Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
mullvad.net
Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
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Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#2We have tested a few other VPN clients from competitors and found that all of them leak in the same way. The way Microsoft has implemented virtual networking for Linux guests makes it very difficult to properly secure them.
Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#3We have tested a few other VPN clients from competitors and found that all of them leak in the same way. The way Microsoft has implemented virtual networking for Linux guests makes it very difficult to properly secure them.
I would think that anyone who relies on a VPN for safety or is really particularly security conscious (1) isn't using Windows 10, (2) has networking disabled if they are using it, for example, in a VM, and (3) is probably using a dedicated device like a Slate router or pfSense box as their VPN point.
Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#4Related issue with some workarounds that people are reporting various levels of success with: https://github.com/microsoft/WSL/issues/5068
Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#5Potential workaround: is it possible to configure VPN clients to _ignore_ the WSL2 runtime and instead run a VPN client inside WSL2?
That way the Linux network config can deal with the Linux side of things and the Windows network config can deal with the Windows VPN routing.
Of course you can just configure OpenVPN inside WSL2 and also run a VPN on the desktop but that's tunnels in tunnels and that way madness and network issues lies.
Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#6We have tested a few other VPN clients from competitors and found that all of them leak in the same way. The way Microsoft has implemented virtual networking for Linux guests makes it very difficult to properly secure them.
I would think that anyone who relies on a VPN for safety or is really particularly security conscious (1) isn't using Windows 10, (2) has networking disabled if they are using it, for example, in a VM, and (3) is probably using a dedicated device like a Slate router or pfSense box as their VPN point.
With the way these companies advertise, they make it seem like a silver bullet for internet anonymity. Almost every YouTube video I've seen recently seems to have one as a sponsor, and I am sure they are picking up many non-technical customers.
I don't think users of NordVPN, ExpressVPN, MullvadVPN et al. are as sophisticated as you think.
Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#7We have tested a few other VPN clients from competitors and found that all of them leak in the same way. The way Microsoft has implemented virtual networking for Linux guests makes it very difficult to properly secure them.
It’s a shit show. Can’t trace packets either via wireshark on the host and tcpdump doesn’t work on the guest. I’ve gone back to virtualbox and eviscerated WSL. Another total waste of my life.
Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#8Microsoft code has bugs in privacy relevant code? Next you gonna tell me DDG and Brave are honeypots?
What a surprising coincidence.
Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#9We have tested a few other VPN clients from competitors and found that all of them leak in the same way. The way Microsoft has implemented virtual networking for Linux guests makes it very difficult to properly secure them.
I would think that anyone who relies on a VPN for safety or is really particularly security conscious (1) isn't using Windows 10, (2) has networking disabled if they are using it, for example, in a VM, and (3) is probably using a dedicated device like a Slate router or pfSense box as their VPN point.
I don't think that's true, plenty of security conscious but not particularly tech savvy people use a VPN with Windows.
Using WSL2 though... you kind of have to be tech savvy to do use it, and those people are probably willing to work around the issue.
Re: Linux under WSL2 can be leaking
#10Potential workaround: is it possible to configure VPN clients to _ignore_ the WSL2 runtime and instead run a VPN client inside WSL2? That way the Linux network config can deal with the Linux side of things and the Windows network config can deal with the Windows VPN routing. Of course you can just configure OpenVPN inside WSL2 and also run a VPN on the desktop but that's tunnels in tunnels and that way madness and ne…
>Of course you can just configure OpenVPN inside WSL2 and also run a VPN on the desktop but that's tunnels in tunnels and that way madness and network issues lies.
It's tunnels, all the way down :-)