wpa

WPA frame exchange

WPA stands for “Wi-Fi Protected Access.” WPA is a security protocol designed to create secure wireless (Wi-Fi) networks. WPA uses the temporal key integrity protocol (TKIP), which dynamically changes the key that the systems use. This prevents intruders from creating their own encryption key to match the one used by the secure network.

The following is a resprestaion of WPA (WPA1) handshake

Hostapd(AP)                                         wpa_supplicant(station)

|<<-----------------------Auth_Req---------------------------|

|-------------------------Auth_Resp------------------------>>|

|<<-----------------------Assoc_Req--------------------------|

|-------------------------Assoc_Resp----------------------->>|

|--------------------------EAPOL-M1------------------------>>|

|<<------------------------EAPOL-M2--------------------------|

|--------------------------EAPOL-M3------------------------>>|

|<<------------------------EAPOL-M4--------------------------|

Test bed

Inorder to execute below practical example, two Linux machines are needed with ubuntu version >= 16.04.

  • Check the Ubuntu version on your machine. Ubuntu version used for in this site is 20.04
    $ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS
Release:	20.04
Codename:	focal

wpa_supplicant compilation

The daemon process that runs in the client stations. It implements WPA key negotiation with a WPA Authenticator and EAP authentication with Authentication Server. In addition, it controls the roaming and IEEE 802.11 authentication/association of the wireless LAN driver. Following are the steps to download and compiling wpa_supplicant from source code

  1. Download latest wpa_supplicant
    $ wget https://w1.fi/releases/wpa_supplicant-2.9.tar.gz
  2. Install required packages
    $ sudo apt install libnl-genl-3-dev libnl-3-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev
    below messages indicate that packages are installed successfully
    The following NEW packages will be installed:
  libdbus-glib-1-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin libnl-3-dev libnl-genl-3-dev
0 upgraded, 4 newly installed, 0 to remove and 4 not upgraded.
Need to get 212 kB of archives.
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Get:1 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin amd64 0.110-5fakssync1 [39.5 kB]
Get:2 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 libdbus-glib-1-dev amd64 0.110-5fakssync1 [69.2 kB]
Get:3 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 libnl-3-dev amd64 3.4.0-1 [92.2 kB]
Get:4 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 libnl-genl-3-dev amd64 3.4.0-1 [10.7 kB]
Fetched 212 kB in 1s (293 kB/s)             
Selecting previously unselected package libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin.
(Reading database ... 385264 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin_0.110-5fakssync1_amd64.deb ...
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Unpacking libnl-3-dev:amd64 (3.4.0-1) ...
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Preparing to unpack .../libnl-genl-3-dev_3.4.0-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libnl-genl-3-dev:amd64 (3.4.0-1) ...
Setting up libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin (0.110-5fakssync1) ...
Setting up libnl-3-dev:amd64 (3.4.0-1) ...
Setting up libdbus-glib-1-dev:amd64 (0.110-5fakssync1) ...
Setting up libnl-genl-3-dev:amd64 (3.4.0-1) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.9.1-1) ...
  3. Extract the tar file
    $ tar -xvf wpa_supplicant-2.9.tar.gz
  4. Go to wpa_supplicant directory
    $ cd wpa_supplicant-2.9/wpa_supplicant
  5. Copy the default configuration into .conf file
    $ cp defconfig .config
  6. Enable below configs in .config
    $ vim .config
CONFIG_DRIVER_NL80211=y
CONFIG_WPA_PSK=y
  7. Build the wpa_supplicant
    $ make

    Below is the list of files compiled based on the features enabled in “.config”

