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    Snort fatal error on start

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved pfSense Packages
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    • bmeeksB
      bmeeks
      last edited by

      @T5000:

      @T5000:

      It happens every time now the rules get updated. After every update the unicode.map file is blank again. Found no solution so snort is nearly useless now.

      I did a complete reinstall of pfsense and snort. I can't even start snort the first time… all i get is the FATAL ERROR.

      Something seems really f***** up with Netgate APU & pfsense 2.1.5 & snort. I never had any problems before pfsense 2.1.5. Even on the older Netgate m1n1wall i had no problems for years.

      So if a fresh install didn't fix the issue then it's really f***** up somewhere.

      I will pass this along to the Netgate guys.  One time in the past there was a temporary issue similar to this.  Perhaps it has occurred again.  BTW, if you have a support contract with Netgate, you could certainly contact them about your issue.  That may be faster than my e-mail to them.

      Bill

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • J
        joako
        last edited by

        I suffer the same problem. In an attempt to resolve this I uninstall and then try to reinstall snort but it does not reinstall:

        Installation of snort FAILED!

        Beginning package installation for snort .
        Downloading package configuration file… done.
        Saving updated package information... done.
        Downloading snort and its dependencies...
        Checking for package installation...
        Downloading https://files.pfsense.org/packages/8/All/snort-2.9.6.2-i386.pbi ...  (extracting)
        Loading package configuration... done.
        Configuring package components...
        Additional files... snort_sync.xml failed.
        Removing package...
        Starting package deletion for snort-2.9.6.2-i386...done.
        Removing snort components...
        Menu items... done.
        Services... done.
        Loading package instructions...
        Deinstall commands... done.
        Removing package instructions...done.
        Auxiliary files... done.
        Package XML... done.
        Configuration... done.
        done.
        Failed to install package.

        Installation halted.

        Is there any solution yet?

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • J
          joako
          last edited by

          2nd reinstall attempt no longer failed, but the original error persists:

          Sep 17 16:49:51 php: /snort/snort_interfaces.php: The command '/usr/local/bin/snort -R 12306 -D -q -l /var/log/snort/snort_em1_vlan112306 –pid-path /var/run --nolock-pidfile -G 12306 -c /usr/pbi/snort-i386/etc/snort/snort_12306_em1_vlan1/snort.conf -i em1_vlan1' returned exit code '1', the output was ''

          Sep 17 16:49:51 snort[30106]: FATAL ERROR: /usr/pbi/snort-i386/etc/snort/snort_12306_em1_vlan1/snort.conf(169) => Did not find specified IIS Unicode codemap in the specified IIS Unicode Map file.

          Version 2.1.5-RELEASE (i386)
          built on Mon Aug 25 07:44:26 EDT 2014
          FreeBSD 8.3-RELEASE-p16

          CPU Type Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D410 @ 1.66GHz
          Current: 207 MHz, Max: 1659 MHz

          Memory usage 10% of 2011 MB

          Disk usage 31% of 1.8G

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • T
            T5000
            last edited by

            @bmeeks:

            @T5000:

            @T5000:

            It happens every time now the rules get updated. After every update the unicode.map file is blank again. Found no solution so snort is nearly useless now.

            I did a complete reinstall of pfsense and snort. I can't even start snort the first time… all i get is the FATAL ERROR.

            Something seems really f***** up with Netgate APU & pfsense 2.1.5 & snort. I never had any problems before pfsense 2.1.5. Even on the older Netgate m1n1wall i had no problems for years.

            So if a fresh install didn't fix the issue then it's really f***** up somewhere.

            I will pass this along to the Netgate guys.  One time in the past there was a temporary issue similar to this.  Perhaps it has occurred again.  BTW, if you have a support contract with Netgate, you could certainly contact them about your issue.  That may be faster than my e-mail to them.

            Bill

            Yes i have a support contract with Netgate. I thought that this is related to just a package so they can't help anyway. But it seems that only Netgate APUs are affected so i contacted the support about the issue.

            I will post the answer here is they are aware of it. Let me know what they told you.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • bmeeksB
              bmeeks
              last edited by

              @T5000:

              @bmeeks:

              @T5000:

              @T5000:

              It happens every time now the rules get updated. After every update the unicode.map file is blank again. Found no solution so snort is nearly useless now.

              I did a complete reinstall of pfsense and snort. I can't even start snort the first time… all i get is the FATAL ERROR.

