HBEGIN:oc_encryption_module:OC_DEFAULT_MODULE:cipher:AES-256-CTR:signed:true:HEND error

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I have the error

HBEGIN:oc_encryption_module:OC_DEFAULT_MODULE:cipher:AES-256-CTR:signed:true:HEND

when I access to the files from the nextcloud portal. I didn’t notice any other problem.

I know that it has been answered it is corrected by deleting files on the server and copying it again, but which files ? I have a lot.
I did an occ files scan but no errors where reported.

Thanks for help or ideas!

The Basics

  • Nextcloud Server version (e.g., 29.x.x):
    • 31.0.9
  • Operating system and version (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04):
    • Linux Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
  • Web server and version (e.g, Apache 2.4.25):
    • Apache/2.4.58
  • Reverse proxy and version _(e.g. nginx 1.27.2)
    • no
  • PHP version (e.g, 8.3):
    • PHP 8.3.6
  • Is this the first time you’ve seen this error? (Yes / No):
    • No
  • When did this problem seem to first start?
    • A few weeks ago
  • Installation method (e.g. AlO, NCP, Bare Metal/Archive, etc.)
    • Bare metal
  • Are you using CloudfIare, mod_security, or similar? (Yes / No)
    • no

Summary of the issue you are facing:

I have the error

HBEGIN:oc_encryption_module:OC_DEFAULT_MODULE:cipher:AES-256-CTR:signed:true:HEND

when I access to the files from the nextcloud portal. I didn’t notice any other problem.

I know that it has been answered it is corrected by deleting files on the server and copying it again, but which files ? I have a lot.
I did an occ files scan but no errors where reported.

Thanks for help or ideas!

Steps to replicate it (hint: details matter!):

  1. Connect on nextcloud dashboard

  2. Click on files

  3. Right pane of the page will show this error on top of result

Log entries

Nextcloud

Please provide the log entries from your Nextcloud log that are generated during the time of problem (via the Copy raw option from Administration settings->Logging screen or from your nextcloud.log located in your data directory). Feel free to use a pastebin/gist service if necessary.

PASTE HERE

Web Browser

If the problem is related to the Web interface, open your browser inspector Console and Network tabs while refreshing (reloading) and reproducing the problem. Provide any relevant output/errors here that appear.

PASTE

Web server / Reverse Proxy

The output of your Apache/nginx/system log in /var/log/____:

PASTE HERE

Configuration

Nextcloud

The output of occ config:list system or similar is best, but, if not possible, the contents of your config.php file from /path/to/nextcloud is fine (make sure to remove any identifiable information!):

PASTE HERE

Apps

The output of occ app:list (if possible).

Tips for increasing the likelihood of a response

  • Use the preformatted text formatting option in the editor for all log entries and configuration output.
  • If screenshots are useful, feel free to include them.
    • If possible, also include key error output in text form so it can be searched for.
  • Try to edit log output only minimally (if at all) so that it can be ran through analyzers / formatters by those trying to help you.

This isn’t really an error per se, but it is a header that is added to files if you’ve enabled Server Side Encryption. It should only be visible if something weird happened or if you then disabled encryption without decrypting your files first.

Do you recall doing anything a few weeks ago?

Unfortunately, you left the rest of the support template blank so we can only guess.

Hi, thanks for the answer.

I hadn’t “server side encryption” enabled, but I had default encryption module enabled. I disabled it because on I new laptop I could not login because of the error “server side encryption must be enabled”.

I don’t connect very often to the web interface, but this might be the error indeed.

I looked at the logs, there is only errors related to mail:

[mail] Error: Cron mail sync failed for account 6
from ? by – at 29 oct. 2025, 10:20:04

Thanks

The file itself is encrypted. You might try looking at the on-disk file itself to see when it was last modified. That may give you some clue when it happened.

Encryption is a manually activated process so somehow it’s been turned on at some point and apparently turned back off without going through the decryption procedure (described in the Admin Docs).