README-WPS revision 8d520ff1dc2da35cdca849e982051b86468016d8
1wpa_supplicant and Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
2==============================================
3
4This document describes how the WPS implementation in wpa_supplicant
5can be configured and how an external component on the client (e.g.,
6management GUI) is used to enable WPS enrollment and registrar
7registration.
8
9
10Introduction to WPS
11-------------------
12
13Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is a mechanism for easy configuration of a
14wireless network. It allows automated generation of random keys (WPA
15passphrase/PSK) and configuration of an access point and client
16devices. WPS includes number of methods for setting up connections
17with PIN method and push-button configuration (PBC) being the most
18commonly deployed options.
19
20While WPS can enable more home networks to use encryption in the
21wireless network, it should be noted that the use of the PIN and
22especially PBC mechanisms for authenticating the initial key setup is
23not very secure. As such, use of WPS may not be suitable for
24environments that require secure network access without chance for
25allowing outsiders to gain access during the setup phase.
26
27WPS uses following terms to describe the entities participating in the
28network setup:
29- access point: the WLAN access point
30- Registrar: a device that control a network and can authorize
31  addition of new devices); this may be either in the AP ("internal
32  Registrar") or in an external device, e.g., a laptop, ("external
33  Registrar")
34- Enrollee: a device that is being authorized to use the network
35
36It should also be noted that the AP and a client device may change
37roles (i.e., AP acts as an Enrollee and client device as a Registrar)
38when WPS is used to configure the access point.
39
40
41More information about WPS is available from Wi-Fi Alliance:
42http://www.wi-fi.org/wifi-protected-setup
43
44
45wpa_supplicant implementation
46-----------------------------
47
48wpa_supplicant includes an optional WPS component that can be used as
49an Enrollee to enroll new network credential or as a Registrar to
50configure an AP. The current version of wpa_supplicant does not
51support operation as an external WLAN Management Registrar for adding
52new client devices or configuring the AP over UPnP.
53
54
55wpa_supplicant configuration
56----------------------------
57
58WPS is an optional component that needs to be enabled in
59wpa_supplicant build configuration (.config). Here is an example
60configuration that includes WPS support and Linux wireless extensions
61-based driver interface:
62
63CONFIG_DRIVER_WEXT=y
64CONFIG_WPS=y
65CONFIG_WPS2=y
66
67
68WPS needs the Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID; see RFC 4122) for
69the device. This is configured in the runtime configuration for
70wpa_supplicant (if not set, UUID will be generated based on local MAC
71address):
72
73# example UUID for WPS
74uuid=12345678-9abc-def0-1234-56789abcdef0
75
76The network configuration blocks needed for WPS are added
77automatically based on control interface commands, so they do not need
78to be added explicitly in the configuration file.
79
80WPS registration will generate new network blocks for the acquired
81credentials. If these are to be stored for future use (after
82restarting wpa_supplicant), wpa_supplicant will need to be configured
83to allow configuration file updates:
84
85update_config=1
86
87
88
89External operations
90-------------------
91
92WPS requires either a device PIN code (usually, 8-digit number) or a
93pushbutton event (for PBC) to allow a new WPS Enrollee to join the
94network. wpa_supplicant uses the control interface as an input channel
95for these events.
96
97The PIN value used in the commands must be processed by an UI to
98remove non-digit characters and potentially, to verify the checksum
99digit. "wpa_cli wps_check_pin <PIN>" can be used to do such processing.
100It returns FAIL if the PIN is invalid, or FAIL-CHECKSUM if the checksum
101digit is incorrect, or the processed PIN (non-digit characters removed)
102if the PIN is valid.
103
104If the client device has a display, a random PIN has to be generated
105for each WPS registration session. wpa_supplicant can do this with a
106control interface request, e.g., by calling wpa_cli:
107
108wpa_cli wps_pin any
109
110This will return the generated 8-digit PIN which will then need to be
111entered at the Registrar to complete WPS registration. At that point,
112the client will be enrolled with credentials needed to connect to the
113AP to access the network.