              Something seems really f***** up with Netgate APU & pfsense 2.1.5 & snort. I never had any problems before pfsense 2.1.5. Even on the older Netgate m1n1wall i had no problems for years.

              So if a fresh install didn't fix the issue then it's really f***** up somewhere.

              I will pass this along to the Netgate guys.  One time in the past there was a temporary issue similar to this.  Perhaps it has occurred again.  BTW, if you have a support contract with Netgate, you could certainly contact them about your issue.  That may be faster than my e-mail to them.

              Bill

              Yes i have a support contract with Netgate. I thought that this is related to just a package so they can't help anyway. But it seems that only Netgate APUs are affected so i contacted the support about the issue.

              I will post the answer here is they are aware of it. Let me know what they told you.

              I passed along a link to this thread and notified them some users were having issues and what I thought the issue might be.  They acknowledged receipt and said they would look into it.  I provided them my personal contact information if something else was needed from me or if it was later determined the problem was something I might need to fix within the Snort package.

              Bill

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • S
                stenio
                last edited by

                @bmeeks:

                My guess is that during the automatic package removal and re-install operation that occurs during a pfSense upgrade, one or more of the Snort binary files in the PBI got corrupted upon the re-install.  The file it is complaining about is one of the binary shared-object rule files.  It is true this file is updated with each rules update as well, so it may have gotten corrupted then.

                Try these steps:

                First, force a total new download of Snort rules by going to the UPDATES tab and clicking the FORCE button.

                If that does not fix it, (it really should, though), then try removing and re-installing the Snort package.  This step really should not be necessary, though.

                Bill

                I forced the rules updating but it didn't work. Same result reinstalling the package keeping the old settings.
                I see from the log that snort exits with a signal 11:

                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]: Waiting for new data
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]: Opened spool file '/var/log/snort/snort_rl023326/snort_23326_rl0.u2.1410818949'
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]: Using waldo file '/var/log/snort/snort_rl023326/barnyard2/23326_rl0.waldo': spool directory = /var/log/snort/snort_rl023326 spool filebase = snort_23326_rl0.u2 time_stamp = 1410818949 record_idx = 28
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]: Barnyard2 initialization completed successfully (pid=99050)
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]: –== Initialization Complete ==--
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]:
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]: Writing PID "99050" to file "/var/run/barnyard2_rl023326.pid"
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]: PID path stat checked out ok, PID path set to /var/run
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[98746]: Daemon parent exiting
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[99050]: Daemon initialized, signaled parent pid: 98746
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[98746]: Initializing daemon mode
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[98746]: Log directory = /var/log/snort/snort_rl023326
                Sep 20 12:04:47 barnyard2[98746]: Barnyard2 spooler: Event cache size set to [8192]
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: –-------------------------- +[ Signature Suppress list ]+
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: +[No entry in Signature Suppress List]+
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: +[ Signature Suppress list ]+ –--------------------------
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: Found pid path directive (/var/run)
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: Parsing config file "/usr/pbi/snort-i386/etc/snort/snort_23326_rl0/barnyard2.conf"
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: Initializing Output Plugins!
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: Initializing Input Plugins!
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: –== Initializing Barnyard2 ==--
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]:
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: Running in Continuous mode
                Sep 20 12:04:46 barnyard2[98746]: Found pid path directive (/var/run)
                Sep 20 12:04:46 SnortStartup[98424]: Barnyard2 START for Snort su LAN(23326_rl0)…
                Sep 20 12:04:44 kernel: pid 91088 (snort), uid 0: exited on signal 11
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]: Waiting for new data
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]: Opened spool file '/var/log/snort/snort_rl143270/snort_43270_rl1.u2.1410818919'
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]: Using waldo file '/var/log/snort/snort_rl143270/barnyard2/43270_rl1.waldo': spool directory = /var/log/snort/snort_rl143270 spool filebase = snort_43270_rl1.u2 time_stamp = 1410818919 record_idx = 26
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]: Barnyard2 initialization completed successfully (pid=90144)
                Sep 20 12:04:44 SnortStartup[90747]: Snort START for Snort su LAN(23326_rl0)…
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]: –== Initialization Complete ==--
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]:
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]: Writing PID "90144" to file "/var/run/barnyard2_rl143270.pid"
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]: PID path stat checked out ok, PID path set to /var/run
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[90144]: Daemon initialized, signaled parent pid: 87874
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: Daemon parent exiting
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: Initializing daemon mode
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: Log directory = /var/log/snort/snort_rl143270
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: Barnyard2 spooler: Event cache size set to [8192]
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: –-------------------------- +[ Signature Suppress list ]+
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: +[No entry in Signature Suppress List]+
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: +[ Signature Suppress list ]+ –--------------------------
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: Found pid path directive (/var/run)
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: Parsing config file "/usr/pbi/snort-i386/etc/snort/snort_43270_rl1/barnyard2.conf"
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: Initializing Output Plugins!
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: Initializing Input Plugins!
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]: –== Initializing Barnyard2 ==--
                Sep 20 12:04:44 barnyard2[87874]:

