Crash on startup - sqlcipher_page_cipher says "hmac check failed for pgno=1"

[a-leithner]

Using a supported version?

• I have searched searched open and closed issues for duplicates.
• I am using Signal-Desktop as provided by the Signal team, not a 3rd-party package.

Overall summary

Yesterday, I upgraded from Signal 7.63.0 to 7.64.0 (keeping libringrtc at v. 2.54.1, signal-sqlcipher at 2.1.0). After that, Signal opened and functioned normally for the first half of today. After a reboot and after unlocking my KWallet (as I have been prompted for for a few months now when starting Signal as the first app), I was greeted with the "Signal could not be started" message (whose "Copy error and quit" button cf. #7355 still doesn't work, btw) and a black window in the background.

Starting from the command line, this is the output I'm seeing:

This build of Electron is provided by openSUSE and contains various modifications.
Please report problems at https://bugzilla.opensuse.org/enter_bug.cgi?classification=openSUSE and not to upstream bug trackers.
NODE_ENV production
NODE_CONFIG_DIR /usr/libexec/signal-desktop/config
NODE_CONFIG {}
ALLOW_CONFIG_MUTATIONS undefined
HOSTNAME [MY HOSTNAME]
NODE_APP_INSTANCE undefined
SUPPRESS_NO_CONFIG_WARNING undefined
SIGNAL_ENABLE_HTTP undefined
2025-08-01 17:34:34.888: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_page_cipher: hmac check failed for pgno=1
2025-08-01 17:34:34.888: ERROR CORE sqlite3Codec: error decrypting page 1 data: 1
2025-08-01 17:34:34.888: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_ctx_set_error 1
2025-08-01 17:34:34.889: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_cipher_ctx_key_derive: error 1 occurred from provider kdf generating encryption key
2025-08-01 17:34:34.889: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_key_derive: error occurred deriving read_ctx key
2025-08-01 17:34:34.889: ERROR CORE sqlite3Codec: error occurred during key derivation: 1
2025-08-01 17:34:34.889: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_ctx_set_error 1

Now, of course this is technically not the official version of Signal Desktop, but it's built by openSUSE over at the Open Build Service where most modifications done, see the link, involve the build process only and this is not related to Electron which is the only thing "heavily modified" by openSUSE.

Taking a look into KWallet revealed that there is no data stored for Signal or at least no data being labelled as belonging to Signal but "Chrome Keys" and "Chromium Keys" which I guess could also be generated by Electron apps. However, in config.json there's "safeStorageBackend": "kwallet6" and reading #6970, I wonder if there's a problem with that. (I'm thinking of something of along the lines of Signal trying to read these Safe Storage values although they're belonging to Chrome and Chromium, both of which I've installed and used in the past.)

Downgrading of course didn't help. This are the last entries of app.log before and after the restart (i.e. with a working app and the first start with a crash):

{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T10:29:50.200Z","msg":"[WebsocketResources] WebSocketResources.KeepAlive(LibsignalWebSocketResource(authenticated)).send: Sending a keepalive message"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T10:30:15.016Z","msg":"[WebsocketResources] WebSocketResources.KeepAlive(LibsignalWebSocketResource(unauthenticated)).send: Sending a keepalive message"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T10:30:20.318Z","msg":"[WebsocketResources] WebSocketResources.KeepAlive(LibsignalWebSocketResource(authenticated)).send: Sending a keepalive message"}
{"level":40,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:31.629Z","msg":"[setupI18nMain] intl.onWarn [@formatjs/intl] \"defaultRichTextElements\" was specified but \"message\" was not pre-compiled. \nPlease consider using \"@formatjs/cli\" to pre-compile your messages for performance.\nFor more details see https://formatjs.github.io/docs/getting-started/message-distribution"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:31.649Z","msg":"[preconnect] libsignal net url: https://chat.signal.org"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:31.649Z","msg":"[preconnect] libsignal net environment resolved to prod"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:31.649Z","msg":"[preconnect] WebAPI: preconnect start"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:31.918Z","msg":"[profiles] Profile Service initialized"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:32.102Z","msg":"[preload] complete"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:32.103Z","msg":"[@signalapp/libsignal-client] Initializing libsignal version:0.76.4 signal_node::logging rust/bridge/node/src/logging.rs:204"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:32.177Z","msg":"[notifications] NotificationService initialized"}
{"level":50,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:32.186Z","msg":"Top-level unhandled promise rejection: TypeError: Cannot destructure property 'getIsInCall' of 'window.Events' as it is undefined.\n    at IpcRenderer.<anonymous> ([REDACTED]/libexec/signal-desktop/preload.bundle.js:134:41078)\n    at IpcRenderer.emit (node:events:518:28)\n    at Object.onMessage (node:electron/js2c/renderer_init:2:10603)"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:32.204Z","msg":"[@signalapp/libsignal-client] [preconnect] connection succeeded after 554.128ms libsignal_net::connect_state /home/abuild/rpmbuild/BUILD/libsignal-0.76.4-build/libsignal-0.76.4/rust/net/src/connect_state.rs:567"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-01T15:18:32.204Z","msg":"[preconnect] WebAPI: preconnect done"}

Starting Signal with --enable-crash-reports didn't change a thing.

