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    Question on Firewall Schedules in pfSense 2.3.2

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Firewalling
    43 Posts 6 Posters 12.5k Views
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    • DerelictD Offline
      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
      last edited by

      Source ports are almost always random. Destination ports are almost always static.

      For instance to pass connections only to HTTP servers you would pass source LAN net port any dest any port 80 on the LAN interface.

      Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
      A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
      DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
      Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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      • T Offline
        thecableguy
        last edited by

        So you are suggesting to change the port alias to destination? Like the utorrent rule I have setup in the picture?

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        • DerelictD Offline
          Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
          last edited by

          I am suggesting you make sure your rules match the traffic you are trying to match.

          Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
          A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
          DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
          Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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          • T Offline
            thecableguy
            last edited by

            @Derelict:

            I am suggesting you make sure your rules match the traffic you are trying to match.

            I tried swapping my rules around as you seemed to suggest  :-\ and nothing is blocked/filtered after changing to 'destination' in the LAN tab..

            Again, my configuration does work fine except when the schedules are changed.. A reboot is required to get the new schedule to work correctly.

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            • johnpozJ Offline
              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
              last edited by

              Yeah I doubt that it works with source ports..

              Quick google shows these as the ports.

              Steam Client

              UDP 27000 to 27015 inclusive (Game client traffic)
                  UDP 27015 to 27030 inclusive (Typically Matchmaking and HLTV)
                  UDP 27031 and 27036 (incoming, for In-Home Streaming)
                  TCP 27036 and 27037 (incoming, for In-Home Streaming)
                  UDP 4380.

              As Derelict mentions it is almost ALWAYS any for source port, dest would be the port your looking at in firewall rules.  Unless your talking say active ftp session for data where the source port is 20.  Or maybe in a dns zone transfer where your talking 53 to 53, etc.  The cases where you would set a specific source port are few and specific.  Steam would NOT be one of them.

              So not sure what you think is working.. But that rule would not work..  What do you have in your steam alias??

              If your saying your schedules do not work until you reboot, my guess would be you have active states open for the traffic your trying to block and your reboot flushes them.  Which you can do without a reboot.

              An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
              If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
              Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
              SG-4860 25.07.1 | Lab VMs 2.8, 25.07.1

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              • T Offline
                thecableguy
                last edited by

                @johnpoz:

                Yeah I doubt that it works with source ports..

                Quick google shows these as the ports.

                Steam Client

                UDP 27000 to 27015 inclusive (Game client traffic)
                    UDP 27015 to 27030 inclusive (Typically Matchmaking and HLTV)
                    UDP 27031 and 27036 (incoming, for In-Home Streaming)
                    TCP 27036 and 27037 (incoming, for In-Home Streaming)
                    UDP 4380.

                As Derelict mentions it is almost ALWAYS any for source port, dest would be the port your looking at in firewall rules.  Unless your talking say active ftp session for data where the source port is 20.  Or maybe in a dns zone transfer where your talking 53 to 53, etc.  The cases where you would set a specific source port are few and specific.  Steam would NOT be one of them.

                So not sure what you think is working.. But that rule would not work..  What do you have in your steam alias??

                If your saying your schedules do not work until you reboot, my guess would be you have active states open for the traffic your trying to block and your reboot flushes them.  Which you can do without a reboot.

                It does work, lastnight it worked as expected..

                alias.jpg
                alias.jpg_thumb

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                • DerelictD Offline
                  Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                  last edited by

                  Those rules are almost certainly wrong. Based on the information available on the steam site they are wrong.

                  Steam might try to use those as source ports which would cause them to pass and might try different source ports when they are blocked and fail to match the proper rules.

                  Look at Diagnostics > States and enable logging on those rules to see what's really happening.

                  You can create a pass rule from the source machines AFTER that block steam rule and enable logging on it to see what's getting passed.

                  Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                  A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                  DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                  Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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                  • T Offline
                    thecableguy
                    last edited by

                    @Derelict:

                    Those rules are almost certainly wrong. Based on the information available on the steam site they are wrong.

                    Steam might try to use those as source ports which would cause them to pass and might try different source ports when they are blocked and fail to match the proper rules.

                    Look at Diagnostics > States and enable logging on those rules to see what's really happening.

                    You can create a pass rule from the source machines AFTER that block steam rule and enable logging on it to see what's getting passed.

                    The rules or aliases are wrong?

                    If they are wrong, why are they working until I alter the schedule?

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                    • DerelictD Offline
                      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                      last edited by

                      Impossible to answer without seeing the actual states and firewall logs.

                      Your alias looks fine, though I would make a TCP alias and rule and a UDP alias and rule.

                      Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                      A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                      DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                      Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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                      • T Offline
                        thecableguy
                        last edited by

                        @Derelict:

                        Impossible to answer without seeing the actual states and firewall logs.

                        Your alias looks fine, though I would make a TCP alias and rule and a UDP alias and rule.