                Quite strange!

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • BBcan177B
                  BBcan177 Moderator
                  last edited by

                  If you use Barnyard2, maybe disable that Feature, and then do your Upgrade to see if you can atleast get it upgraded? Re-enable Barnyard after that?

                  "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

                  Website: http://pfBlockerNG.com
                  Twitter: @BBcan177  #pfBlockerNG
                  Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pfBlockerNG/new/

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • S
                    stenio
                    last edited by

                    @BBcan177:

                    If you use Barnyard2, maybe disable that Feature, and then do your Upgrade to see if you can atleast get it upgraded? Re-enable Barnyard after that?

                    Tried but same result:

                    Sep 22 10:03:03 kernel: pid 7377 (snort), uid 0: exited on signal 11
                    Sep 22 10:03:02 SnortStartup[7290]: Snort START for Snort su LAN(23326_rl0)…
                    Sep 22 10:03:01 kernel: pid 6966 (snort), uid 0: exited on signal 11
                    Sep 22 10:03:00 SnortStartup[6686]: Snort START for Snort su WAN(43270_rl1)…
                    Sep 22 09:45:54 check_reload_status: Reloading filter
                    Sep 22 09:45:39 kernel: pid 26501 (snort), uid 0: exited on signal 11
                    Sep 22 09:45:39 SnortStartup[26164]: Snort START for Snort su LAN(23326_rl0)…
                    Sep 22 09:45:39 php: /pkg_mgr_install.php: [Snort] Package post-installation tasks completed…
                    Sep 22 09:45:37 kernel: pid 24335 (snort), uid 0: exited on signal 11
                    Sep 22 09:45:37 SnortStartup[24035]: Snort START for Snort su WAN(43270_rl1)…
                    Sep 22 09:45:37 php: /pkg_mgr_install.php: [Snort] Starting Snort using rebuilt configuration…
                    Sep 22 09:45:37 php: /pkg_mgr_install.php: [Snort] Finished rebuilding installation from saved settings…

                    I think that I need to purge the configuration...  :'(

                    Thanks,
                    Stenio

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • S
                      stenio
                      last edited by

                      @stenio:

                      I think that I need to purge the configuration…  :'(

                      Configuration purged and reinstalled. Now it works properly.

                      Thanks,
                      Stenio

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • T
                        T5000
                        last edited by

                        @bmeeks:

                        @T5000:

                        @bmeeks:

                        @T5000:

                        @T5000:

                        It happens every time now the rules get updated. After every update the unicode.map file is blank again. Found no solution so snort is nearly useless now.

                        I did a complete reinstall of pfsense and snort. I can't even start snort the first time… all i get is the FATAL ERROR.

                        Something seems really f***** up with Netgate APU & pfsense 2.1.5 & snort. I never had any problems before pfsense 2.1.5. Even on the older Netgate m1n1wall i had no problems for years.

                        So if a fresh install didn't fix the issue then it's really f***** up somewhere.

                        I will pass this along to the Netgate guys.  One time in the past there was a temporary issue similar to this.  Perhaps it has occurred again.  BTW, if you have a support contract with Netgate, you could certainly contact them about your issue.  That may be faster than my e-mail to them.

                        Bill

                        Yes i have a support contract with Netgate. I thought that this is related to just a package so they can't help anyway. But it seems that only Netgate APUs are affected so i contacted the support about the issue.

                        I will post the answer here is they are aware of it. Let me know what they told you.

                        I passed along a link to this thread and notified them some users were having issues and what I thought the issue might be.  They acknowledged receipt and said they would look into it.  I provided them my personal contact information if something else was needed from me or if it was later determined the problem was something I might need to fix within the Snort package.

