gpg commands fail without offering password prompts

Solution Verified - Updated -

Issue

  • After using the su command to switch users, gpg doesn't allow entering a passphrase -- whether encrypting, decrypting, or generating a new key with gpg --gen-key. Example:

    $ gpg -d testfile.gpg  
gpg: 3DES encrypted data  
can't connect to `/root/.gnupg/S.gpg-agent': No such file or directory  
gpg-agent[8750]: command get_passphrase failed: Operation cancelled  
gpg: cancelled by user  
gpg: encrypted with 1 passphrase  
gpg: decryption failed: No secret key

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
    • gnupg2 rpm

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