hostapd and Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) ======================================= This document describes how the WPS implementation in hostapd can be configured and how an external component on an AP (e.g., web UI) is used to enable enrollment of client devices. Introduction to WPS ------------------- Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is a mechanism for easy configuration of a wireless network. It allows automated generation of random keys (WPA passphrase/PSK) and configuration of an access point and client devices. WPS includes number of methods for setting up connections with PIN method and push-button configuration (PBC) being the most commonly deployed options. While WPS can enable more home networks to use encryption in the wireless network, it should be noted that the use of the PIN and especially PBC mechanisms for authenticating the initial key setup is not very secure. As such, use of WPS may not be suitable for environments that require secure network access without chance for allowing outsiders to gain access during the setup phase. WPS uses following terms to describe the entities participating in the network setup: - access point: the WLAN access point - Registrar: a device that control a network and can authorize addition of new devices); this may be either in the AP ("internal Registrar") or in an external device, e.g., a laptop, ("external Registrar") - Enrollee: a device that is being authorized to use the network It should also be noted that the AP and a client device may change roles (i.e., AP acts as an Enrollee and client device as a Registrar) when WPS is used to configure the access point. More information about WPS is available from Wi-Fi Alliance: http://www.wi-fi.org/wifi-protected-setup hostapd implementation ---------------------- hostapd includes an optional WPS component that can be used as an internal WPS Registrar to manage addition of new WPS enabled clients to the network. In addition, WPS Enrollee functionality in hostapd can be used to allow external WPS Registrars to configure the access point, e.g., for initial network setup. In addition, hostapd can proxy a WPS registration between a wireless Enrollee and an external Registrar (e.g., Microsoft Vista or Atheros JumpStart) with UPnP. hostapd configuration --------------------- WPS is an optional component that needs to be enabled in hostapd build configuration (.config). Here is an example configuration that includes WPS support and uses madwifi driver interface: CONFIG_DRIVER_MADWIFI=y CFLAGS += -I/usr/src/madwifi-0.9.3 CONFIG_WPS=y CONFIG_WPS_UPNP=y Following section shows an example runtime configuration (hostapd.conf) that enables WPS: # Configure the driver and network interface driver=madwifi interface=ath0 # WPA2-Personal configuration for the AP ssid=wps-test wpa=2 wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK wpa_pairwise=CCMP # Default WPA passphrase for legacy (non-WPS) clients wpa_passphrase=12345678 # Enable random per-device PSK generation for WPS clients # Please note that the file has to exists for hostapd to start (i.e., create an # empty file as a starting point). wpa_psk_file=/etc/hostapd.psk # Enable control interface for PBC/PIN entry ctrl_interface=/var/run/hostapd # Enable internal EAP server for EAP-WSC (part of Wi-Fi Protected Setup) eap_server=1 # WPS configuration (AP configured, do not allow external WPS Registrars) wps_state=2 ap_setup_locked=1 # If UUID is not configured, it will be generated based on local MAC address. uuid=87654321-9abc-def0-1234-56789abc0000 wps_pin_requests=/var/run/hostapd.pin-req device_name=Wireless AP manufacturer=Company model_name=WAP model_number=123 serial_number=12345 device_type=6-0050F204-1 os_version=01020300 config_methods=label display push_button keypad # if external Registrars are allowed, UPnP support could be added: #upnp_iface=br0 #friendly_name=WPS Access Point External operations ------------------- WPS requires either a device PIN code (usually, 8-digit number) or a pushbutton event (for PBC) to allow a new WPS Enrollee to join the network. hostapd uses the control interface as an input channel for these events. When a client device (WPS Enrollee) connects to hostapd (WPS Registrar) in order to start PIN mode negotiation for WPS, an identifier (Enrollee UUID) is sent. hostapd will need to be configured with a device password (PIN) for this Enrollee. This is an operation that requires user interaction (assuming there are no pre-configured PINs on the AP for a set of Enrollee). The PIN request with information about the device is appended to the wps_pin_requests file (/var/run/hostapd.pin-req in this example). In addition, hostapd control interface event is sent as a notification of a new device. The AP could use, e.g., a web UI for showing active Enrollees to the user and request a PIN for an Enrollee. The PIN request file has one line for every Enrollee that connected to the AP, but for which there was no PIN. Following information is provided for each Enrollee (separated with tabulators): - timestamp (seconds from 1970-01-01) - Enrollee UUID - MAC address - Device name - Manufacturer - Model Name - Model Number - Serial Number - Device category Example line in the /var/run/hostapd.pin-req file: 1200188391 53b63a98-d29e-4457-a2ed-094d7e6a669c Intel(R) Centrino(R) Intel Corporation Intel(R) Centrino(R) - - 1-0050F204-1 Control interface data: WPS-PIN-NEEDED [UUID-E|MAC Address|Device Name|Manufacturer|Model Name|Model Number|Serial Number|Device Category] For example: <2>WPS-PIN-NEEDED [53b63a98-d29e-4457-a2ed-094d7e6a669c|02:12:34:56:78:9a|Device|Manuf|Model|Model Number|Serial Number|1-0050F204-1] When the user enters a PIN for a pending Enrollee, e.g., on the web UI), hostapd needs to be notified of the new PIN over the control interface. This can be done either by using the UNIX domain socket -based control interface directly (src/common/wpa_ctrl.c provides helper functions for using the interface) or by calling hostapd_cli. Example command to add a PIN (12345670) for an Enrollee: hostapd_cli wps_pin 53b63a98-d29e-4457-a2ed-094d7e6a669c 12345670 If the UUID-E is not available (e.g., Enrollee waits for the Registrar to be selected before connecting), wildcard UUID may be used to allow the PIN to be used once with any UUID: hostapd_cli wps_pin any 12345670 To reduce likelihood of PIN being used with other devices or of forgetting an active PIN available for potential attackers, expiration time can be set for the new PIN: hostapd_cli wps_pin any 12345670 300 After this, the Enrollee can connect to the AP again and complete WPS negotiation. At that point, a new, random WPA PSK is generated for the client device and the client can then use that key to connect to the AP to access the network. If the AP includes a pushbutton, WPS PBC mode can be used. It is enabled by pushing a button on both the AP and the client at about the same time (2 minute window). hostapd needs to be notified about the AP button pushed event over the control interface, e.g., by calling hostapd_cli: hostapd_cli wps_pbc At this point, the client has two minutes to complete WPS negotiation which will generate a new WPA PSK in the same way as the PIN method described above. When an external Registrar is used, the AP can act as an Enrollee and use its AP PIN. A static AP PIN (e.g., one one a label in the AP device) can be configured in hostapd.conf (ap_pin parameter). A more secure option is to use hostapd_cli wps_ap_pin command to enable the AP PIN only based on user action (and even better security by using a random AP PIN for each session, i.e., by using "wps_ap_pin random" command with a timeout value). Following commands are available for managing the dynamic AP PIN operations: hostapd_cli wps_ap_pin disable - disable AP PIN (i.e., do not allow external Registrars to use it to learn the current AP settings or to reconfigure the AP) hostapd_cli wps_ap_pin random [timeout] - generate a random AP PIN and enable it - if the optional timeout parameter is given, the AP PIN will be enabled for the specified number of seconds hostapd_cli wps_ap_pin get - fetch the current AP PIN hostapd_cli wps_ap_pin set [timeout] - set the AP PIN and enable it - if the optional timeout parameter is given, the AP PIN will be enabled for the specified number of seconds Credential generation and configuration changes ----------------------------------------------- By default, hostapd generates credentials for Enrollees and processing AP configuration updates internally. However, it is possible to control these operations from external programs, if desired. The internal credential generation can be disabled with skip_cred_build=1 option in the configuration. extra_cred option will then need to be used to provide pre-configured Credential attribute(s) for hostapd to use. The exact data from this binary file will be sent, i.e., it will have to include valid WPS attributes. extra_cred can also be used to add additional networks if the Registrar is used to configure credentials for multiple networks. Processing of received configuration updates can be disabled with wps_cred_processing=1 option. When this is used, an external program is responsible for creating hostapd configuration files and processing configuration updates based on messages received from hostapd over control interface. This will also include the initial configuration on first successful registration if the AP is initially set in unconfigured state. Following control interface messages are sent out for external programs: WPS-REG-SUCCESS For example: <2>WPS-REG-SUCCESS 02:66:a0:ee:17:27 2b7093f1-d6fb-5108-adbb-bea66bb87333 This can be used to tricker change from unconfigured to configured state (random configuration based on the first successful WPS registration). In addition, this can be used to update AP UI about the status of WPS registration progress. WPS-NEW-AP-SETTINGS For example: <2>WPS-NEW-AP-SETTINGS 10260001011045000c6a6b6d2d7770732d74657374100300020020100f00020008102700403065346230343536633236366665306433396164313535346131663462663731323433376163666462376633393965353466316631623032306164343438623510200006024231cede15101e000844 This can be used to update the externally stored AP configuration and then update hostapd configuration (followed by restarting of hostapd).