[strongSwan] Debian 9, Xfce, Network Manager, strongSwan and UniFi VPN

David Christensen dpchrist at holgerdanske.com
Wed Feb 5 19:26:32 CET 2020


On 2020-02-04 22:16, David Christensen wrote:
> users:
> 
> I have an AT&T residential gateway that provides the DMZ 192.168.1.0/24. 
>   The gateway has DMZ address 192.168.1.254.
> 
> 
> I have a Ubiquiti Networks UniFi Security Gateway (USG) whose upstream 
> port is connected to the DMZ and has address 192.168.1.133.  The USG 
> provides the LAN 192.168.5.0/24 and has address 192.158.5.1.
> 
> 
> I have created a RADIUS account 'dpchrist' in the UniFi Controller.
> 
> 
> I have configured a VPN network in the UniFi Controller:
> 
>      Name        remote-access
>      VPN Type        L2TP Server
>      Pre-Shared Key    ********************
>      Gateway/Subnet    172.16.5.1/29
>      Name Server        Auto
>      WINS Server        unchecked
>      Site-to-Site VPN    unchecked
> 
>      RADIUS Profile    Default
>      MS-CHAP v2        Require MS-CHAP v2
> 
> 
> I have a Debian 9 laptop with Xfce.  I have attached the laptop to the 
> DMZ at address 192.168.1.144.  The laptop can ping the AT&T gateway, can 
> ping the USG, and can connect to the Internet via the AT&T gateway.
> 
> 
> I would like to connect the laptop on the DMZ to the LAN using Network 
> Manager and strongSwan VPN.
> 
> 
> STFW I found:
> 
> 
> https://www.bestvpnz.com/tutorials/how-to-set-up-l2tp-ipsec-vpn-on-linux-networkmanager-strongswan/ 
> 
> 
> 
> I have installed the following packages on the laptop:
> 
>      openvpn
>      network-manager-openvpn-gnome
>      network-manager-strongswan
>      xl2tpd
>      strongswan
> 
> 
> I have put the pre-shared key into a file in my home directory in the 
> laptop:
> 
>      l2tp-key
> 
> 
> I have created a VPN connection in the laptop:
> 
>      Xfce Applications Menu -> Settings -> Network Connections -> Add:
> 
>        Choose a Connection Type          IPsec/IKEv2 (strongswan)
>        Create...
> 
>          Connection Name                 192.168.1.133
> 
>          VPN
>            Gateway
>              Address                     192.168.1.133
>              Certificate                 l2tp-key
>            Client
>              Authentication              Pre-shared key
>              Username                    dpchrist
>              Password
>                -> Store the password only for this user
>                                          ********************
> 
>            Options
>              Request an inner IP address checked
>              Enforce UDP encapsulation   checked
>              Use IP compression          checked
> 
> 
> When I select Xfce Panel -> Notification Area -> NetworkManager Applet 
> -> VPN Connections -> 192.168.1.133, I get a pop-up that says:
> 
>          VPN Connection Failed
> 
>          The VPN connection "192.168.1.133" failed because the VPN
>          service failed to start.
> 
> 
> There are clues in the messages log:
> 
>          2020-02-04 20:44:30 root at tinkywinky ~
>          # tail -n 4 /var/log/messages
>          Feb  4 20:43:42 tinkywinky NetworkManager[537]: <info> 
> [1580877822.3516] audit: op="connection-activate" 
> uuid="4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8" name="192.168.1.133" 
> pid=1210 uid=13250 result="success"
>          Feb  4 20:43:42 tinkywinky NetworkManager[537]: <info> 
> [1580877822.3549] 
> vpn-connection[0x563d18544800,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
> Saw the service appear; activating connection
>          Feb  4 20:43:42 tinkywinky NetworkManager[537]: <info> 
> [1580877822.4545] 
> vpn-connection[0x563d18544800,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
> VPN connection: (ConnectInteractive) reply received
>          Feb  4 20:43:42 tinkywinky NetworkManager[537]: <warn> 
> [1580877822.4593] 
> vpn-connection[0x563d18544800,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
> VPN connection: failed to connect: 'Loading gateway certificate failed.'
> 
> 
> STFW I found my own posts from ~6 months ago with these same issues.  I 
> fumbled around and eventually got it working, but have no recollection 
> or understanding of how or why.  I have not touched the UniFi settings 
> since then.  The laptop has a fresh install of Debian 9.
> 
> 
> Suggestions?
> 
> 
> David

