Boxcryptor Classic Bug report : case sensitivity in folder names

Geronimo

Boxcryptor classic (W32/1.6.405.102) shows the files inside folders only differing by case wrongly. Steps in order to reproduce the issue :

a) prepare three text files (testa.txt, testb.txt, testc.txt) by renaming
I put only the string "text" in it

b) prepare folder structure :

\sample\a
\sample\b
\sample\c

c) use BoxCryptorClassic to create a keyfile.bcx in \sample\c\example
(an existing .bcx or .encsfs6.xml will do as well)
I used AES256 /w filename encryption.

d) copy resulting keyfile to ..\a ..\b and ..\c (delete \example subfolder)
e) mount ..\a to e.g. m:\ , create folder "TEST" in m:\, copy testa.txt to m:\TEST
f) mount ..\b to e.g. n:\ , create folder "test" in n:\, copy testb.txt and testc.txt to n:\test
g) unmount m:\ and n:\
h} copy encrypted subfolders, in my example : ..\a\lGYDCptg and ..\b\SpvuBVdF to ..\c
i) mount ..\c to x:

The result is as follows :

x:
\TEST
testa.txt
\test
testa.txt

Not really what you would expect to find in the subfolder.

Means testb.txt and testc.txt are omitted. In other scenarios testa.txt was omitted whilst testb and testc were shown in both folders.

BoxcryptorClassic Portable however shows what you'd expect to see.
Encfswin does its job here as well after renaming the .bcx file to the non-proprietary .encfs6.xml

This problem at first sight might sound academic as Windows' file namespaces are case insensitive but practically is indeed an issue if you use your keyfiles in different locations you wish to join later on without re-encryption(eg. on backups and active drives)
In addition , other filesystems such as MacOS are case sensitive, so it'd be also a matter of portability

Robert

Hello Geronimo,

In our opinion, this is actually the correct behavior and Encfs4win is handling it wrong.

As you pointed out, file systems on Windows are case insensitive. So the folder (or file) "test" is the same as "TEST", "teST", "TEst", etc. It is not possible to have multiple folders (or files) which only differ by the case. E.g. if you have a folder named "test" you cannot create another folder named "TEST".

With filename encryption enabled, it is possible to have a situation where the encrypted names of multiple files map to the same plaintext names which only differ by case, e.g. by constructing it manually as you did or when they were created on case sensitive systems (e.g. Linux).

As having multiple names which only differ by case on the case insensitive Windows file system is not a defined behavior, Boxcryptor only shows the first file with a given case and ignore any other files (or folders) which would map to the same name and would only differ by the case.

Best regards,
Robert