                        Bill

                        I finally got an answer:

                        I see you purchased an APU with NanoBSD pfSense installed on an SD card. Snort and many other packages will not function on pfSense when installed on a SD card. A full installation of pfSense is required and to do so, pfSense must be installed on an SSD.

                        Your options are limited. If Snort is essential, you will need an mSATA SSD drive with pfSense installed. We could sell you an mSATA drive, preloaded with pfSense 2.1.5. Otherwise, you could reset your device to factory default settings and operate without Snort.

                        –--------------

                        That's it. Not really hepful because it worked fine prior to pfsense 2.1.5. So i guess it can't be fixed then.

                        -T5000

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                        • S
                          Supermule Banned
                          last edited by

                          Thats a REALLY weird answer since it worked on 2.1.4…..

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • T
                            T5000
                            last edited by

                            @Supermule:

                            Thats a REALLY weird answer since it worked on 2.1.4…..

                            Yes, it worked very well for months.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • bmeeksB
                              bmeeks
                              last edited by

                              @T5000:

                              @Supermule:

                              Thats a REALLY weird answer since it worked on 2.1.4…..

                              Yes, it worked very well for months.

                              One thing that has slowly been changing is the growth in the number of rules as different exploits are handled by rules updates.  The amount of free space required to unpack and install everything incrementally increases.  Same goes for the binary parts of some packages (the PBI files).  These must be downloaded, unzipped, and then installed.  That takes additional disk space.  Compared to a full SSD or HD install, there is not much space on CF (NanoBSD) installs due to the default partition layouts.  What is happening, I think, is the package installer is running out of space and silently failing in a number of different ways depending on exactly where in the install process it runs out of disk space.

                              Bill

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • S
                                stenio
                                last edited by

                                Today I found snort not running. If I start it I see:

                                Sep 29 15:50:28 php: /snort/snort_interfaces.php: The command '/usr/local/bin/snort -R 39369 -D -q -l /var/log/snort/snort_rl139369 –pid-path /var/run --nolock-pidfile -G 39369 -c /usr/pbi/snort-i386/etc/snort/snort_39369_rl1/snort.conf -i rl1' returned exit code '1', the output was ''
                                Sep 29 15:50:28 snort[13094]: FATAL ERROR: /usr/pbi/snort-i386/etc/snort/snort_39369_rl1/snort.conf(169) => Did not find specified IIS Unicode codemap in the specified IIS Unicode Map file.
                                Sep 29 15:50:27 php: /snort/snort_interfaces.php: [Snort] Snort START for WAN(rl1)…

                                It worked for a few days after a complete reinstall. I'm using nanobsd but I have 1.4 GB of free space:

                                $ df -h
                                Filesystem          Size    Used  Avail Capacity  Mounted on
                                /dev/ufs/pfsense0    1.8G    271M    1.4G    16%    /
                                devfs                1.0k    1.0k      0B  100%    /dev
                                /dev/ufs/cf          49M    5.2M    40M    11%    /cf
                                /dev/md0              38M    2.2M    33M    6%    /tmp
                                /dev/md1              57M    23M    30M    44%    /var
                                devfs                1.0k    1.0k      0B  100%    /var/dhcpd/dev

                                What can I do?

                                Thanks,
                                Stenio

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • bmeeksB
                                  bmeeks
                                  last edited by

                                  @stenio:

                                  Today I found snort not running. If I start it I see:

                                  Sep 29 15:50:28 php: /snort/snort_interfaces.php: The command '/usr/local/bin/snort -R 39369 -D -q -l /var/log/snort/snort_rl139369 –pid-path /var/run --nolock-pidfile -G 39369 -c /usr/pbi/snort-i386/etc/snort/snort_39369_rl1/snort.conf -i rl1' returned exit code '1', the output was ''
                                  Sep 29 15:50:28 snort[13094]: FATAL ERROR: /usr/pbi/snort-i386/etc/snort/snort_39369_rl1/snort.conf(169) => Did not find specified IIS Unicode codemap in the specified IIS Unicode Map file.
                                  Sep 29 15:50:27 php: /snort/snort_interfaces.php: [Snort] Snort START for WAN(rl1)…

                                  It worked for a few days after a complete reinstall. I'm using nanobsd but I have 1.4 GB of free space:

                                  $ df -h
                                  Filesystem          Size    Used  Avail Capacity  Mounted on
                                  /dev/ufs/pfsense0    1.8G    271M    1.4G    16%    /
                                  devfs                1.0k    1.0k      0B  100%    /dev
                                  /dev/ufs/cf          49M    5.2M    40M    11%    /cf
                                  /dev/md0              38M    2.2M    33M    6%    /tmp
                                  /dev/md1              57M    23M    30M    44%    /var
                                  devfs                1.0k    1.0k      0B  100%    /var/dhcpd/dev

                                  What can I do?