114
115
116If the client device does not have a display that could show the
117random PIN, a hardcoded PIN that is printed on a label can be
118used. wpa_supplicant is notified this with a control interface
119request, e.g., by calling wpa_cli:
120
121wpa_cli wps_pin any 12345670
122
123This starts the WPS negotiation in the same way as above with the
124generated PIN.
125
126
127If the client design wants to support optional WPS PBC mode, this can
128be enabled by either a physical button in the client device or a
129virtual button in the user interface. The PBC operation requires that
130a button is also pressed at the AP/Registrar at about the same time (2
131minute window). wpa_supplicant is notified of the local button event
132over the control interface, e.g., by calling wpa_cli:
133
134wpa_cli wps_pbc
135
136At this point, the AP/Registrar has two minutes to complete WPS
137negotiation which will generate a new WPA PSK in the same way as the
138PIN method described above.
139
140
141If the client wants to operate in the Registrar role to learn the
142current AP configuration and optionally, to configure an AP,
143wpa_supplicant is notified over the control interface, e.g., with
144wpa_cli:
145
146wpa_cli wps_reg <AP BSSID> <AP PIN>
147(example: wpa_cli wps_reg 02:34:56:78:9a:bc 12345670)
148
149This is used to fetch the current AP settings instead of actually
150changing them. The main difference with the wps_pin command is that
151wps_reg uses the AP PIN (e.g., from a label on the AP) instead of a
152PIN generated at the client.
153
154In order to change the AP configuration, the new configuration
155parameters are given to the wps_reg command:
156
157wpa_cli wps_reg <AP BSSID> <AP PIN> <new SSID> <auth> <encr> <new key>
158examples:
159  wpa_cli wps_reg 02:34:56:78:9a:bc 12345670 testing WPA2PSK CCMP 12345678
160  wpa_cli wps_reg 02:34:56:78:9a:bc 12345670 clear OPEN NONE ""
161
162<auth> must be one of the following: OPEN WPAPSK WPA2PSK
163<encr> must be one of the following: NONE WEP TKIP CCMP
164
165
166Scanning
167--------
168
169Scan results ('wpa_cli scan_results' or 'wpa_cli bss <idx>') include a
170flags field that is used to indicate whether the BSS support WPS. If
171the AP support WPS, but has not recently activated a Registrar, [WPS]
172flag will be included. If PIN method has been recently selected,
173[WPS-PIN] is shown instead. Similarly, [WPS-PBC] is shown if PBC mode
174is in progress. GUI programs can use these as triggers for suggesting
175a guided WPS configuration to the user. In addition, control interface
176monitor events WPS-AP-AVAILABLE{,-PBC,-PIN} can be used to find out if
177there are WPS enabled APs in scan results without having to go through
178all the details in the GUI. These notification could be used, e.g., to
179suggest possible WPS connection to the user.
180
181
182wpa_gui
183-------
184
185wpa_gui-qt4 directory contains a sample GUI that shows an example of
186how WPS support can be integrated into the GUI. Its main window has a
187WPS tab that guides user through WPS registration with automatic AP
188selection. In addition, it shows how WPS can be started manually by
189selecting an AP from scan results.
190
191
192Credential processing
193---------------------
194
195By default, wpa_supplicant processes received credentials and updates
196its configuration internally. However, it is possible to
197control these operations from external programs, if desired.
198
199This internal processing can be disabled with wps_cred_processing=1
200option. When this is used, an external program is responsible for
201processing the credential attributes and updating wpa_supplicant
202configuration based on them.
203
204Following control interface messages are sent out for external programs:
205
206WPS-CRED-RECEIVED  <hexdump of Credential attribute(s)>
207For example:
208<2>WPS-CRED-RECEIVED 100e006f10260001011045000c6a6b6d2d7770732d74657374100300020020100f000200081027004030653462303435366332363666653064333961643135353461316634626637313234333761636664623766333939653534663166316230323061643434386235102000060266a0ee1727
209
210
211wpa_supplicant as WPS External Registrar (ER)
212---------------------------------------------
213
214wpa_supplicant can be used as a WPS ER to configure an AP or enroll
215new Enrollee to join the network. This functionality uses UPnP and
216requires that a working IP connectivity is available with the AP (this
217can be either over a wired or wireless connection).
