fdesetup(8) BSD System Manager's Manual fdesetup(8)
NAME
fdesetup -- FileVault enabling tool
SYNOPSIS
fdesetup verb [options]
DESCRIPTION
fdesetup is used to enable or disable FileVault, to list, add, or remove enabled FileVault users, and to obtain status about the current
state of FileVault. Most commands require root access and need to be authenticated with either a FileVault password, a personal recovery key
(if enabled), and in some cases the private key from the installed institutional recovery key. Some status related commands can be run from
a non-root session.
By default, when enabling FileVault fdesetup will only return a personal recovery key. Given the proper certificate information, fdesetup can
install an institutional recovery key. You can also set it up without a personal recovery key using the -norecoverykey option, though this
is not recommended unless you are also installing an institutional recovery key. Either type of keys can be added or changed at a later
time.
Data passed in via stdin should be a property list using the example format described later. When enabling FileVault, the top level Username
and Password key values must be for an existing MacOS X user. For other commands that require authentication, the top level Username key is
ignored, and the Password key value should either be an existing FileVault user password or the personal recovery key (in the example form
"AU2A-PHMK-WBGX-PWKX-M3X3-VAPY"). If a password is not in the property list, fdesetup will prompt the user for it. Added Username parameters
should be short names of existing users. Some commands allow you to authenticate and unlock by providing the -key option followed by the
path to a keychain file containing the private key of the institutional recovery key. Do not include the certificate in this keychain.
With the -keychain option, an institutional recovery key can be set up by placing an X.509 asymmetric public certificate in the /Library/Key-
chains/FileVaultMaster.keychain file. security create-filevaultmaster-keychain can be used to create the keychain. Alternatively a certifi-
cate can be passed in by using the -certificate option and entering the path to the DER encoded certificate file. In this case the FileVault-
Master.keychain file will be created using the certificate. With your .cer file, the optional certificate data can be obtained using the
base64 tool. For example: 'base64 /path/to/mycert.cer > /mynewdata.txt', at which point you would copy the data string contained in the text
file and place it into the Certificate <data></data> value area of the property list.
The status command will indicate if FileVault is On or Off. If a FileVault master keychain is installed into the /Library/Keychains folder
it will also report this back. Note that this, by itself, does not indicate whether or not FileVault has been set up with an institutional
recovery key. Use the hasinstitutionalrecoverykey command to see if the institutional recovery key is active.
The list command will display the short names and UUIDs of any enabled FileVault users. The remove command will remove a user from FileVault.
The syncusers command synchronizes Open Directory attributes (e.g. user pictures) with FileVault users, and removes FileVault users that were
removed from Open Directory. In most cases these changes will already be updated in FileVault. syncusers does not add users to FileVault.
Use the haspersonalrecoverykey or hasinstitutionalrecoverykey commands to see if FileVault has a personal or institutional recovery key set
up. If FileVault is active and the key is set, these commands will return "true", otherwise they will return "false". Note that "false" may
also be returned if any error occurs, or if FileVault is not yet fully enabled.
If a user currently has the system unlocked using the recovery key, the usingrecoverykey command will return "true".
The changerecovery command changes or adds either the personal or institutional recovery key. You can only have one recovery key of each
type, so any associated existing key will be removed. The removerecovery command will remove any existing recovery key of the type speci-
fied. It is not recommended that you remove all recovery keys since, if you lose your FileVault password, you may not be able to access your
information.
On supported hardware, fdesetup allows restart of a FileVault-enabled system without requiring unlock during the subsequent boot using the
authrestart command. WARNING: FileVault protections are reduced during authenticated restarts. In particular, fdesetup deliberately stores at
least one additional copy of a permanent FDE (full disk encryption) unlock key in both system memory and (on supported systems) the System
Management Controller (SMC). fdesetup must be run as root and itself prompts for a password to unlock the FileVault root volume. Use pmset
destroyfvkeyonstandby to prevent saving the key across standby modes. Once authrestart is authenticated, it launches reboot(8) and, upon suc-
cessful unlock, the unlock key will be removed. You can also use this as an option to the enable command if the system supports this fea-
ture. The supportsauthrestart command will check the system to see if it supports this option.