      CC  config.c
  CC  notify.c
  CC  bss.c
  CC  eap_register.c
  CC  ../src/utils/common.c
  CC  ../src/utils/wpa_debug.c
  CC  ../src/utils/wpabuf.c
  CC  ../src/utils/bitfield.c
  CC  op_classes.c
  CC  rrm.c
  CC  wmm_ac.c
  CC  ../src/utils/os_unix.c
  CC  ../src/utils/eloop.c
  CC  config_file.c
  CC  ../src/rsn_supp/wpa_ft.c
  CC  ../src/common/sae.c
  CC  ../src/common/dpp.c
  CC  dpp_supplicant.c
  CC  ../src/rsn_supp/wpa.c
  CC  ../src/rsn_supp/preauth.c
  CC  ../src/rsn_supp/pmksa_cache.c
  CC  ../src/rsn_supp/wpa_ie.c
  CC  ../src/common/wpa_common.c
  CC  ibss_rsn.c
  CC  p2p_supplicant.c
  CC  p2p_supplicant_sd.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_utils.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_parse.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_build.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_go_neg.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_sd.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_pd.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_invitation.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_dev_disc.c
  CC  ../src/p2p/p2p_group.c
  CC  ../src/ap/p2p_hostapd.c
  CC  wifi_display.c
  CC  hs20_supplicant.c
  CC  interworking.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_tls.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_peap.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_peap_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_ttls.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_md5.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_mschapv2.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/mschapv2.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_gtc.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_otp.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_leap.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_fast.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_fast_pac.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_fast_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_pax.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_pax_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_sake.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_sake_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_gpsk.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_gpsk_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_pwd.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_pwd_common.c
  CC  wps_supplicant.c
  CC  ../src/utils/uuid.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_wsc.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_wsc_common.c
  CC  ../src/wps/wps.c
  CC  ../src/wps/wps_common.c
  CC  ../src/wps/wps_attr_parse.c
  CC  ../src/wps/wps_attr_build.c
  CC  ../src/wps/wps_attr_process.c
  CC  ../src/wps/wps_dev_attr.c
  CC  ../src/wps/wps_enrollee.c
  CC  ../src/wps/wps_registrar.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_ikev2.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/ikev2.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_ikev2_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/ikev2_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_tnc.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/tncc.c
  CC  ../src/eapol_supp/eapol_supp_sm.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_methods.c
  CC  ap.c
  CC  ../src/ap/hostapd.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wpa_auth_glue.c
  CC  ../src/ap/utils.c
  CC  ../src/ap/authsrv.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ap_config.c
  CC  ../src/utils/ip_addr.c
  CC  ../src/ap/sta_info.c
  CC  ../src/ap/tkip_countermeasures.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ap_mlme.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_1x.c
  CC  ../src/eapol_auth/eapol_auth_sm.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_11_auth.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_11_shared.c
  CC  ../src/ap/drv_callbacks.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ap_drv_ops.c
  CC  ../src/ap/beacon.c
  CC  ../src/ap/bss_load.c
  CC  ../src/ap/eap_user_db.c
  CC  ../src/ap/neighbor_db.c
  CC  ../src/ap/rrm.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_11_ht.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_11_vht.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ctrl_iface_ap.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_identity.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_methods.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wmm.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ap_list.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_11.c
  CC  ../src/ap/hw_features.c
  CC  ../src/ap/dfs.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wps_hostapd.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_wsc.c
  CC  ../src/ap/dpp_hostapd.c
  CC  ../src/ap/gas_query_ap.c
  CC  ../src/ap/gas_serv.c
  CC  ../src/ap/hs20.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wpa_auth.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wpa_auth_ie.c
  CC  ../src/ap/pmksa_cache_auth.c
  CC  ../src/common/dragonfly.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/ms_funcs.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/chap.c
  CC  ../src/eap_peer/eap_tls_common.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/tls_openssl.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/tls_openssl_ocsp.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/crypto_openssl.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/aes-siv.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/aes-ctr.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/aes-omac1.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha256-kdf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha384-kdf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha512-kdf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha256-prf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha256-tlsprf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha384-prf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha512-prf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/dh_groups.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/random.c
  CC  ../src/common/ctrl_iface_common.c
  CC  ctrl_iface.c
  CC  ctrl_iface_unix.c
  CC  dbus/dbus_dict_helpers.c
  CC  dbus/dbus_new_helpers.c
dbus/dbus_new.c: In function ‘wpas_dbus_unregister_p2p_group’:
dbus/dbus_new.c:4793:3: warning: ‘%s’ directive argument is null [-Wformat-overflow=]
 4793 |   wpa_printf(MSG_DEBUG,
      |   ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 4794 |       "%s: Group object '%s' already unregistered",
      |       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 4795 |       __func__, wpa_s->dbus_groupobj_path);
      |       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  CC  dbus/dbus_new.c
  CC  dbus/dbus_new_handlers.c
  CC  dbus/dbus_common.c
  CC  dbus/dbus_new_handlers_wps.c
  CC  dbus/dbus_new_handlers_p2p.c
  CC  dbus/dbus_new_introspect.c
  CC  ../src/utils/base64.c
  CC  sme.c
  CC  ../src/common/ieee802_11_common.c
  CC  ../src/common/hw_features_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_common.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha1-prf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha1-tprf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha1-tlsprf.c
  CC  bgscan_simple.c
  CC  bgscan.c
  CC  ../src/common/gas_server.c
  CC  ../src/common/gas.c
  CC  gas_query.c
  CC  offchannel.c
  CC  ../src/utils/json.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_common.c
  CC  wpa_supplicant.c
  CC  events.c
  CC  blacklist.c
  CC  wpas_glue.c
  CC  scan.c
  CC  main.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_wired.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_wired_common.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211_capa.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211_event.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211_monitor.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211_scan.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/netlink.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/linux_ioctl.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/rfkill.c
  CC  ../src/utils/radiotap.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_wext.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/drivers.c
  CC  ../src/l2_packet/l2_packet_linux.c
  LD  wpa_supplicant
  CC  wpa_cli.c
  CC  ../src/common/wpa_ctrl.c
  CC  ../src/common/cli.c
  CC  ../src/utils/edit_simple.c
  LD  wpa_cli
  CC  wpa_passphrase.c
  LD  wpa_passphrase
  8. Install the compiled commands (optional)
    $ make install

