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    "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    70 Posts 22 Posters 31.4k Views
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    • viktor_gV
      viktor_g Netgate
      last edited by

      support for PKCS#11 authentication (e.g. hardware tokens such as Yubikey) for IPsec: https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/9878

      DaddyGoD chudakC 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • DaddyGoD
        DaddyGo @viktor_g
        last edited by

        @viktor_g said in "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?:

        e.g. hardware tokens such as Yubikey

        Oh that's great

        Cats bury it so they can't see it!
        (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • chudakC
          chudak @viktor_g
          last edited by

          @viktor_g said in "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?:

          support for PKCS#11 authentication (e.g. hardware tokens such as Yubikey) for IPsec: https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/9878

          Ok makes sense, thx !

          Is there a reason to keep it on and what the best way to disable it ?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • I
            Izaac
            last edited by

            @chudak

            Anybody can shed light?

            NetGate decided that despite:

            • the fact that they don't ship a piece of hardware with such an inerface;
            • that almost no one uses smartcards for this purpose;
            • the Yubikeys are better handed by a different interface;
            • that using a Yubikey for this kind of authentication, i.e. leaving it plugged into your piece of network hardware at all times, pretty much undermines its security model;
            • would be entirely more appropriate as a package

            it would make sense to have this privileged code running at all times on some of the most memory and processor constrained hardware, without any ability to configure or even disable it, and to plunge the entire system into an error state if should happen to not be running.

            A 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 5
            • A
              anthonys @Izaac
              last edited by anthonys

              @izaac In the face of it also having a memory leak
              https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/12095
              which took my SG-1100 to 92% RAM, I have disabled
              4d9f1370-ba8b-4648-9e51-5347c04a268c-image.png

              D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • M
                mw
                last edited by mw

                You can stop the pcscd service from starting by editing your /etc/rc.bootup file.

                Look for the following:

                /* pcscd daemon must be started before IPsec */
                echo "Starting PC/SC Smart Card Services...";
                mwexec_bg("/usr/local/sbin/pcscd");
                echo "done.\n";
                

                Comment out the startup code, like this:

                /* pcscd daemon must be started before IPsec */
                /*
                echo "Starting PC/SC Smart Card Services...";
                mwexec_bg("/usr/local/sbin/pcscd");
                echo "done.\n";
                */
                

                This code was added in this revision.

                chudakC P 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • chudakC
                  chudak @mw
                  last edited by

                  @mw said in "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?:

                  This code was added in

                  That's useful, thx

                  Wonder why it's enabled by default ?!

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • jimpJ
                    jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                    last edited by

                    It won't be enabled by default for long:

                    https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/11933

                    Remember: Upvote with the ๐Ÿ‘ button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                    Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                    Do not Chat/PM for help!

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • P
                      psp @mw
                      last edited by

                      @mw said in "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?:

                      Comment out the startup code, like this:

                      Just for info, commenting out the startup code and using IPSec, logs are filled up by these errors:
                      -- Jul 20 09:28:46 charon 78779 02[CFG] error in C_WaitForSlotEvent: GENERAL_ERROR

                      M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • M
                        mw @psp
                        last edited by

                        @psp Thanks for the heads up. I don't currently make use of IPsec so didn't think about the consequences.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • viktor_gV
                          viktor_g Netgate
                          last edited by

                          You can use 299.diff patch on 21.05/2.5.2

                          after applying you can disable pcscd on the VPN/ IPsec / Advanced Settings page:
                          Screenshot from 2021-07-21 11-21-38.png

                          chudakC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                          • chudakC
                            chudak @viktor_g
                            last edited by

                            @viktor_g said in "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?:

                            You can use 299.diff patch on 21.05/2.5.2

                            after applying you can disable pcscd on the VPN/ IPsec / Advanced Settings page:
                            Screenshot from 2021-07-21 11-21-38.png

                            I applied the patch and enabled PKCS#11 Support (which I don't use BTW)

                            Saw the service go red and then green again, I guess restarted.

                            db1ba327-76a5-4825-a6da-1d7df16109c3-image.png

                            a1707664-e498-41aa-9ac6-82e65828a81e-image.png

                            I thought the service would be completely removed and not sure what exactly changed ?

                            Thx

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • jimpJ
                              jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                              last edited by

                              If you don't want it and don't use it, why did you go out of your way to enable it?

