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    Port Forwarding stopped working after upgrading to 2.8.0

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • C Offline
      comet424 @comet424
      last edited by

      @stephenw10 so i had issues again with running WAN it fails till i restore the configuration i have

      here is the dnslookup and ppoe etc
      dns lookup wan.png
      dns lookup 2.png dns lookup 3.png dns lookup 4.png dns lookup 5.png

      now here is when i do a restore of the config file and i dnslookup
      dns lookup 6.png

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      • stephenw10S Offline
        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
        last edited by

        Ok so VPNs won't be able to connect if the servers are all defined as FQDNs and DNS fails.

        What are 10.0.0.241 and 10.0.0.243?

        You have 1.1.1.1 configured as a DNS server in System > General Setup?

        When DNS fails it appears the system no longer has any DNS servers available other than Unbound on localhost. If Unbound is in forwarding mode that will also fail if it has no servers to forward to.

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        • C Offline
          comet424 @stephenw10
          last edited by

          @stephenw10
          so the 10.0.0.241 and 243 is just for the VPN so in general.

          i removed that 1.1.1.1 from the WAN_ppoe and also had at none in general setup..

          and at the point of testing the wan setup i had deleted all 3 of those dns.. it soly relied on the default like new no dns options under general setup..

          so the test setup i mentioned yesterday where i disabled vpn interface.. i also deleted all the dns under general setup so it was a fresh slate

          so if i restore delete the dns's under general setup disable the vpn interfaces set the rules to just lan to go out the wan... all setup in the first few mins of a restore that seems to be fine...

          but when fails is what you saw in the screen shot.. if you need new screen shots let me know...

          as pfsense doesnt use the vpn as internet though if uses the default where i specify use wan_ppoe under the routing section

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          • stephenw10S Offline
            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
            last edited by

            Was Unbound still set to forwarding mode? It needs to have some external servers configured to forward to in that case.

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            • C Offline
              comet424 @stephenw10
              last edited by comet424

              @stephenw10 so if you mean the host overrides?

              where i have dnssec turned off

              and the host overrides point to 192.168.0.32 (lancache)

              and the lancache then points to 1.1.1.1

              ive also tried pointing to the pia vpn dns and the nordvpn dns

              but doesnt help

              ive also tried where i re enable the dnssec deleted all the host over rides.. plus the custom options as you seen in my text file to the my one drive link.. and it didnt solve nothing a reboot still wouldnt let pfsense ping doman names just ips and i have enable forwarding mode turned off

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              • C Offline
                comet424 @comet424
                last edited by

                ill re do the tests

                so to double check when the Enable Forwarding is checked it uses the DNS's under general setup

                and if there is no dns's and you have the enable forwarding checked then there are no dns's and it cant work correct?

                and if so ill re do the test

                current test i doing is
                of the vpns turned on and forward enabled the host overrides... and when my internet fails ill do that dnslookup and post the info

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                • stephenw10S Offline
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by

                  OK if Unbound was not in forwarding mode when this was taken:
                  https://forum.netgate.com/assets/uploads/files/1754407237097-dns-lookup-wan.png

                  Then Unbound was failing to resolve at that point. Check the Resolver logs for errors. You can also increase the log level to give more detail on individual queries.

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                  • C Offline
                    comet424 @stephenw10
                    last edited by

                    @stephenw10 that i dont remember

                    but also if i do have forwarding checked off.. how does wan work when i dont have the 1.1.1.1 in general setup pointing to wan_ppoe

                    cuz i find everytime i add that it leaks the 1.1.1.1 into the vpn

                    to seperate it wan and vpn
                    do you just have the general setup point to the 2 pia vpn

                    and on dns resolver set all for incoming and just outgoing to 2 vpn interfaces..

                    and then wan will do its own thing ??

                    and under system logs do i set it to Formated or Raw .. its set at general loggin options.. to get that more detailed logs

                    and thanks for the help and patience so far.. i also learning alot too at same time

                    C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • stephenw10S Offline
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by

                      There's no way you can have all DNS queries run over the VPN if the VPN servers are defined as FQDNs which require DNS to connect. 😉

                      If you don't have forwarding enabled Unbound resolves directly against the DNS root servers. It can do that across any route.

                      If you want to avoid DNS "leaks" from clients using one of the VPNs it's usually best to pas clients different DNS servers to use via DHCP and then route traffic to those over the VPN. You can also then add block rules to prevent any other DNS traffic leaving over the WAN directly.

                      Doing that means DNS from pfSense itself can be left as default because clients being routed via the VPN won't use it. But it would also mean those clients don't use the overrides and hence the lancache.

                      An alternative would be so set the DNS behaviour in general setup to 'use remote, ignore local'. Then pfSense itself will use the defined external servers and you can allow VPN clients to use Unbound with the overrides. Unbound itself should be set to only use the VPNs for outgoing queries in that scenario.

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                      • C Offline
                        comet424 @comet424
                        last edited by

                        @stephenw10 so internet lasted a few hours then went down again.. when my vpn goes down or 100% packet loss it just takes out the wan

                        so i did dns resolver logs when it failed.. and when i rebooted and it never fixed itself..

