Bug 14936 - Blank password key (psk) in wpa_supplicant.conf results in all wireless connections not working
Summary: Blank password key (psk) in wpa_supplicant.conf results in all wireless conne...
Status: RESOLVED OLD
Alias: None
Product: Mageia
Classification: Unclassified
Component: RPM Packages (show other bugs)
Version: 4
Hardware: All Linux
Priority: Normal normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Mageia Bug Squad
QA Contact:
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2015-01-03 16:21 CET by Mark Dawson Butterworth
Modified: 2015-10-27 06:59 CET (History)
0 users

See Also:
Source RPM: wpa_supplicant-2.0-2.1.mga4.src.rpm
CVE:
Status comment:


Attachments

Description Mark Dawson Butterworth 2015-01-03 16:21:45 CET
In the process of trying to connect to a wireless network which was giving problems, the key was change both on the router and on a Mageia4-equipped laptop to a space. This didn't resolve the problem and an Ethernet lead was used instead, but I forgot to delete the connection or change the password from a space. Two days later, on the first attempt to use wireless again, the laptop was unable to connect to any wireless network. The applet showed the connections but it would always yield "connection failed". After a couple of hours of investigation, it transpired that the space was translated to

psk=

i.e. there is no quoted text after psk=

This seems to mess up the parsing of /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf such that no wireless connections work.

Removing the offending entry from the file immediately corrected the problem.

This is not a major bug and I am reporting it more so that others can find a solution in case they have the same issue rather than that it needs fixing urgently.

Description of problem:

'psk=', rather than 'psk="some password"', in an entry in wpa_supplicant.conf causes all wireless connections to fail to connect.
When I say all, it is probably actually not the case for any connections which don't use encryption.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):


How reproducible:


Steps to Reproduce:
1. Change a wireless password key (either directly or using the netmanager applet to set a space) such that it is blank
2. Attempt to connect to a different network from that which had the key changed
3. The connection will fail


I am assuming that the best place to fix this bug would be in the parsing of wpa_supplicant.conf, rather than stopping the netmanager applet putting unquoted text in there in the first place.

Reproducible: 

Steps to Reproduce:
Comment 1 Samuel Verschelde 2015-09-21 13:22:13 CEST
Mageia 4 changed to end-of-life (EOL) status on 2015-09-19. It is is no longer 
maintained, which means that it will not receive any further security or bug 
fix updates.

Package Maintainer: If you wish for this bug to remain open because you plan to 
fix it in a currently maintained version, simply change the 'version' to a later 
Mageia version.

Bug Reporter: Thank you for reporting this issue and we are sorry that we weren't 
able to fix it before Mageia 4's end of life. If you are able to reproduce it 
against a later version of Mageia, you are encouraged to click on "Version" and 
change it against that version of Mageia. If it's valid in several versions, 
select the highest and add MGAxTOO in whiteboard for each other valid release.
Example: it's valid in cauldron and Mageia 5, set to cauldron and add MGA5TOO.

Although we aim to fix as many bugs as possible during every release's lifetime, 
sometimes those efforts are overtaken by events. Often a more recent Mageia 
release includes newer upstream software that fixes bugs or makes them obsolete.

If you would like to help fixing bugs in the future, don't hesitate to join the
packager team via our mentoring program [1] or join the teams that fit you 
most [2].

[1] https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Becoming_a_Mageia_Packager
[2] http://www.mageia.org/contribute/
Comment 2 Marja Van Waes 2015-10-27 06:59:05 CET
As announced over a month ago, Mageia 4 changed to end-of-life (EOL) status on 2015-09-19. It is is no longer maintained, which means that it will not receive any further security or bug fix updates.

This issue may have been fixed in a later Mageia release, so, if you still see it and didn't already do so: please upgrade to Mageia 5 (or, if you read this much later than this is written: make sure you run a currently maintained Mageia version)

If you are able to reproduce it against a maintained version of Mageia, you are encouraged to 
1. reopen this bug report, by changing the "Status" from "RESOLVED - OLD" to "REOPENED"
2. click on "Version" and change it against that version of Mageia. If you know it's valid in several versions, select the highest and add MGAxTOO in whiteboard for each other valid release.
Example: it's valid in cauldron and Mageia 5, set to cauldron and add MGA5TOO.
3. give as much relevant information as possible. If you're not an experienced bug reporter and have some time: please read this page:
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/How_to_report_a_bug_properly

If you see a similar issue, but are _not_sure_ it is the same, with the same cause, then please file a new bug report and mention this one in it (please include the bug number, too). 


If you would like to help fixing bugs in the future, don't hesitate to join the
packager team via our mentoring program [1] or join the teams that fit you 
most [2].
[1] https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Becoming_a_Mageia_Packager
[2] http://www.mageia.org/contribute/

Status: NEW => RESOLVED
Resolution: (none) => OLD


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