While setting up Wi-Fi, "Default Keyring" (Gnome Keyring?) was rejecting 
the password I set yesterday.  So I moved aside the following file:

~/.local/share/keyrings/Default_keyring.keyring


When I selected NetworkManager Applet -> VPN Conections -> 192.168.1.133:

1.  A pop-up prompted for the Pre-Shared Key.  So I entered it.

2.  A modal pop-up prompted to create a new keyring.  So, I entered my 
user account password twice.


Nothing was displayed on the screen and the VPN was not working.


When I selected NetworkManager Applet -> VPN Conections -> 192.168.1.133 
again, the following dialog was displayed:

         VPN Connection Failed

         The VPN connection "192.168.1.133" failed because the VPN
         service failed to start.


The logs show:

         2020-02-05 10:15:38 root at tinkywinky ~
         # tail -n 24 /var/log/messages
         Feb  5 10:08:04 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926084.4024] audit: op="connection-activate" 
uuid="4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8" name="192.168.1.133" 
pid=1239 uid=13250 result="success"
         Feb  5 10:08:04 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926084.4140] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a260,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
Started the VPN service, PID 2588
         Feb  5 10:08:04 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926084.4373] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a260,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
Saw the service appear; activating connection
         Feb  5 10:08:04 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926084.4457] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a260,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
VPN plugin: state changed: init (1)
         Feb  5 10:08:04 tinkywinky gnome-keyring-d[1798]: invalid 
unclassed pointer in cast to 'GkmObject'
         Feb  5 10:08:04 tinkywinky gnome-keyring-d[1798]: 
gkm_object_expose_full: assertion 'GKM_IS_OBJECT (self)' failed
         Feb  5 10:08:26 tinkywinky kernel: [ 1070.638661] perf: 
interrupt took too long (3177 > 3172), lowering 
kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 62750
         Feb  5 10:09:58 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926198.8951] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a260,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
VPN connection: (ConnectInteractive) reply received
         Feb  5 10:09:58 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <warn> 
[1580926198.8975] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a260,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
VPN connection: failed to connect: 'Loading gateway certificate failed.'
         Feb  5 10:09:58 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926198.9001] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a260,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
VPN plugin: state changed: stopped (6)
         Feb  5 10:09:59 tinkywinky gcr-prompter[2632]: GtkDialog mapped 
without a transient parent. This is discouraged.
         Feb  5 10:10:22 tinkywinky gnome-keyring-d[1798]: asked to 
register collection 
/org/freedesktop/secrets/collection/Default_5fkeyring, but it's already 
registered
         Feb  5 10:11:47 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926307.4292] audit: op="connection-activate" 
uuid="4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8" name="192.168.1.133" 
pid=1239 uid=13250 result="success"
         Feb  5 10:11:47 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926307.4333] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a460,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
Saw the service appear; activating connection
         Feb  5 10:11:47 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926307.5385] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a460,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
VPN connection: (ConnectInteractive) reply received
         Feb  5 10:11:47 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <warn> 
[1580926307.5404] 
vpn-connection[0x5634e2a5a460,4f2c0009-5392-4001-a090-adb11d5977a8,"192.168.1.133",0]: 
VPN connection: failed to connect: 'Loading gateway certificate failed.'
         Feb  5 10:12:29 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926349.8395] device (wlp11s0): set-hw-addr: set MAC address to 
42:82:FD:31:3A:3C (scanning)
         Feb  5 10:12:29 tinkywinky NetworkManager[524]: <info> 
[1580926349.9184] device (wlp11s0): supplicant interface state: 
disconnected -> disabled
:set nonumber


David


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