I'm at a loss here. I'd like to try everything to recover my Desktop data, since the mobile search pretty much sucks and I don't want to lose years worth of chat copies. I still have them on my phone though and have a Signal backup there, but still.

Any pointers or help would be highly appreciated.

Steps to reproduce

As described above:

1. Upgrade to Signal 7.64.0
2. Use normally once
3. Subsequent starts crash

Expected result

Signal should start normally even after a reboot

Actual result

Signal fails with a non-descript error message and the above sqlcipher output

Screenshots

No response

Signal version

7.64.0

Operating system

openSUSE Tumbleweed

Version of Signal on your phone

No response

Link to debug log

No response

[Elbchillharmonie]

I've a similar issue, but not since the upgrade to 7.64. It happened already beginning of July, but I didn't look into it because of the summer vacation. As in mentioned above and in #7355, I also can only provide the console output:

$ signal-desktop --enable-crash-reports
NODE_ENV production
NODE_CONFIG_DIR /usr/lib/signal-desktop/resources/app.asar/config
NODE_CONFIG {}
ALLOW_CONFIG_MUTATIONS undefined
HOSTNAME XYZ
NODE_APP_INSTANCE undefined
SUPPRESS_NO_CONFIG_WARNING undefined
SIGNAL_ENABLE_HTTP undefined
(node:5971) [DEP0180] DeprecationWarning: fs.Stats constructor is deprecated.
(Use `signal-desktop --trace-deprecation ...` to show where the warning was created)

(signal-desktop:5971): IBUS-WARNING **: 21:13:26.232: signal-desktop has no capability of surrounding-text feature
2025-08-07 21:13:26.339: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_page_cipher: hmac check failed for pgno=1
2025-08-07 21:13:26.339: ERROR CORE sqlite3Codec: error decrypting page 1 data: 1
2025-08-07 21:13:26.339: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_ctx_set_error 1
2025-08-07 21:13:26.340: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_cipher_ctx_key_derive: error 1 occurred from provider kdf generating encryption key
2025-08-07 21:13:26.340: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_key_derive: error occurred deriving read_ctx key
2025-08-07 21:13:26.340: ERROR CORE sqlite3Codec: error occurred during key derivation: 1
2025-08-07 21:13:26.340: ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_ctx_set_error 1

I guess it happened after the upgrade on 4th of July, this is my upgrade history of signal-desktop from pacman.log:

[2025-07-01T21:37:17+0200] [ALPM] upgraded signal-desktop (7.56.1-1 -> 7.59.0-1)
[2025-07-04T23:02:15+0200] [ALPM] upgraded signal-desktop (7.59.0-1 -> 7.60.0-1)
[2025-07-12T13:49:41+0200] [ALPM] upgraded signal-desktop (7.60.0-1 -> 7.61.0-1)
[2025-08-02T22:59:35+0200] [ALPM] upgraded signal-desktop (7.61.0-1 -> 7.64.0-1)

Because the post above mentions kwallet, around the same time also my kwallet was upgraded:

[2025-07-01T21:36:48+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwallet (6.14.1-1 -> 6.15.0-1)
[2025-07-01T21:36:50+0200] [ALPM] upgraded signon-kwallet-extension (25.04.1-1 -> 25.04.2-1)
[2025-07-01T21:36:52+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwallet5 (5.116.0-2 -> 5.116.0-3)
[2025-07-01T21:37:06+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwallet-pam (6.3.5-2 -> 6.4.1-1)
[2025-07-01T21:37:06+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwalletmanager (25.04.1-1 -> 25.04.2-1)
[2025-07-04T23:02:04+0200] [ALPM] upgraded signon-kwallet-extension (25.04.2-1 -> 25.04.3-1)
[2025-07-04T23:02:10+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwallet-pam (6.4.1-1 -> 6.4.2-1)
[2025-07-04T23:02:10+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwalletmanager (25.04.2-1 -> 25.04.3-1)
[2025-07-12T13:49:34+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwallet (6.15.0-1 -> 6.16.0-1)
[2025-08-02T22:59:28+0200] [ALPM] upgraded kwallet-pam (6.4.2-1 -> 6.4.3-1)

I didn't change any passwords though.