VERBS
Each command verb is listed with its description and individual arguments.
help
Shows abbreviated help
list [-verbose]
List enabled users.
enable [[[-user username ...] [-usertoadd added_username ...]] | [-inputplist]] [-outputplist] [-prompt] [-forcerestart] [-authrestart]
[-keychain | [-certificate path_to_cer_file]] [-defer file_path] [-norecoverykey] [-verbose]
Enables FileVault.
disable [-verbose]
Disables FileVault.
status [-verbose]
Returns current status about FileVault.
sync
Synchronizes information from Open Directory to FileVault.
add -usertoadd added_username ... | -inputplist [-verbose]
Adds additional FileVault users. A FileVault user password or recovery key must be used to authenticate.
remove -uuid user_uuid | -user username [-verbose]
Removes enabled user from FileVault.
changerecovery -personal | -institutional [[-keychain] | [-certificate path_to_cer_file]] [-key path_to_keychain_file] [-inputplist]
[-verbose]
Updates the current recovery key. Either personal and/or institutional options must be specified. When changing the personal
recovery key, the updated personal recovery key will be automatically generated. When changing either key, the old value will be
removed and replaced. changerecovery can also be used to add either type of recovery user if it was not already set up.
removerecovery -personal | -institutional [[-key path_to_keychain_file] | [-inputplist]] [-verbose]
Removes the current recovery key. Either personal and/or institutional options must be specified. If the recovery key had been
sent to a corporate server, this removal does not notify the server that it was removed from this computer.
authrestart [[-key path_to_keychain_file] | [-inputplist]] [-verbose]
Immediately restarts the system, bypassing the initial unlock. The command may not work on all systems.
isactive [-verbose]
Returns status 0 if FileVault is enabled along with the string "true". Will return status 1 if FileVault is Off, along with
"false".
haspersonalrecoverykey [-verbose]
Returns the string "true" if FileVault contains a personal recovery key.
hasinstitutionalrecoverykey [-verbose]
Returns the string "true" if FileVault contains an institutional recovery key.
usingrecoverykey [-verbose]
Returns the string "true" if FileVault is currently unlocked using the personal recovery key.
supportsauthrestart
Returns the string "true" if the system supports the authenticated restart option.
validaterecovery [-inputplist] [-verbose]
Returns the string "true" if the personal recovery key is validated. The validated recovery key must be in the form xxxx-xxxx-
xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx.
showdeferralinfo
If the defer mode is set, this will show the current settings.
version
Displays current tool version.
OPTIONS
-defer file_path
Defer enabling FileVault until the user password is obtained, and recovery key and system information will be written to the file
path.
-user user_shortname
Short user name.
-uuid user_uuid
User UUID in canonical form: 11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555.
-usertoadd added_user
Additional user(s) to be added to FileVault.
-inputplist
Acquire configuration information from stdin when enabling or adding users to FileVault.
-prompt
Always prompt for information.
-forcerestart
Force a normal restart after FileVault has been successfully configured.
-authrestart
Do an authenticated restart after a successful enable occurs.
-outputplist
Outputs the recovery key and additional system information to stdout in a plist dictionary. If the recovery key changes, a Change
key will be set and the EnableDate will contain the date of the change. This should not be used when using the deferred mode.
-keychain
Use the institutional recovery key stored in /Library/Keychains/FileVaultMaster.keychain.
-certificate path_to_cer_file
Use the certificate data located at the path. Any existing /Library/Keychains/FileVaultMaster.keychain file will be moved away with
the location logged in the system log. Do not set this option if your certificate data is located in the input plist information.
-key path_to_keychain_file
Use the keychain file located at the path containing the private key for the currently installed institiutional recovery key to
unlock and authenticate FileVault.
-norecoverykey
Do not return a personal recovery key.
DEFERRED ENABLEMENT
The -defer option can be used with the enable command option to delay enabling FileVault until after the current (or next) user logs out,
thus avoiding the need to enter a password when the tool is run. The user will be prompted at logout time for the password, at which point an
attempt will be made to enable FileVault. If the volume is not already a CoreStorage volume, the system may need to be restarted to start the
encryption process. Logout dialogs are automatically dismissed and canceled after 60 seconds if no interaction occurs and the user will be
prompted again at the next logout time.
The -defer option sets up a single user to be added to FileVault. If there was no user specified (e.g. without the -user option), then the
currently logged in user will be added to the configuration and becomes the designated user. If there is no user specified and no users are
logged in at the time of configuration, then the next user that logs in will be used as the designated user.
As recovery key information is not generated until the user password is obtained, the -defer option requires a path where this information
will be written to. The property list file will be created as a root-only readable file and should be placed in a secure location. You can
use the showdeferralinfo command to view the current deferral configuration information.
Options that can be used in conjunction with the -defer option include: -keychain, -certificate, -forcerestart, -user, and -norecoverykey.