                        the dns resolver i left it as forwarding and i only had the 2 vpns selected as outgoing.. and that seemed to work wan worked vpn worked and then it just fails or what not...

                        i did notice i could ping 1.1.1.1 but dnslookup failed for 1.1.1.1 i left it as the general i didnt know if u wanted raw or formated..

                        but here is the screen shots

                        issue1.png issue2.png issue4.png issue5.png issue7.png issue8.png issue9.png

                        here i rebooted the pfsense

                        issue10.png issue11.png issue12.png

                        here is the dns logger files.. 1 is when it failed.. and the other is when i rebooted. and nothing fixed itself
                        dns resolver after reboot.txt dns resolver.txt

                        is it doing that its removing the dns servers and it cant resolve as its showing that there is no server.. and if so how can i fix this then so wan is seperate from the vpn they dont leak over to vpn and nothing fails

                        and is this cuz my internet is so poor its buggering up the vpn or loosing internet...

                        i will retest again without the vpns tommorow.... but any other tricks or a Check box to make the vpn and wan seperate and work and not fail....

                        i do hope when i get better internet all this issues go away

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                        • C Offline
                          comet424 @stephenw10
                          last edited by

                          @stephenw10 my reply was before i saw your reply

                          ill re read what you said what to do and the use remote ignore local ill have to look that up and google too.. as right now all you mentioned kinda lost me... so i have to re read it a few times with my disylexia and then review how to fix it...

                          so for the dhcp i just tell it dns is 192.168.0.1 i left it simple so that covered vpn and just plain
                          and if you you dont use 192.168.0.1 as the dns dont u loose local domains like the server names?

                          ill re read your comments tommorow.. as i got a headache and trying to understand what you wrote with a headache just makes headaches work... i appreciate the help so far

                          and i wish there was a video i could learn from as i a visual learner...

                          but ill try this stuff tommorow to look it up or figure it out from google what you mentioned

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                          • C Offline
                            comet424 @comet424
                            last edited by comet424

                            so i set General Setup
                            just the 2 dns servers

                            i set the use remote dns ignore local

                            under dns resolver

                            i unchecked dns sec, left the enable forwarding, and i set the incoming all and outgoing to just the 2 vpn servers

                            now i going to let that run all night and see what happens....

                            and ill look up that other information tommorow

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                            • stephenw10S Offline
                              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                              last edited by

                              You can't DNS Lookup 1.1.1.1, it's not an FQDN.

                              When you have the outgoing interfaces in Unbound set to only the VPNs then it will fail to resolve anything if the VPNs go down.

                              If pfSense itself it also set to use only the VPN DNS servers it won't be able to resolve the VPN servers to connect to them.

                              pfSense itself must have access to some other DNS server. Or the VPN servers must be entered as IP addresses directly.

                              I would revert to a much simpler more default config and make sure that works first.

                              C dennypageD 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • C Offline
                                comet424 @stephenw10
                                last edited by

                                @stephenw10 sorry i havent replied i was outta town for family issues and i didnt get notifications that you replied so i also tried other sites and youtube. but still stuck

                                so i did a more simplier as you mentioned

                                so couple issues i but i followed a Lawerence Systems setup of the pia vpn he had 2 different videos plus i watched ca couple others

                                they dont have any general/setup servers
                                and they dont touch the dns resolver.. so i set it to default

                                all and all for incoming and outgoing
                                i check enable dnssec support
                                i check Register DHCP leases in the DNS Resolver
                                i check Register DHCP static mappings in the DNS Resolver
                                i check Register connected OpenVPN clients in the DNS Resolver

                                and i removed the host overrides i had for the time being

                                so this setup works for a while till my internet bogs down for a while and then things dont work.. but i can disable my vpn or reboot and internet works again..
                                my wan connections still cant resolve home depot right i get that something goes wrong.. but if i change the dns in windows to 1.1.1.1 it can resolve home depot searchs fine.. remove to to use 192.168.0.1 it wont work right

                                i even made the NAT simplier i went to also hybrid mode..

                                and i had another question i had posted in youtub but no replies

                                if i have the no wan egress so no VPN traffic can go out the WAN but i get like my ISP dns on the VPN or the 1.1.1.1 on the VPN as a dns... does it matter? does it still get monitored or does it only monitored going out the WAN

                                and so far the only way i can keep my internet from crapping total out

                                i set
                                General setup 1.1.1.1 wan_ppoe
                                Dns resolver All/All incoming/outgoing
                                i check enable dnssec support
                                i check Register DHCP leases in the DNS Resolver
                                i check Register DHCP static mappings in the DNS Resolver
                                i check Register connected OpenVPN clients in the DNS Resolver
                                i uncheck Enable Forwarding Mode

