GnuPG 2.4.8 / Kleopatra Hanging - gpg --list-keys and keyboxd Unresponsive on Windows Server

[niveditharao.kulkarni at gmail.com]

Dear GnuPG Support Team,

We are experiencing an issue with GnuPG/Kleopatra in our production
environment and would appreciate your guidance.
Environment

   - *GnuPG Version:* 2.4.8
   - *Operating System:* Windows Server (please let us know if you need the
   exact version)
   - *Application:* SQL Server executes GPG commands using xp_cmdshell
   - *Purpose:* Encrypting CSV files before uploading them to Amazon S3.

Background

The setup has been working successfully for approximately *8 months*
without any issues. About *4 days ago*, encryption suddenly stopped
working. No GnuPG/Gpg4win upgrade was performed during this period.
Observed Symptoms

   1. CSV files are generated successfully.
   2. Encryption never starts, so no encrypted (.gpg) file is created.
   3. Kleopatra opens but remains indefinitely at *"Loading
   certificates..."*.
   4.

   The command:

   gpg --version

   returns immediately and reports *GnuPG 2.4.8*.
   5.

   The command:

   gpg --list-keys

   hangs indefinitely.
   6.

   The command:

   gpgconf --launch keyboxd

   also hangs indefinitely.
   7. While the above command is running, *keyboxd.exe* appears in Task
   Manager but remains at *0% CPU usage* and never becomes responsive.
   8. Earlier, multiple *gpg.exe* processes accumulated in Task Manager. We
   terminated the hung processes, but the issue persists.

Additional Information

   - The GnuPG home directory structure appears normal.
   - The public-keys.d, private-keys-v1.d, trustdb.gpg, and other standard
   folders/files are present.
   - We have not modified or recreated any keys.
   - No GnuPG configuration changes have been made.
   - We have compared the folder structure with another working environment
   and did not notice any obvious differences.

Questions

   1. What could cause keyboxd to start but remain unresponsive?
   2. Are there any known issues in GnuPG 2.4.8 that produce these
   symptoms?
   3. Are there any diagnostic commands or debug logging options you
   recommend to identify where keyboxd is hanging?
   4. Is there anything specific we should verify regarding the key
   database (public-keys.d) or GnuPG configuration?

This is a production issue, so we would appreciate any guidance on how to
diagnose the root cause without risking the existing key material.

Thank you for your assistance.

Kind regards,

Niveditha.

7022567479
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