The six notice severities
What each one means — and what follows from it.
A notice is anything verstag tells you about a finding. Every notice carries a severity, and each severity has a consequence of its own.
The signed-in product is in German, so its wording is quoted in German here, with the English rendering in italics.
The six severities
| Severity | Meaning | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Nicht möglich Not possible | The output cannot be produced this way | It is not produced; without a change the file is skipped |
| Warnung Warning | It is produced, but does not meet every requirement | Check it before it goes out |
| Optimierung empfohlen Better option available | There is a measurably better setting | Adopting it is one click; without that your choice stands |
| Manuelle Prüfung Manual check | This cannot be decided automatically | Look at it — verstag gives no recommendation here |
| Information Information | Context for judging the finding | Nothing to do |
| Erfüllt Passed | Checked and in order | — |
Each severity also has a shape of its own, not merely a colour: ✕ in a circle, a triangle, sparkles, a question mark in a circle, an exclamation mark in a circle, a tick.
„Manuelle Prüfung“ does not sit between „Warnung“ and „Information“. It means the question could not be decided automatically — look at the place yourself.
What the check „Aussteller auf der Trust-Liste“ (Issuer on the trust list) can say
The second pass against the list of recognised issuers reports its findings on the result card, at the third check, „Aussteller auf der Trust-Liste“.
„Warnung“ — the file itself is affected, and the check carries a warning sign:
Die Datei ist signiert, aber das Zertifikat des Unterzeichners steht nicht auf der offiziellen C2PA-Trust-Liste. Wer sie signiert hat, ist damit nicht belegt.
The file is signed, but the signer’s certificate is not on the official C2PA trust list. Who signed it is therefore not established.
Das Zertifikat des Unterzeichners war zum Prüfzeitpunkt abgelaufen.
The signer’s certificate had expired at the time of the check.
„Manuelle Prüfung“ — the check itself is affected, and the check carries a dash, „nicht bestätigt“ (not confirmed):
Die Vertrauensprüfung war bei diesem Durchlauf abgeschaltet. Über den Unterzeichner sagt das Ergebnis deshalb nichts.
The trust check was switched off for this run. The result therefore says nothing about the signer.
Die C2PA-Trust-Liste war nicht lesbar, die Vertrauensprüfung hat also nicht stattgefunden. Das ist ein Befund über uns, nicht über die Datei.
The C2PA trust list could not be read, so the trust check did not happen. That is a finding about us, not about the file.
Die Prüfung hat einen Status gemeldet, den diese Version nicht kennt. Der Rohwert steht unter „Technische Details“.
The check reported a status this version does not know. The raw value is under “Technical details”.
Where several findings meet, the heavier of the two severities counts. Under „Technische Details“ (Technical details) sit the check codes, the unremarkable ones included.
Where there is nothing to report, the check carries a tick: „Der Aussteller steht auf der C2PA-Trust-Liste.“ (The issuer is on the C2PA trust list.)
Whether the signing time is attested is not part of this check but of the detail „Signiert am“ (Signed on). Where the timestamp comes from no trustworthy source, it reads „Zeitpunkt nicht unabhängig bezeugt“ (time not independently attested).
Two sentences are about the check, not about the file
The first two sentences under „Manuelle Prüfung“ are not about the file that was checked: one says the trust check was switched off, the other that the list could not be read. In both cases the pass did not happen, and the result then says nothing about the signer.
The third sentence appears when the check reports a status this version does not know. The raw value is under „Technische Details“.
„Herkunftskette nicht abrufbar“ (Provenance chain not retrievable)
Some applications, Photoshop or Firefly for example, keep Content Credentials in the cloud rather than in the file. The file then carries only a reference to them. verstag fetches them itself when it verifies and when it signs, and checks the file against them.
If the fetch fails, the notice „Herkunftskette nicht abrufbar“ appears: in the library at the level Manuelle Prüfung (Manual review), on the result card as a line in the section „Content Credentials“. It names the server and the reason, for example:
Der Server hat nicht rechtzeitig geantwortet. (The server did not answer in time.)
Der Server war nicht erreichbar. (The server could not be reached.)
Der Server hat den Abruf abgelehnt (HTTP 404). (The server refused the request.)
Die angegebene Adresse ist für einen sicheren Abruf nicht zulässig. (The address is not allowed for a safe fetch.)
Der Server hat keine lesbaren Content Credentials geliefert. (The server returned no readable Content Credentials.)
The file can still be edited and signed. Its derivatives then carry only verstag’s own Content Credentials, without the original’s provenance chain. The derivative list says so under the affected entry.
verstag fetches only over HTTPS and only from publicly reachable servers, and it does not follow redirects. A fetch may take at most five seconds and be at most 4 MB.
„Datei nach dem Signieren verändert“ (File changed after signing)
This notice carries the level Warnung (Warning). It appears in the library when a file’s Content Credentials no longer match its content: the file was changed after it was signed, for example by saving it again without Content Credentials. On the result card the outcome then reads „Nach dem Signieren verändert“ (Altered after signing).
Signing stays possible. The finding is carried into every derivative as it is, and external validators show this part of the provenance chain there as invalid. verstag neither removes the finding nor softens it.
Where you can, export the original again from the application it came from, with Content Credentials, and upload it anew. The raw value of the check is under „Technische Details“.
Before signing: „Content Credentials fehlerhaft“ (Content Credentials faulty) and „Herkunftskette nicht abrufbar“ (Provenance chain not retrievable)
Before a derivative is signed, verstag warns when the original carries one of these findings: its Content Credentials are not valid, or its externally stored provenance chain could not be retrieved during the check. In a batch the affected tiles are marked. Below the selection, and again above „Batch starten“ (Start batch), it says how many of the selected assets are affected, including those from other folders. In the editor the notice sits in the step that saves.
You can still select and sign these assets. The notice tells you beforehand what the derivative takes along: the original’s finding, unchanged. The C2PA specification reads such a finding in a derivative this way: the error was known, and the original was used anyway.
An issuer outside the trust list does not trigger the notice.