{"id":9696,"date":"2022-10-14T13:03:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T07:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/?p=9696"},"modified":"2023-06-15T17:03:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T11:33:34","slug":"how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Ansible Error: Decryption Failed: Stuck? You can rely on us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We find it irritating to encounter errors when attempting to execute an Ansible playbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We help our clients with several Ansible queries as part of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">server management services<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s examine how to correct this mistake today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ansible-error-decryption-failed\">Ansible Error: Decryption Failed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Recently, one of our clients discovered the following error:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>fatal: &#91;server1.lab.com]: FAILED! =&gt; {\u201cmsg\u201d: \u201cDecryption failed (no vault secrets were found that could decrypt) on \/home\/skynats\/ansible\/encrypted_data.txt\u201d}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>fatal: &#91;server1.lab.com]: FAILED! => {\u201cmsg\u201d: \u201cA vault password or secret must be specified to decrypt \/home\/skynats\/ansible\/skynats\/encrypted_data.txt\u201d}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>We can encrypt files with Ansible Vault instead of displaying them in playbooks as plaintext.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We typically use it for sensitive data like passwords, SSL private keys, and so forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ansible vault by default employs the AES256 algorithm to encrypt data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>File before encryption :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>$&gt; cat encrypted_data.txt\nThis is an encrypted data<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Utilizing Ansible Vault for encryption<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>$ ansible-vault encrypt encrypted_data.txt\r\nNew Vault password:\r\nConfirm New Vault password:\r\nEncryption successful<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>After Encryption :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>$ > cat encrypted_data.txt\r\n$ANSIBLE_VAULT;1.1;AES256\r\n30613332366266623564636132643536646265316132636439326535613939333061376337666433\r\n3831313731303866643765313962323065346565613937650a396162373436306363383934643464\r\n32393037346666303036306365396139383832383632373235323432666638366335623163363539\r\n3530363234656536620a356138366536643164353462613138333664363134303533326566636232\r\n32623530373362396231613230653939393865323639633966616530346261653863<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>It is now secure to add it as a parameter to the ansible-playbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we execute the ansible-playbook that contains a file encrypted with ansible vault, we must also provide a decryption password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-cause-of-the-error-and-solution\">Cause of the error and solution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s examine the root of the issue and how our tech support team resolves it now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Usually, this error occurs as a result of an incorrect decryption password that we give to Ansible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take the playbook for the encrypted data.txt file as an example. We used Ansible Vault to encrypt the file, which we then copied to the target machine after decryption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>vault.yml :\r\n\r\n\u2013 hosts: server1.lab.com\r\ntasks:\r\n\u2013 name: Copying Encrypted file to target machine and decrypting\r\ncopy:\r\nsrc: encrypted_data.txt\r\ndest: \/home\/decrypted_data.txt<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>If we attempt to run the playbook in this manner:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>ansible-playbook vault.yml<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>This will ultimately lead to a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, we must give the playbook the decryption password, either as a prompt to the terminal or as a vault file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>ansible-playbook vault.yml \u2013ask-vault-pass ## To prompt for vault password\r\n\r\nansible-playbook vault.yml \u2013vault-password-file \/home\/skynats\/private\/vault_pass.txt ## To automatically read the vault password<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a practical method for passing the vault password. Once we give the ansible controller the right password, the error goes away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In conclusion, this error can be caused by using the wrong decryption password. Today, we saw the error being fixed for our clients by our Tech Support team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you looking for an answer to another query?\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Contact<\/em><\/a>\u00a0our technical support team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ansible Error: Decryption Failed: Stuck? You can rely on us. We find it irritating to encounter errors when attempting to execute an Ansible playbook. We help our clients with several Ansible queries as part of our server management services. Let&#8217;s examine how to correct this mistake today. Ansible Error: Decryption Failed Recently, one of our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[148,743],"class_list":["post-9696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-ansible","tag-decryption"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed? | Skynats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ansible Error: Decryption Failed: stuck? This error usually results from an incorrect Ansible decryption password.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ansible Error: Decryption Failed: stuck? This error usually results from an incorrect Ansible decryption password.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Server Management Services | Cloud Management | Skynats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/skynats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-14T07:33:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-15T11:33:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amal K\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@skynatstech\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@skynatstech\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amal K\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amal K\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eb9a945e086d898e0851970119204ba2\"},\"headline\":\"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed?\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-14T07:33:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-15T11:33:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":329,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"ansible\",\"Decryption\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed? | Skynats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-14T07:33:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-15T11:33:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ansible Error: Decryption Failed: stuck? This error usually results from an incorrect Ansible decryption password.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Server Management Services | Cloud Management | Skynats\",\"description\":\"Server Management and Cloud Management\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Skynats Technologies\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/Sknats-Logo-New-whole.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/Sknats-Logo-New-whole.png\",\"width\":989,\"height\":367,\"caption\":\"Skynats Technologies\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/skynats\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/skynatstech\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/skynatstech\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/skynats-technologies\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCvTAjrFJ4_E2MJKwlDHomlg\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.skynats.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eb9a945e086d898e0851970119204ba2\",\"name\":\"Amal K\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/13013cfcd9ea84e6abbb1ee0bb4d0519034d183895c25cf7845bf4195ce75556?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/13013cfcd9ea84e6abbb1ee0bb4d0519034d183895c25cf7845bf4195ce75556?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/13013cfcd9ea84e6abbb1ee0bb4d0519034d183895c25cf7845bf4195ce75556?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amal K\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed? | Skynats","description":"Ansible Error: Decryption Failed: stuck? This error usually results from an incorrect Ansible decryption password.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed?","og_description":"Ansible Error: Decryption Failed: stuck? This error usually results from an incorrect Ansible decryption password.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/","og_site_name":"Server Management Services | Cloud Management | Skynats","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/skynats","article_published_time":"2022-10-14T07:33:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-15T11:33:34+00:00","author":"Amal K","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@skynatstech","twitter_site":"@skynatstech","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amal K","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/"},"author":{"name":"Amal K","@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eb9a945e086d898e0851970119204ba2"},"headline":"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed?","datePublished":"2022-10-14T07:33:20+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-15T11:33:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/"},"wordCount":329,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["ansible","Decryption"],"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/","url":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/","name":"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed? | Skynats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-10-14T07:33:20+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-15T11:33:34+00:00","description":"Ansible Error: Decryption Failed: stuck? This error usually results from an incorrect Ansible decryption password.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-ansible-error-decryption-failed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Fix Ansible Error: Decryption Failed?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/","name":"Server Management Services | Cloud Management | Skynats","description":"Server Management and Cloud Management","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Skynats Technologies","url":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Sknats-Logo-New-whole.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Sknats-Logo-New-whole.png","width":989,"height":367,"caption":"Skynats Technologies"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/skynats","https:\/\/x.com\/skynatstech","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/skynatstech\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/skynats-technologies","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCvTAjrFJ4_E2MJKwlDHomlg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eb9a945e086d898e0851970119204ba2","name":"Amal K","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13013cfcd9ea84e6abbb1ee0bb4d0519034d183895c25cf7845bf4195ce75556?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13013cfcd9ea84e6abbb1ee0bb4d0519034d183895c25cf7845bf4195ce75556?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13013cfcd9ea84e6abbb1ee0bb4d0519034d183895c25cf7845bf4195ce75556?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amal K"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skynats.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}