hostapd compilation

The hostapd is a user space daemon for access point and authentication servers. It implements IEEE 802.11 access point management, IEEE 802.1X/WPA/WPA2/EAP Authenticators, RADIUS client, EAP server, and RADIUS authentication server. Following are the steps to download and compiling hostapd from source code

  1. Download latest hostapd
    $ wget http://w1.fi/releases/hostapd-2.9.tar.gz
  2. Install required packages
    $ sudo apt install libnl-genl-3-dev libnl-3-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev
    below messages indicate that packages are installed successfully
    The following NEW packages will be installed:
  libdbus-glib-1-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin libnl-3-dev libnl-genl-3-dev
0 upgraded, 4 newly installed, 0 to remove and 4 not upgraded.
Need to get 212 kB of archives.
After this operation, 1,235 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] 
Get:1 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin amd64 0.110-5fakssync1 [39.5 kB]
Get:2 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 libdbus-glib-1-dev amd64 0.110-5fakssync1 [69.2 kB]
Get:3 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 libnl-3-dev amd64 3.4.0-1 [92.2 kB]
Get:4 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/main amd64 libnl-genl-3-dev amd64 3.4.0-1 [10.7 kB]
Fetched 212 kB in 1s (293 kB/s)             
Selecting previously unselected package libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin.
(Reading database ... 385264 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin_0.110-5fakssync1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin (0.110-5fakssync1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libdbus-glib-1-dev:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../libdbus-glib-1-dev_0.110-5fakssync1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libdbus-glib-1-dev:amd64 (0.110-5fakssync1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libnl-3-dev:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../libnl-3-dev_3.4.0-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libnl-3-dev:amd64 (3.4.0-1) ...
Selecting previously unselected package libnl-genl-3-dev:amd64.
Preparing to unpack .../libnl-genl-3-dev_3.4.0-1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking libnl-genl-3-dev:amd64 (3.4.0-1) ...
Setting up libdbus-glib-1-dev-bin (0.110-5fakssync1) ...
Setting up libnl-3-dev:amd64 (3.4.0-1) ...
Setting up libdbus-glib-1-dev:amd64 (0.110-5fakssync1) ...
Setting up libnl-genl-3-dev:amd64 (3.4.0-1) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.9.1-1) ...
  3. Extract the tar file
    $ tar -xzvf hostapd-2.9.tar.gz
  4. Go to Hostapd directory
    $ cd hostapd-2.9/hostapd
  5. Copy the default configuration into .conf file
    $ cp defconfig .config
  6. Enable below configs in .config
    $ vim .config
CONFIG_DRIVER_NL80211=y
CONFIG_WPA_PSK=y
  7. Build the Hostapd
    $ make

