Recovered Broken SSD: Chromium No Longer Decrypts Passwords on Debian Linux

Recovered Broken SSD on Debian Linux: Chromium No Longer Decrypts Passwords

If you're running Debian Linux and have recently recovered from a broken SSD, you might encounter an issue where Chromium no longer decrypts your saved passwords. This article will guide you through the necessary steps to resolve this problem and provide some key concepts related to the topic.

Context

After recovering your user folder from a broken SSD and installing a fresh Debian system, you may notice that Chromium is unable to decrypt your saved passwords. This issue arises due to the encryption keys being tied to your old system, which are no longer available in the new installation.

Key Concepts

• Encryption keys
• Chromium password decryption
• Data recovery on Linux systems

Resolving the Issue

To resolve the issue of Chromium not decrypting your saved passwords, follow these steps:

1. Locate your old encrypted SQLite database file, which contains your saved passwords. It should be in the following directory:

   ~/.config/chromium/Default/Login Data

2. Make a backup of this file, just in case something goes wrong.

3. Install the sqlite3 package on your new Debian system, if it isn't already installed:

   sudo apt-get install sqlite3

4. Use the sqlite3 command-line tool to decrypt the SQLite database:

   sqlite3 ~/.config/chromium/Default/Login\ Data

   Enter the following commands in the sqlite3 prompt:

   PRAGMA key="your_encryption_key_here";

   SELECT * FROM logins;

5. Replace your_encryption_key_here with your actual encryption key. The encryption key is a long string of characters that you can find in your old system's keyring file.

6. After running the SELECT command, you should see your decrypted passwords. Now, you need to export them to a new SQLite database file.

   .mode csv

   .output ~/.config/chromium/Default/decrypted_Login\ Data.csv

   SELECT * FROM logins;

   .quit

7. Import the decrypted passwords into your new Chromium installation:

   sqlite3 ~/.config/chromium/Default/Login\ Data

   DELETE FROM logins;

   .import ~/.config/chromium/Default/decrypted\_Login\ Data.csv logins

   .quit

After following these steps, Chromium should be able to decrypt your saved passwords on your new Debian system. Keep in mind that this method requires access to your old encryption key, which may not always be available or recoverable.

References

• Chromium Password Decryption: https://www.chromium.org/developers/design-documents/extensions/password-manager

• SQLite on Debian: https://wiki.debian.org/SQLite

• SQLite3 Command-Line Tool: https://www.sqlite.org/cli.html