                              It's off by default which is what you'll want. After applying the patch, leave the box unchecked and then reboot.

                              Remember: Upvote with the ๐Ÿ‘ button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                              Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                              Do not Chat/PM for help!

                              chudakC O 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • chudakC
                                chudak @jimp
                                last edited by

                                @jimp said in "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?:

                                If you don't want it and don't use it, why did you go out of your way to enable it?

                                See the initial post above, I am still trying to get rid of it exactly because I don't use it :)

                                It's off by default which is what you'll want. After applying the patch, leave the box unchecked and then reboot.

                                I did that and still see the red "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" in the Service Status. Is it expected? If the answer is yes, why ?

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • jimpJ
                                  jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                                  last edited by

                                  The service is still there/defined but disabled. Several other services work the same way. Though it may not take much to hide it in this case. It's not a problem.

                                  Remember: Upvote with the ๐Ÿ‘ button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                                  Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                                  Do not Chat/PM for help!

                                  chudakC 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • chudakC
                                    chudak @jimp
                                    last edited by

                                    @jimp said in "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?:

                                    The service is still there/defined but disabled. Several other services work the same way. Though it may not take much to hide it in this case. It's not a problem.

                                    OK I take that and thank you!

                                    Before it was not possible to disable it.

                                    It's just odd to see something disabled if you don't use it and even know where it's coming from.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • chudakC
                                      chudak @jimp
                                      last edited by

                                      @jimp

                                      To hide it - is it something that can be done locally?

                                      DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • DaddyGoD
                                        DaddyGo @chudak
                                        last edited by

                                        @chudak said in "pcscd PC/SC Smart Card Daemon" ?:

                                        To hide it - is it something that can be done locally?

                                        We, for example, are not as bothered by this as you are ๐Ÿ˜‰

                                        Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                                        (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

                                        I 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • jimpJ
                                          jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                                          last edited by

                                          I already added a note to the Redmine stating we'll need to hide the service. I'm not certain how long that might take or how much effort it will be. Probably not much but don't quote me on that.

                                          It is cosmetic only, it doesn't hurt anything. Not many people sit on the service status screen so it doesn't matter. If it bothers you in the widget you can hide it in the widget (hit the wrench in the titlebar of the service status widget, scroll down, uncheck it, save.)

                                          Remember: Upvote with the ๐Ÿ‘ button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                                          Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                                          Do not Chat/PM for help!

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                                          • I
                                            Izaac @DaddyGo
                                            last edited by

                                            @daddygo I guess you've never been through a security audit. Allow me to give you a sneak peak:
                                            Some Overseas Checklist Drone: "Why is this red error on your firewall appliance configuration evidence?"
                                            Overworked Administrator: "That feature is disabled."
                                            Drone: "Why do you not use this feature of your firewall appliance?"
                                            Admin: "Because we do not use smartcards as part of our authentication process."
                                            Drone: "Why do you not use smartcards as part of your authentication process?"
                                            Admin: "Because there is no hardware support for it and, in this context, it offers no advantages and makes no sense."
                                            Drone: "I will be leaving this as an open issue for the configuration of your firewall appliance. Enabling all features for full protection from your firewall appliance is needful."

                                            What could (or should) the green/red little icon in the 'Service Status' widget represent? Conformity to the configuration, e.g. if pcscd is not enabled, green shows it correctly stopped and red indicates an error state in which it is operating.

                                            Assuming that doesn't happen, here's a horrifying patch to make it disappear and prevent you from having to "please to be doing" anything:

                                            --- a/usr/local/www/widgets/widgets/services_status.widget.php    2021-05-28 07:35:21.000000000 -0400
                                            +++ b/usr/local/www/widgets/widgets/services_status.widget.php   2021-07-28 08:44:17.790560000 -0400
                                            @@ -31,6 +31,11 @@
                                             
                                             $services = get_services();
                                             
                                            +// horrifying patch for papering over pcscd
                                            +if ($pewpew = array_search('pcscd', array_column($services, 'name'))) {
                                            +       array_splice($services, $pewpew, 1);
                                            +}
                                            +
                                             $numsvcs = count($services);
                                             
                                             for ($idx=0; $idx<$numsvcs; $idx++) {
                                            
                                            johnpozJ DaddyGoD I 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 3
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