                                  Thanks,
                                  Stenio

                                  Well, while I'm sure it's not what you want to hear, I would ditch Nano and go the full-install route on a hard disk (either SSD or conventional).  I suspect that will end your problems.  There are lots of users here running Snort on conventional full installs with no issues.

                                  If you want to stay with Nano, then I suggest ditching the Snort package (and Suricata as well).  I think you are going to face continual problems otherwise.  What probably happened to you is an updated Snort VRT rules package downloaded, and due to the issues with Nano, did not unzip and install itself correctly.  The unicode.map file is probably corrupted again.

                                  Bill

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • S
                                    stenio
                                    last edited by

                                    @bmeeks:

                                    Well, while I'm sure it's not what you want to hear, I would ditch Nano and go the full-install route on a hard disk (either SSD or conventional).  I suspect that will end your problems.  There are lots of users here running Snort on conventional full installs with no issues.

                                    OUCH!!!  :'(

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • bmeeksB
                                      bmeeks
                                      last edited by

                                      @stenio:

                                      @bmeeks:

                                      Well, while I'm sure it's not what you want to hear, I would ditch Nano and go the full-install route on a hard disk (either SSD or conventional).  I suspect that will end your problems.  There are lots of users here running Snort on conventional full installs with no issues.

                                      OUCH!!!  :'(

                                      Sorry…  :'(.

                                      However, I am willing to try some experimentation if you are game.  Maybe we can make this work better.  Send me a PM if you are willing to help test a little bit.

                                      Bill

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • S
                                        stenio
                                        last edited by

                                        I think I got it:

                                        Oct 1 00:03:39 php: snort_check_for_rule_updates.php: [Snort] Updating rules configuration for: WAN …
                                        Oct 1 00:03:31 kernel: pid 81598 (bsdtar), uid 0 inumber 1362 on /tmp: filesystem full
                                        Oct 1 00:03:28 kernel: pid 9265 (php), uid 0 inumber 1361 on /tmp: filesystem full
                                        Oct 1 00:03:28 kernel: pid 80954 (bsdtar), uid 0 inumber 1355 on /tmp: filesystem full
                                        Oct 1 00:03:14 kernel: pid 80259 (bsdtar), uid 0 inumber 1380 on /tmp: filesystem full
                                        Oct 1 00:02:59 kernel: pid 58582 (bsdtar), uid 0 inumber 1365 on /tmp: filesystem full
                                        Oct 1 00:02:55 kernel: pid 58582 (bsdtar), uid 0 inumber 1365 on /tmp: filesystem full
                                        Oct 1 00:02:55 kernel: pid 58582 (bsdtar), uid 0 inumber 1364 on /tmp: filesystem full
                                        Oct 1 00:02:54 php: snort_check_for_rule_updates.php: [Snort] Emerging Threats Open rules file update downloaded successfully
                                        Oct 1 00:02:46 php: snort_check_for_rule_updates.php: [Snort] There is a new set of Emerging Threats Open rules posted. Downloading emerging.rules.tar.gz…

                                        Need to increase the /tmp filesystem size I think.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • S
                                          stenio
                                          last edited by

                                          @stenio:

                                          Need to increase the /tmp filesystem size I think.

                                          Changed from the default 40MB to 80MB and now it seems to work.
                                          During the rules update the size went to 51MB!

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • bmeeksB
                                            bmeeks
                                            last edited by

                                            @stenio:

                                            @stenio:

                                            Need to increase the /tmp filesystem size I think.

                                            Changed from the default 40MB to 80MB and now it seems to work.
                                            During the rules update the size went to 51MB!

                                            Glad you found it.  The rules update process downloads the rules tarball archives and then unpacks them in a directory under /tmp.  Once it finishes, it deletes the folder.  But if that directory fills up, then unpredictable stuff happens.

                                            Bill

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