Password Management

Organize your Secrets

When it comes to managing passwords, there are several options available to you. Kubuntu Focus computers come with a couple of these pre-installed, but there are several others that you can find throughout the web.

• KDE Wallet
• KeePassXC
• Password Recovery
• Other Solutions
• Troubleshooting
• Revisions
• Disclaimer

Manage passwords efficiently with KeePassXC.

Please read the disclaimer before proceeding. We review and update guided solutions regularly. If you have suggestions or requests, please write support@kfocus.org.

KDE Wallet

KDE Wallet is the default password manager on Kubuntu systems. It stores passwords completely encrypted and unlocks upon login. All KDE applications integrate with this password manager, and it stores Wi-Fi passwords, file manager passwords, and other system passwords. It also integrates well with Google Chrome and other browsers.

By default, the KDE Wallet master password is the same as your user password. For this reason, if you ever change your user password, your KDE Wallet password will no longer unlock automatically upon login. You can fix this by making sure the passwords match again:

• Open System Settings > Account Settings
• Under the tab Wallet Preferences, make sure [x] Enable the KDE Wallet Subsystem is selected
• Click on the bottom-right button labeled Launch Wallet Manager
• When the Wallet Manager app appears, click on the top-right button labeled Change Password...
• When prompted, set your new password to match the password of your user account
• Logout and login to test the change

Some apps that typically require gnome-keyring need libsecret capability. Recent versions of KWallet reportedly provide this capability through the qbus |grep -i secret. This shows org.freedesktop.secrets service. One can inspect these services using sudo apt install qttools5-dev-tools && qdbusviewer. However, since we use KeePassXC as our cross-platform password manager, we use it instead as described below.

KeePassXC

KeePassXC is a cross-platform, sync-able, decentralized password management solution. It has plugins for Chrome (and other Chromium-based browsers), Firefox, and Android clients. We highly recommend this password solution. For many, it’s a great alternative to commercial services like LastPass and 1Password.

To use KeePassXC as your browser password manager, install the browser extension. With Firefox, use Menu > Add-Ons and themes, with Chrome, use Menu > Extensions > Visit Chrome Web Store. Then in KeePassXC, enable browser password integration by clicking on Settings (Gear Icon) > Browser and select your browser, like [x] Firefox, and click OK. If you are using the Firefox snap, see the Browsers Guided Solution for additional adjustments you will need to make. The 24.04 Kubuntu Focus Suites replaces the default Snap with the official Firefox packages from Mozilla.

To use KeePassXC to provide libsecrets (gnome-keyring), such as VSCode Settings Sync and Fortinet Client, follow the steps below.

• Optional: Install libsecret-tools (sudo apt install libsecret-tools). This provides the secret-tool command.
• In KeePassXC, open or create a database to keep your secrets and create a group inside the database like "secret-service".
• Go to Tools > Settings > Secret-Service-Integration and check the Enable KeePassXC Freedesktop.org Secret Service Integration and click Ok.
• Go to Tools > Settings > Secret-Service-Integration, click the General tab, and then in the Exposed Database Groups table, click the small pencil icon next to the database you want to host the secrets. This will show the Database Settings dialog, which has a Secret Service Integration section. Click on Secret Service Integration and then check the Expose entries under this group radio option. Select the group you created in the second step, and click Ok.
• Optional: While the database is unlocked in KeePassXC, test storing a credential by entering the following into a terminal: secret-tool store --label='Created from cli' account test, and then enter your desired password. You should be able to see this new credential in KeePassXC

Some forum posts recommend installing Gnome Keyring; however, this can interfere with the KWallet subsystem. For this reason, we strongly recommend you try to use KeePassXC instead. KeePassXC libsecret capability is shown here. The steps above are found in this AskUbuntu post.

KeePassXC’s database file can be stored on a cloud drive such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, ownCloud, Nextcloud, or similar. This is useful for synchronizing across multiple devices. To learn more, visit the KeePassXC website documentation.

Sometimes, a database file can conflict when shared on a cloud drive. This can happen if you change passwords on two devices but the sync is disabled or delayed. When this occurs with Dropbox, the offending file is kept with a name like foo-conflicted.pas. To resolve this issue, you can merge databases:

• In KeePassXC, use Database > Save Database Backup... to backup your current database.
• Use Database > Merge from Database and read-in the conflicted file.
• Once you have confirmed a merge (see below),we recommend you rename or delete the conflicted file so you don’t accidentally merge it again later.

To compare changes between databases, like those before or after a merge, you can follow this procedure:

• In KeePassXC, use Database > Export > CSV File the databases you wish to compare.
• Read the output into a spreadsheet and sort all rows but the first.
• Export the sorted spreadsheet back to CSV files.
• Use kdiff3 or meld to compare the CSV files.
• IMPORTANT: When you are done comparing the files, DELETE THEM the CSV to prevent password theft!

The KeePassXC team released a security audit which we also encourage you to review. You can learn more from the official KeePassXC website.

Disclaimer

We try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.

THIS SOLUTION IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOLUTION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.