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    Syslog service in pfSense v2.8.1 often stop itself

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • stephenw10S Offline
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by

      That's a compile time fix, it can't be applied via System Patches.

      J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • J Offline
        jrey @stephenw10
        last edited by

        @stephenw10

        wasn't suggesting a "patch" in the current "pf"sense of a patch

        On the other hand it is just a binary file, that could be provided and copied into place.

        For those not willing to play with "Alpha" builds the release of 25.07.2 would be a great alternative, rather then having to wait for beta or even final release of 25.11

        Maybe the "patch system" should have the ability to deliver a hot fix for certain binaries in the future?
        somewhat surprising that since BSD at the core a patch could be created with bsdiff and bspatch both of which are available and actually installed as part of the package.

        Annoying issues (and not that there are that many, this is one) could likely be fixed by providing this ability to either install a new file or run a binary patch, without having to wait for a full drop of the next version.
        (the problem with patching vs copying, is as we have seen in that past, the files where different in the same "release" from one day to the next. Refresh my memory when was that 23.xx, I'd have to look it up)

        point is when there is a will there is a way..

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

          Yes we are looking at options.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
          • S Offline
            slu @jrey
            last edited by slu

            @jrey years ago there was a p1 release:
            https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/releases/2-3-5-p1.html

            pfSense Gold subscription

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            • A Offline
              aclrgt
              last edited by

              Hello,
              I'm experiencing the same problem with a client after updating to 25.07.1
              I can also confirm that the problem occurs because we have a remote syslog server under maintenance.
              Pf's syslogd should continue to work in this scenario.
              I hope a fix is ​​found soon.
              Thank you,

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • KOMK Offline
                KOM @dennypage
                last edited by KOM

                @dennypage Huh. I did not know that.

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

                  As a workaround you can prevent the syslogd process seeing the connection rejection message from the server by adding firewall walls.

                  You need to pass the syslog traffic outbound with state set to 'none'. And block the incoming icmp rejection if it's not already blocked.

                  It then just keeps sending to the server.

                  A 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • V Offline
                    vmillan69
                    last edited by

                    I have the same problem but with version 25.07.1 of pfsense+ and I am in PCI non-compliance. I think it is not that the remote server is not available for me, it is a bug in the version and it is critical.

                    J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • J Offline
                      jrey @vmillan69
                      last edited by

                      @vmillan69 said in Syslog service in pfSense v2.8.1 often stop itself:

                      I think it is not that the remote server is not available for me,

                      if it is not this specifically -- then more information is likely required to offer any suggestions --

                      same issue with code reference
                      https://forum.netgate.com/topic/198418/25.07-unbound-pfblocker-python-syslog/43?_=1758219580156

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

                        Yes if you're not seeing 'connection refused logged then it's not the same issue. In which case the more info you can give us the better.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • A Offline
                          aclrgt @stephenw10
                          last edited by

                          @stephenw10 said in Syslog service in pfSense v2.8.1 often stop itself:

                          As a workaround you can prevent the syslogd process seeing the connection rejection message from the server by adding firewall walls.

                          You need to pass the syslog traffic outbound with state set to 'none'. And block the incoming icmp rejection if it's not already blocked.

                          It then just keeps sending to the server.

                          Thanks for the tips 👍

                          M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • M Offline
                            mcury Rebel Alliance @aclrgt
                            last edited by mcury

                            Workaround tested on 25.07.1 and working, thanks @stephenw10

                            Follow for reference:

                            pfSense LAN: 192.168.50.254/24
                            Syslog: 192.168.50.253
                            Syslog port: UDP 1514
                            
                            
                            ========
                            Status / System Logs / Settings
                            Remote Logging Options
                            
                            Source Address: LAN
                            IP Protocol: IPv4
                            Remote log servers: 192.168.50.253:1514
                            ========
                            
                            Two floating rules:
                            
                            Action: Pass
                            Interface: LAN
                            Direction: out
                            IPv4
                            Protocol: UDP
                            Source: 192.168.50.254
                            Source port: 514
                            Destination: 192.168.50.253
                            Destination port: 1514
                            State type: None
                            Description: WORKAROUND 16362
                            
                            Action: Block
                            Quick: ticked
                            Interface: LAN
                            Direction: in
                            IPv4
                            Protocol: ICMP
                            ICMP Subtypes: Destination unreachable
                            Source: 192.168.50.253
                            Destination: 192.168.50.254
                            Description: WORKAROUND 16362 
                            

                            dead on arrival, nowhere to be found.

                            T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • T Offline
                              thetravellor @mcury
                              last edited by

                              @mcury I will try your workaround.

                              I have just applied 25.11 dev and can confirm that it does not solve the syslog issue.

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

                                Hmm, 25.11-dev has the patched syslogd. Are you still seeing the connection refused message? What's the last thing(s) logged?

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • S Offline
                                  slu @slu
                                  last edited by

                                  said in Syslog service in pfSense v2.8.1 often stop itself:

                                  "Service Watchdog" at the moment, maybe a workaround?

                                  I can answer this myself (we rebooted yesterday our syslog server), service watchdog working:

                                  20:43:00 Service Watchdog detected service syslogd stopped. Restarting syslogd (System Logger 
                                  Daemon)
                                  

                                  pfSense Gold subscription

                                  T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • T Offline
                                    tsmalmbe @slu
                                    last edited by

                                    @slu How did you implement this - I have never added anything custom to the watchdog.

                                    Security Consultant at Mint Security Ltd - www.mintsecurity.fi

                                    S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • S Offline
                                      slu @tsmalmbe
                                      last edited by slu

                                      @tsmalmbe not sure what's exactly your question because the custom, but here are the steps:

                                      1. install Service_Watchdog package
                                      2. Services / Service Watchdog
                                      3. Add New Service
                                      4. select syslogd

                                      Done :)

                                      pfSense Gold subscription

                                      T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • T Offline
                                        tsmalmbe @slu
                                        last edited by

                                        @slu Yes exactly I needed this very obvious steps clearly spelled out to me :) Thank you.

                                        Security Consultant at Mint Security Ltd - www.mintsecurity.fi

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                                        • provelsP Offline
                                          provels
                                          last edited by

                                          FWIW, I see the service stop randomly, too, but I just use a second HDD mounted on the system drive for my remote logging, so no remote syslog server that might require FW rules. I'd suggest turning on notifications on Watchdog as well so you can check logs.

                                          Peder

                                          MAIN - pfSense+ 25.07.1-RELEASE - Adlink MXE-5401, i7, 16 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD. 500 GB HDD for SyslogNG
                                          BACKUP - pfSense+ 23.01-RELEASE - Hyper-V Virtual Machine, Gen 1, 2 v-CPUs, 3 GB RAM, 8GB VHDX (Dynamic)

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                                          • stephenw10S Offline
                                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                            last edited by

                                            Do you see any errors logged before it stops? I assume you're using syslog-ng locally for the extra disk?

                                            provelsP 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
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