Understanding an AttributeError in python and how to solve it

Question

I am getting the error :

 data = cipher.encrypt(data)
 File "/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/Crypto/Cipher/PKCS1_OAEP.py", line 133, in encrypt
 randFunc = self._key._randfunc
AttributeError: 'str' object has no attribute '_randfunc'

in my console for the following section of code:

 cipher = PKCS1_OAEP.new(PK_ID)
 data = cipher.encrypt(data)

both the PK_ID and data are both of Str

what does the error message mean and how can i solve it for this code?

Answer 1

The PKCS1_OAEP.new() function takes an RSA key object, which you can get from the Crypto.PublicKey.RSA module, it doesn't take a str.

• user3842234: So i would need to pass an 'instance' to the PKCS1_OAEP.new() function ?, is there anyway to convert the PK_ID to this for it to be acepted ?