[Linux-wlan-ng-devel] Bug#389457: linux-wlan-ng: too picky about WEP key format

[Tormod Volden]

Package: linux-wlan-ng
Version: 0.2.5-1
Severity: normal
Tags: patch


The linux-wlan-ng package (and the prism2 kernel modules) is very 
picky about how you enter the WEP key. It is of course documented 
somewhere that the format should be xx:xx:xx:xx:xx, but this is not 
obvious when using the Gnome Networking user interface.

For other types of wireless cards, the wireless-tools library does a 
reformatting of the entered key in order to be more robust about how the 
user enters the key. linux-wlan-ng can easily do something similar to 
be as user friendly.

The attached patch removes any delimiters that the users have entered 
and formats the key in pair of hex digits. The conversion supports any 
key length and is free of bashisms.

-- System Information:
Debian Release: testing/unstable
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Shell:  /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash
Kernel: Linux 2.6.16-2-486
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)

Versions of packages linux-wlan-ng depends on:
ii  libc6                        2.3.6.ds1-4 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
ii  udev                         0.093-1     /dev/ and hotplug management daemo
ii  wireless-tools               28-1        Tools for manipulating Linux Wirel

Versions of packages linux-wlan-ng recommends:
pn  linux-wlan-ng-doc             <none>     (no description available)

-- no debconf information
-------------- next part --------------
--- linux-wlan-ng-pre-up.orig	2006-09-12 00:14:15.000000000 +0200
+++ linux-wlan-ng-pre-up	2006-09-15 00:23:24.000000000 +0200
@@ -125,6 +125,26 @@
 	fi
 done
 
+# Make the WEP key xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
+format_key() {
+  KEY="$1"
+
+  # Don't touch a string key
+  if [ x$(printf "%.2s" "$KEY") != "xs:" ]; then
+
+    # Strip any delimiters (all non-digits)
+    KEY=$(echo $KEY | tr -d -c '[:xdigit:]')
+
+    # Inserts colon between pairs of hex digits
+    while [ ${#KEY} -gt 2 ]; do
+        NEWKEY=$(printf "%s%.2s:" "$NEWKEY" "$KEY")
+        KEY=${KEY#??}
+    done
+    KEY=${NEWKEY}${KEY}
+  fi
+  echo $KEY
+}
+
 if [ "$IF_WIRELESS_ENC" = "on" ]; then
 	# Set up WEP.
 	result=`$WLANCTL $IFACE dot11req_mibget mibattribute=dot11PrivacyOptionImplemented`
@@ -173,16 +193,16 @@
 		done
 	else
 		$WLANCTL $IFACE dot11req_mibset \
-			mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey0=$IF_WLAN_NG_KEY0 \
+			mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey0=`format_key $IF_WLAN_NG_KEY0` \
 		     >/dev/null
 		$WLANCTL $IFACE dot11req_mibset \
-			mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey1=$IF_WLAN_NG_KEY1 \
+			mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey1=`format_key $IF_WLAN_NG_KEY1` \
 		     >/dev/null
 		$WLANCTL $IFACE dot11req_mibset \
-			mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey2=$IF_WLAN_NG_KEY2 \
+			mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey2=`format_key $IF_WLAN_NG_KEY2` \
 		     >/dev/null
 		$WLANCTL $IFACE dot11req_mibset \
-			mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey3=$IF_WLAN_NG_KEY3 \
+			mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey3=`format_key $IF_WLAN_NG_KEY3` \
 		     >/dev/null
 	fi
 fi