I can provide the full set of updated packages at that time and app.log plus main.log from 3rd and 4th of July if needed. Furthermore, I've a backup dated 27.06.2025. Can I just use the backup of .config/Signal folder as a drop-in replacement?

Here's another report of a similar error in German from the same time period: https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/signal-kann-nicht-mehr-geoffnet-werden/73354/2

Signal version
7.64.0-1 (current, occurred already with earlier versions)

Operating system
Arch Linux
6.15.9-arch1-1 (64-bit)

[jamiebuilds-signal]

Could we get a copy of your full debuglogs: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007318591-Debug-Logs-and-Crash-Reports

[Elbchillharmonie]

Thanks for the quick response, I just sent the logs to support@signal.org. Let me know if you need more.

[bmode8]

I am having the exact same set of issues launching the Signal desktop app with kwallet6 (6.16.0-1) with Signal version 7.65.0 on 6.15.9-2-MANJARO arch linux. I do have data associated with Signal listed by kwallet.

[a-leithner]

Could we get a copy of your full debuglogs: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007318591-Debug-Logs-and-Crash-Reports

@jamiebuilds-signal I just sent my logs to the support e-mail too. It seems there's some sort of memory issue with sqlcipher, though I don't know if that's actually related. Let me know if these logs are insufficient and whether I can provide more info.

I checked again and I, for one, really don't have any "Signal" storage data in my KWallet although I've long been prompted to open it before Signal launched. But I guess Signal retrieves something from it and decrypts the key (AFAICT from the logs I've glanced at), otherwise it would fail with a KWallet-specific message, wouldn't it?

[Elbchillharmonie]

@jamiebuilds-signal I received the answer from the support team "It appears the database is irrecoverably damaged. Unfortunately, you will need to completely uninstall and then reinstall Signal. This will delete your message history. It cannot be recovered."

That was not the purpose of sending in the logs...

[isakovai]

Same issue after updating.
OS: Gentoo (kernel 6.15.9). kwallet6 (6.16.0), Signal 7.65.0.
Why are you breaking Signal, folks?
Having to start from scratch (reinstall Signal) is definitely not a fix, it's a cope. Stop coping and fix Signal please!

[indutny-signal]

Hello! We are looking more closely into the reports. If you could post debuglog links - it'd be much appreciated!

At glance it sounds like something might have changed in kwallet installed on your system and Signal Desktop can no longer use it to decrypt the database. Was there a system update that could have changed the kwallet version?

FWIW, neither Gentoo nor Arch linuxes are officially supported, but we are happy to help to the best of our ability!

[isakovai]

At glance it sounds like something might have changed in kwallet installed on your system and Signal Desktop can no longer use it to decrypt the database. Was there a system update that could have changed the kwallet version?

I have tried running both with kwallet 5.116.0 and 6.16.0, but to no avail. Results are the same.

This is the error log from my terminal with --trace-deprecation setting enabled at startup (it IS the same, no matter which kwallet version):

NODE_ENV production
NODE_CONFIG_DIR /opt/Signal/resources/app.asar/config
NODE_CONFIG {}
ALLOW_CONFIG_MUTATIONS undefined
HOSTNAME thinx
NODE_APP_INSTANCE undefined
SUPPRESS_NO_CONFIG_WARNING undefined
SIGNAL_ENABLE_HTTP undefined
(node:17154) [DEP0180] DeprecationWarning: fs.Stats constructor is deprecated.
    at asarStatsToFsStats (node:electron/js2c/node_init:2:1748)
    at t.lstat (node:electron/js2c/node_init:2:5231)
    at LOOP (node:fs:2938:15)
    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:85:11)
ERROR CORE sqlcipher_page_cipher: hmac check failed for pgno=1
ERROR CORE sqlite3Codec: error decrypting page 1 data: 1
ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_ctx_set_error 1
ERROR CORE sqlcipher_cipher_ctx_key_derive: error 1 occurred from provider kdf generating encryption key
ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_key_derive: error occurred deriving read_ctx key
ERROR CORE sqlite3Codec: error occurred during key derivation: 1
ERROR CORE sqlcipher_codec_ctx_set_error 1

Let me know if you need any other logs, along with the instructions on how to obtain them. I am no expert in Electron or Signal debugging.

[indutny-signal]

@isakovai it seems like most logs are suppressed somehow... I'm expecting to see something like:

[app/main] getSQLKey: decrypting key

Are you on the latest main branch from this repo?

[a-leithner]

At glance it sounds like something might have changed in kwallet installed on your system and Signal Desktop can no longer use it to decrypt the database. Was there a system update that could have changed the kwallet version?