Note that if the designated user doesn't complete the setup at logout, FileVault will not be enabled, and the configuration will remain and
be used again for the designated user's next logout, thereby 'nagging' the user to enable FileVault. To remove an active deferred enablement
configuration, you can use the disable command, even if FileVault is not currently enabled.
INPUT PROPERTY LIST
<plist>
<dict>
<key>Username</key>
<string>sally</string>
<key>Password</key>
<string>secret</string>
<key>AdditionalUsers</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>Username</key>
<string>johnny</string>
<key>Password</key>
<string>topsecret</string>
</dict>
<dict>
<key>Username</key>
<string>henry</string>
<key>Password</key>
<string>classified</string>
</dict>
(etc)
</array>
<key>Certificate</key>
<data>2v6tJdfabvtofALrDtXAu1w5cUOMCumz
...
</data>
<key>KeychainPath</key>
<string>/privatekey.keychain</string>
<key>KeychainPassword</key>
<string>topsecret</string>
</dict>
</plist>
Username
Short name of OD user used in enabling FileVault.
Password
Used for 1) Password of OD user used in enabling FileVault, 2) Password to authenticate to FileVault after enablement, 3) Personal
recovery key used to authenticate to FileVault after enablement
AdditionalUsers
An array of dictionaries for each OD user that will be added during enablment.
AdditionalUsers/Username
The OD short user name for a user to be added to the FileVault user list.
AdditionalUsers/Password
The OD user password for a user to be added to the FileVault user list.
Certificate
The institutional recovery key asymmetric certficate data.
KeychainPath
The path to the private key keychain file if you are authenticating to certain comamnds.
KeychainPassword
The password to the private key keychain.
EXAMPLES
fdesetup enable
Enable FileVault after prompting for an OpenDirectory user name and password, and return the personal recovery key.
fdesetup enable -user sally -usertoadd johnny -usertoadd henry -outputplist > /secureplace/mykeyinfo.plist
Enables FileVault, adds users sally, johnny and henry to the EFI login, and outputs the recovery key and other information into the
file. Note that the user sally here does not have more privileges than the other added users.
fdesetup enable -keychain -norecoverykey
Enables FileVault using an institutional recovery key in the FileVaultMaster.keychain file. No personal recovery key will be cre-
ated.
fdesetup enable -defer /MykeyAndInfo.plist
Enables FileVault when the current user logs out and successfully enters their password and then writes the personal recovery key
and other relevant information to the file.
fdesetup enable -certificate /mycertfile.cer
Enables FileVault with an institutional recovery key based off the certificate data in the DER encoded file. A FileVaultMaster.key-
chain file will be created automatically.
fdesetup enable -inputplist < /someinfo.plist
Enables FileVault using information from the property list read in from stdin.
fdesetup enable -authrestart
Enables FileVault and then does an immediate authenticated restart.
fdesetup status
Shows the current status of FileVault.
fdesetup list
Lists the current FileVault users.
fdesetup remove -uuid A6C75639-1D98-4F19-ACD5-1892BAE27991
Removes the user with the UUID from the FileVault users list.
fdesetup isactive
Returns with exit status zero and "true" if FileVault is enabled and active.
fdesetup add -usertoadd betty
Adds the user betty to the existing FileVault setup.
fdesetup changerecovery -personal -inputplist < /authinfo.plist
Changes the existing recovery key and generates a new recovery key.
fdesetup validaterecovery -inputplist < /fvinput1-recoverykeyonly.plist
Gets the existing personal recovery key in the "Password" key value of the plist and returns "true" if the recovery key appears to
be valid.
EXIT STATUS
The exit status of the tool is set to indicate whether any error was detected. The values returned are:
0 No error, or successful operation.
1 FileVault is Off.
2 FileVault appears to be On but Busy.
11 Authentication error.
12 Parameter error.
13 Unknown command error.
14 Bad command error.
15 Bad input error.
16 Legacy FileVault error.
17 Added users failed error.
18 Unexpected keychain found error.
19 Keychain error. This usually means the FileVaultMaster keychain could not be moved or replaced.
20 Deferred configuration setup missing or error.
21 Enable failed (Keychain) error.
22 Enable failed (CoreStorage) error.
23 Enable failed (DiskManager) error.
24 Already enabled error.
25 Unable to remove user.
26 Unable to change recovery key.
27 Unable to remove recovery key.
28 FileVault is either off, busy, or the volume is locked.
99 Internal error.
SEE ALSO
security(1), diskutil(8), base64(1), pmset(1)
MacOSX October 25, 2013 MacOSX