                                but thats when i get cloudflare on my VPN

                                to get my ISP on my VPN
                                i set
                                general/setup - i remove all the dns's
                                Dns resolver All/All incoming/outgoing
                                i check enable dnssec support
                                i check Register DHCP leases in the DNS Resolver
                                i check Register DHCP static mappings in the DNS Resolver
                                i check Register connected OpenVPN clients in the DNS Resolver
                                i uncheck Enable Forwarding Mode

                                so curious in the end if it matters if the dns of the isp or cloudflare matters on the vpn thats supposed to be secure... or can i block the cloudflare or the isp dns on the vpn side

                                oh and i tried for the vpn settings

                                persist-key;
                                persist-tun;
                                remote-cert-tls server;
                                reneg-sec 0;
                                auth-retry interact;
                                dhcp-option DNS 10.0.0.243;
                                
                                persist-key
                                persist-tun
                                remote-cert-tls server
                                reneg-sec 0
                                auth-retry interact
                                dhcp-option DNS 10.0.0.243
                                

                                i seen some use the ; on the back of each option and some dont but i didnt find any made a difference

                                sorry for the delay

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                                • C Offline
                                  comet424 @stephenw10
                                  last edited by

                                  @stephenw10
                                  oh and what i did have that worked but dns still leaked to vpn side

                                  was 1.1.1.1 general setup to wan_ppoe this kept the wan from going down

                                  and then had selected the VPN in the outgoing on outbound interface..
                                  and i had unchecked the forwarding

                                  that seemed to keep things going but WAN clients werent able to work Homedepote serach right

                                  i also tried a setting i found under Adavanced Firewall
                                  i set Firewall State Policy to
                                  interface Bound States... to keep the states to the gateways i thought that would keep each dns in its own lane.. 1.1.1.1 only goes to wan_ppoe 10.0.0.243 goes out the one vpn gateway... under the general setup.. but that didnt keep them seperated either.. still went to the vpn side

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                                  • dennypageD Offline
                                    dennypage @stephenw10
                                    last edited by

                                    @stephenw10 said in Port Forwarding stopped working after upgrading to 2.8.0:

                                    You can't DNS Lookup 1.1.1.1, it's not an FQDN.

                                    You should be able to:

                                    Screenshot 2025-08-19 at 08.56.16.png

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                                    • C Offline
                                      comet424 @dennypage
                                      last edited by

                                      @dennypage ya i can do that

                                      i changed the 1.1.1.1 in general setup to 103.86.99.100 NordVPN dns

                                      when i set the wan_ppoe to 1.1.1.1 i get like 10 Cloudflare DNS's on VPN side clients instead of 1 dns name for the 10.0.0.243 and tells me dns maybe leaking

                                      but using the 103.86.99.100 only pops up 2 dns servers on the VPN side then

                                      but here is the 103.86.99.100
                                      snip2.png snip1.png

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                                      • C Offline
                                        comet424 @comet424
                                        last edited by

                                        and this is my current settings
                                        and yet WAN DNS keeps showing up on VPN side.. when really only 1 dns

                                        but i dunno if its just ok

                                        as you can see with the current settings the 103 germany dns server shows up on the vpn side it doesnt leave just the 1 dns server... but i dunno is it ok since the traffic isnt going out the wan.. or does it matter and any dns's even though secure on vpn if the like cloudflare shows on the vpn side does it mean they see what your secure traffic is doing

                                        snip3.png snip4.png snip5.png snip6.png snip7.png

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                                        • C Offline
                                          comet424 @comet424
                                          last edited by

                                          oh and PIA VPN customer service are not willing to help there response is we dont know pfsense and to use community forums to get any help

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                                          • C Offline
                                            comet424 @comet424
                                            last edited by comet424

                                            @dennypage so i was able to make the dnslookup 1.1.1.1 fail after several hours i defaulted my DNS Resolver.. so it is out the ALL interface.. no General Setup

                                            Pfsense Cant ping doman names.. it can ping 1.1.1.1
                                            pfsense cant dnslookup 1.1.1.1 but it could ping it

                                            Windows machine on WAN side lost its internet cant ping domain names but it can ping ip address 1.1.1.1

                                            my Ubuntu 2 VMS 1 behind VPN and other on my DMZ which is just WAN

                                            both can ping domain names both can go to like google. or amazon.com but windows machine looses it

                                            and so does pfsense ... and pfsense default gateway is using the wan_ppoe not the automatic..
                                            i swear it has to be my provider..

                                            also when my windows machine is using 192.168.0.1 as dns it should be using the ISP dns and resolve Home depot search engine but it cant.. but as soon as i change the 192.168.0.1 dns to 1.1.1.1 it can perfectly resolve it...

                                            i guess also windows must resolve things differentl then ubuntu

                                            i swear my 3megabit internet cant handle both vpn and wan tunneling when wan bogs down but it cant resolve in windows right unless pfsense factory reset then it can desolve right
                                            i figure it has to be my provider too buggering up things i dunno

                                            i swear its like it stalls out cuz everything requires faster then 3mb so if you go to long maxed out it really buggers it all up.. least thats my idea

                                            but here is some screen shots
                                            fail1.png fail2.png fail3.png fail4.png

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