218
219Separate wpa_supplicant process can be started for WPS ER
220operations. A special "none" driver can be used in such a case to
221indicate that no local network interface is actually controlled. For
222example, following command could be used to start the ER:
223
224wpa_supplicant -Dnone -c er.conf -ieth0
225
226Sample er.conf:
227
228ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=admin
229device_name=WPS External Registrar
230
231
232wpa_cli commands for ER functionality:
233
234wps_er_start [IP address]
235- start WPS ER functionality
236- the optional IP address parameter can be used to filter operations only
237  to include a single AP
238- if run again while ER is active, the stored information (discovered APs
239  and Enrollees) are shown again
240
241wps_er_stop
242- stop WPS ER functionality
243
244wps_er_learn <UUID> <AP PIN>
245- learn AP configuration
246
247wps_er_set_config <UUID> <network id>
248- use AP configuration from a locally configured network (e.g., from
249  wps_reg command); this does not change the AP's configuration, but
250  only prepares a configuration to be used when enrolling a new device
251  to the AP
252
253wps_er_config <UUID> <AP PIN> <new SSID> <auth> <encr> <new key>
254- examples:
255  wps_er_config 87654321-9abc-def0-1234-56789abc0002 12345670 testing WPA2PSK CCMP 12345678
256  wpa_er_config 87654321-9abc-def0-1234-56789abc0002 12345670 clear OPEN NONE ""
257
258<auth> must be one of the following: OPEN WPAPSK WPA2PSK
259<encr> must be one of the following: NONE WEP TKIP CCMP
260
261
262wps_er_pbc <Enrollee UUID>
263- accept an Enrollee PBC using External Registrar
264
265wps_er_pin <Enrollee UUID> <PIN> [Enrollee MAC address]
266- add an Enrollee PIN to External Registrar
267- if Enrollee UUID is not known, "any" can be used to add a wildcard PIN
268- if the MAC address of the enrollee is known, it should be configured
269  to allow the AP to advertise list of authorized enrollees
270
271
272WPS ER events:
273
274WPS_EVENT_ER_AP_ADD
275- WPS ER discovered an AP
276
277WPS-ER-AP-ADD 87654321-9abc-def0-1234-56789abc0002 02:11:22:33:44:55 pri_dev_type=6-0050F204-1 wps_state=1 |Very friendly name|Company|Long description of the model|WAP|http://w1.fi/|http://w1.fi/hostapd/
278
279WPS_EVENT_ER_AP_REMOVE
280- WPS ER removed an AP entry
281
282WPS-ER-AP-REMOVE 87654321-9abc-def0-1234-56789abc0002
283
284WPS_EVENT_ER_ENROLLEE_ADD
285- WPS ER discovered a new Enrollee
286
287WPS-ER-ENROLLEE-ADD 2b7093f1-d6fb-5108-adbb-bea66bb87333 02:66:a0:ee:17:27 M1=1 config_methods=0x14d dev_passwd_id=0 pri_dev_type=1-0050F204-1 |Wireless Client|Company|cmodel|123|12345|
288
289WPS_EVENT_ER_ENROLLEE_REMOVE
290- WPS ER removed an Enrollee entry
291
292WPS-ER-ENROLLEE-REMOVE 2b7093f1-d6fb-5108-adbb-bea66bb87333 02:66:a0:ee:17:27
293
294WPS-ER-AP-SETTINGS
295- WPS ER learned AP settings
296
297WPS-ER-AP-SETTINGS uuid=fd91b4ec-e3fa-5891-a57d-8c59efeed1d2 ssid=test-wps auth_type=0x0020 encr_type=0x0008 key=12345678
298