                        So I need to create seperate TCP and UDP rules even though the firewall rule has an option for TCP/UDP for a particular rule?

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                        • DerelictD Offline
                          Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                          last edited by

                          There is no reason to pass UDP-only ports as TCP as well.

                          Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                          A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                          DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                          Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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                          • T Offline
                            thecableguy
                            last edited by

                            @Derelict:

                            There is no reason to pass UDP-only ports as TCP as well.

                            So, it doesn't matter for what I am trying to work out then… only for security, which I understand.

                            Have you read the complete thread?

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                            • DerelictD Offline
                              Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                              last edited by

                              Yes. You exhibit a fundamental misunderstanding of how firewall rules work, the ports you are trying to control, and generally dismiss anyone who tries to correct you.

                              Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                              A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                              DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                              Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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                              • T Offline
                                thecableguy
                                last edited by

                                @Derelict:

                                Yes. You exhibit a fundamental misunderstanding of how firewall rules work, the ports you are trying to control, and generally dismiss anyone who tries to correct you.

                                Wow, anyone else have anything constructive to add?

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                                • T Offline
                                  thecableguy
                                  last edited by

                                  @Derelict:

                                  Yes. You exhibit a fundamental misunderstanding of how firewall rules work, the ports you are trying to control, and generally dismiss anyone who tries to correct you.

                                  Obviously I do not understand, hence the questions.

                                  I have not dismissed anyone?

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                                  • T Offline
                                    thecableguy
                                    last edited by

                                    @Derelict:

                                    Are you sure the Steam ports being blocked should be source ports? Source ports are usually random to specific destination ports.

                                    Back to your original question, as far as my understanding goes, the 'source' is the client on the LAN. Changing the ports or in this case the alias to 'destination' does not work at all.

                                    Also, I do understand that usually source ports are random when forwarding ports (NAT) however is this the case in situations like this?

                                    I do appreciate you responding however, you have not offered any solutions, only suggesting things are 'wrong'.

                                    Again, first post - "As long as the schedules are not altered, everything works as expected.."

                                    My issue was with altering the schedules and states, not with the rules themselves. I posted the rules to make sure I wasn't making a simple mistake.

                                    I am no expert and I do read and try to work it out myself before asking for assistance.

                                    Being a moderator on this forum, I would have expected a little less criticism and more assistance from you.. :o

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                                    • DerelictD Offline
                                      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                                      last edited by

                                      I do appreciate you responding however, you have not offered any solutions, only suggesting things are 'wrong'.

                                      Have you read the whole thread?

                                      Things are not as you think they are. Source and destination ports are not what you think they are.

                                      Every time someone tries to get that point across to you you say "but it sometimes works." Reasons have been given why that might be the case.

                                      Yet here you are saying it doesn't work as you expect. That's because things do not work how you think they do.

                                      None of this has anything to do with pfSense. It is basic IP networking.

                                      Here's what you do. Forget about steam. Pick one IP address and one service. A good one might be DNS queries to DEST ADDR: 8.8.8.8 (HINT: SOURCE PORT: any DEST PORT: TCP/UDP 53) Figure out how to properly pass or block that traffic from a specific local host. Once you have that down the rest will be easy.

                                      Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                                      A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                                      DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                                      Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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                                      • T Offline
                                        thecableguy
                                        last edited by

                                        @Derelict:

                                        Here's what you do. Forget about steam. Pick one IP address and one service. A good one might be DNS queries to DEST ADDR: 8.8.8.8 (HINT: SOURCE PORT: any DEST PORT: TCP/UDP 53) Figure out how to properly pass or block that traffic from a specific local host. Once you have that down the rest will be easy.

                                        Ok, I have created a simple BLOCK rule on the LAN tab in the firewall rules. I have assigned an ALIAS to the IP address and assigned the ALIAS to my iPad. When placing the ALIAS in DESTINATION all traffic is passed. When placing the ALIAS in SOURCE, all traffic is BLOCKED.

                                        I have attached the working firewall rule and a snip of the logs.

                                        firewall.jpg
                                        firewall.jpg_thumb
                                        shawnrule.jpg
                                        shawnrule.jpg_thumb

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                                        • DerelictD Offline
                                          Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                                          last edited by

                                          Right. In that case you ARE filtering on the source to destination any.

                                          Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                                          A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                                          DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                                          Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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                                          • T Offline
                                            thecableguy
                                            last edited by

                                            @Derelict:

                                            Right. In that case you ARE filtering on the source to destination any.

                                            That is how I have my Steam rules setup. wiht an ALLOW schedule. The issue I am experiencing is after modifying a schedule, not all states are flushing correctly after the schedule expires. I had a look in the firewall logs lastnight and they were UDP states. Could this be due to the way I have my alias setup? IE- all ports setup as TCP/UDP? You mentioned to seperate the ports and create seperate aliases and rules?

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