I've looked through my zypper history (zypper is openSUSE's package manager) and the only related thing that was updated when Signal broke was Signal itself and friends (libsignal and signal-sqlcipher too, though those presumably only were minor changes to the packaging process). So no, in my case Signal 7.63 and 7.64 were using the same KWallet version, 7.64 worked with that half a day and broke after a reboot. This, to me anyway, indicates that KWallet is probably not at fault here.

Also, to reiterate, @indutny-signal if you dind't follow this thread, I'm the OP and have no data associated with Signal in my KWallet, though I'm being prompted to open it when starting Signal as the first app using it. This is just another data point that doesn't quite add up for me. If there was data stored in there, it's gone now. But I doubt that, since Signal still tries to decrypt so it must be getting something out of KWallet, right?

In fact, my main.log contains:

...
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-08T07:08:59.166Z","msg":"[app/main] getSQLKey: decrypting key"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-08T07:08:59.167Z","msg":"[SystemTraySettingCache] getSystemTraySetting saw --use-tray-icon flag. Returning MinimizeToSystemTray"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-08T07:08:59.167Z","msg":"[app/main] app ready"}
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-08T07:08:59.167Z","msg":"[app/main] starting version 7.64.0"}
*snip*
{"level":30,"time":"2025-08-08T07:08:59.322Z","msg":"[app/main] MainSQL: migrateDatabase: Migration without cipher change failed"}
{"level":50,"time":"2025-08-08T07:08:59.322Z","msg":"[app/main] MainSQL: Database startup error: Error: sqlite error(SQLITE_NOMEM): out of memory\n    at Statement.get ([REDACTED]/node_modules/@signalapp/sqlcipher/dist/index.cjs:90:26)\n    at Database.pragma ([REDACTED]/node_modules/@signalapp/sqlcipher/dist/index.cjs:263:20)\n    at getUserVersion ([REDACTED]/ts/sql/util.js:1:4175)\n    at migrateSchemaVersion ([REDACTED]/ts/sql/Server.js:1:13915)\n    at openAndMigrateDatabase ([REDACTED]/ts/sql/Server.js:1:14676)\n    at openAndSetUpSQLCipher ([REDACTED]/ts/sql/Server.js:1:15125)\n    at initialize ([REDACTED]/ts/sql/Server.js:1:16042)\n    at onMessage ([REDACTED]/ts/sql/mainWorker.js:1:813)\n    at MessagePort.<anonymous> ([REDACTED]/ts/sql/mainWorker.js:1:2645)\n    at [nodejs.internal.kHybridDispatch] (node:internal/event_target:827:20)"}
{"level":50,"time":"2025-08-08T07:08:59.323Z","msg":"[ZoomFactorService] Failed to get zoom factor {\"name\":\"Error\"}"}
...

(This is verbatim, I didn't edit in the [REDACTED].) This "out of memory" error is something I'd not expect to see (primarily because Signal is one of the first apps I start).

FWIW, neither Gentoo nor Arch linuxes are officially supported, but we are happy to help to the best of our ability!

I take issue with that. You guys can't equate "Linux" with "uses DEB packages", so any system not using APT is probably "unsupported", right? An official AppImage could resolve that, though I'm not particularly a fan of this. But that's a story for another issue. So, thanks for your help in any case!

---

I've already sent my logs (those I still had, anyway) to support last Friday but haven't gotten a concrete answer yet. @indutny-signal let me know if I should post more portions of my logs here in case the above is not enough.

What @isakovai posted (and which also is in my first post) is only the output when starting Signal via the terminal, not contents of a log file. Furthermore, no debuglogs links since Signal crashes before (?) it generates any such things.

---

The real question here is: Are our message databases salvageable? Reading the response @Elbchillharmonie got, I don't think so, which is really unfortunate but was to be expected.

However, only giving the advice to unlink and re-link our devices won't do. What will prevent this from happening in the future? Why don't we have a backup facility on desktop as we have on mobile?

So, all in all, what are the next steps that are being taken?

[indutny-signal]

@a-leithner does your Signal Desktop config in ~/.config has encryptedKey in it? Does it start with 763130?

[a-leithner]

@a-leithner does your Signal Desktop config in ~/.config has encryptedKey in it? Does it start with 763130?

Yes, it contains the key encryptedKey, but the string starts with 763131.

[indutny-signal]

Thanks for this! Do you see "Chromium Safe Storage" in kwalletmanager?

[a-leithner]

Thanks for this! Do you see "Chromium Safe Storage" in kwalletmanager?

Yes, I do. It contains a Base64-encoded string.