where credentials shall be generated. Note that decryption of such credentials is refused on systems
that have a TPM2 chip and where UEFI SecureBoot is enabled (this is done so that such a locked down
system cannot be tricked into loading a credential generated this way that lacks authentication
- information). If set to <literal>auto-initrd</literal> a TPM2 key is used if a TPM2 is found. If not
- a fixed zero length key is used, equivalent to <literal>null</literal> mode. This option is
+ information. If either UEFI SecureBoot or a TPM2 are not available, then loading such credentials is
+ allowed by default). If set to <literal>auto-initrd</literal> a TPM2 key is used if a TPM2 is found.
+ If not, a fixed zero length key is used, equivalent to <literal>null</literal> mode. This option is
particularly useful to generate credentials files that are encrypted/authenticated against TPM2 where
available but still work on systems lacking support for this. The special value
<literal>help</literal> may be used to list supported key types.</para>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--allow-null</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Allow decrypting credentials that use a null key. By default decryption of credentials encrypted/authenticated with a null key is only allowed if UEFI SecureBoot is off.</para>
+ <listitem><para>Allow decrypting credentials that use a null key. By default decryption of
+ credentials encrypted/authenticated with a null key is only allowed if UEFI SecureBoot is off or if
+ a TPM2 is not available.</para>
<xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v256"/></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><option>--refuse-null</option></term>
- <listitem><para>Refuse decrypting credentials that use a null key, regardless of the UEFI SecureBoot state (see above).</para>
+ <listitem><para>Refuse decrypting credentials that use a null key, regardless of the UEFI SecureBoot
+ state or TPM2 availability (see above).</para>
<xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v259"/></listitem>
</varlistentry>