OpenVPN / OpenVPN/openvpn3

Ability to hide pk password from command line

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Dominant language
C++
Stars
1.2k
Forks
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PR merge metrics
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Description

Currently we can see pliantext of pk password via command line, and --cache-password won't work for caching --pk_password.

Just make:

ovpncli client.ovpn --pk-password $(/etc/openvpn/client.pass)

To:

ovpncli client.ovpn --pk-password-file /etc/openvpn/client.pass

Or:

export OVPN_PK_PASSWORK_FILE=/etc/openvpn/client.pass
ovpncli client.ovpn

Will be fine enough.

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First steps

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Research direction

Start at the ovpncli argument handling for --pk-password and --cache-password, then trace how private-key passwords are passed to the client. Check how configuration and environment options are defined. Done means supporting --pk-password-file or the proposed environment variable without exposing the password in the command line, with coverage for the new input paths.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
cli, security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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