validation function.

     * PGP 5.0 does not handle multiple one-pass signature headers and
       trailers. Signing one will compress the one-pass signed literal
       and prefix a V3 signature instead of doing a nested one-pass
       signature.

     * When exporting a private key, PGP 2.x generates the header
       "BEGIN PGP SECRET KEY BLOCK" instead of "BEGIN PGP PRIVATE KEY
       BLOCK". All previous versions ignore the implied data type, and
       look directly at the packet data type.

     * In a clear-signed signature, PGP 5.0 will figure out the correct
       hash algorithm if there is no "Hash:" header, but it will reject
       a mismatch between the header and the actual algorithm used. The
       "standard" (i.e. Zimmermann/Finney/et al.) version of PGP 2.x
       rejects the "Hash:" header and assumes MD5. There are a number
       of enhanced variants of PGP 2.6.x that have been modified for
       SHA-1 signatures.

     * PGP 5.0 can read an RSA key in V4 format, but can only recognize
       it with a V3 keyid, and can properly use only a V3 format RSA
       key.

     * Neither PGP 5.x nor PGP 6.0 recognize ElGamal Encrypt and Sign
       keys. They only handle ElGamal Encrypt-only keys.


  Parts of this document are taken from:
  ======================================

			 OpenPGP Message Format
		   draft-ietf-openpgp-formats-07.txt


   Copyright 1998 by The Internet Society. All Rights Reserved.

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