ruby/rubygems · error · Gem::Security::Exception

incorrect signing key for signing

Error message

incorrect signing key for signing

What it means

Error "incorrect signing key for signing" thrown in ruby/rubygems.

Source

Thrown at lib/rubygems/security.rb:568

    end

    extensions = extensions.merge "subjectAltName" => alt_name.value if
      alt_name

    issuer_alt_name = signing_cert.extensions.find do |extension|
      extension.oid == "subjectAltName"
    end

    extensions = extensions.merge "issuerAltName" => issuer_alt_name.value if
      issuer_alt_name

    signed = create_cert signee_subject, signee_key, age, extensions, serial
    signed.issuer = signing_cert.subject

    begin
      signed.sign signing_key, Gem::Security::DIGEST_NAME
    rescue OpenSSL::PKey::PKeyError, ArgumentError
      raise Gem::Security::Exception,
        "incorrect signing key for signing"
    end
  end

  ##
  # Returns a Gem::Security::TrustDir which wraps the directory where trusted
  # certificates live.

  def self.trust_dir
    return @trust_dir if @trust_dir

    dir = File.join Gem.user_home, ".gem", "trust"

    @trust_dir ||= Gem::Security::TrustDir.new dir
  end

  ##
  # Enumerates the trusted certificates via Gem::Security::TrustDir.

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

Solutions

1. Sign with the private key that corresponds to the certificate's public key

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/rubygems/security.rb:568 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of ruby/rubygems@86cbb817a3 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cccfe94d0021cb2a. Report an issue: GitHub.