    Below is the list of files compiled based on the features enabled in “.config”

      CC  main.c
  CC  config_file.c
  CC  ../src/ap/hostapd.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wpa_auth_glue.c
  CC  ../src/ap/drv_callbacks.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ap_drv_ops.c
  CC  ../src/ap/utils.c
  CC  ../src/ap/authsrv.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_1x.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ap_config.c
  CC  ../src/ap/eap_user_db.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_11_auth.c
  CC  ../src/ap/sta_info.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wpa_auth.c
  CC  ../src/ap/tkip_countermeasures.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ap_mlme.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wpa_auth_ie.c
  CC  ../src/ap/preauth_auth.c
  CC  ../src/ap/pmksa_cache_auth.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_11_shared.c
  CC  ../src/ap/beacon.c
  CC  ../src/ap/bss_load.c
  CC  ../src/ap/neighbor_db.c
  CC  ../src/ap/rrm.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/drivers.c
  CC  ../src/utils/eloop.c
  CC  ../src/utils/common.c
  CC  ../src/utils/wpa_debug.c
  CC  ../src/utils/wpabuf.c
  CC  ../src/utils/os_unix.c
  CC  ../src/utils/ip_addr.c
  CC  ../src/common/ieee802_11_common.c
  CC  ../src/common/wpa_common.c
  CC  ../src/common/hw_features_common.c
  CC  ../src/eapol_auth/eapol_auth_sm.c
  CC  ../src/eapol_auth/eapol_auth_dump.c
  CC  ../src/radius/radius.c
  CC  ../src/radius/radius_client.c
  CC  ../src/radius/radius_das.c
  CC  ../src/ap/accounting.c
  CC  ../src/ap/vlan_init.c
  CC  ../src/ap/vlan_ifconfig.c
  CC  ../src/ap/vlan.c
  CC  ../src/common/ctrl_iface_common.c
  CC  ctrl_iface.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ctrl_iface_ap.c
  CC  ../src/ap/iapp.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_hostap.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211_capa.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211_event.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211_monitor.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_nl80211_scan.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/netlink.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/linux_ioctl.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/rfkill.c
  CC  ../src/utils/radiotap.c
  CC  ../src/l2_packet/l2_packet_linux.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_md5.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_tls.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_peap.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_peap_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_ttls.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_mschapv2.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_gtc.c
  CC  eap_register.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/eap_common.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_methods.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_identity.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/ms_funcs.c
  CC  ../src/eap_common/chap.c
  CC  ../src/eap_server/eap_server_tls_common.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/tls_openssl.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/tls_openssl_ocsp.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/crypto_openssl.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/aes-omac1.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha1-prf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha1-tlsprf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha256-prf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha256-tlsprf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/sha256-kdf.c
  CC  ../src/crypto/random.c
  CC  ../src/ap/wmm.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ap_list.c
  CC  ../src/ap/ieee802_11.c
  CC  ../src/ap/hw_features.c
  CC  ../src/ap/dfs.c
  CC  ../src/drivers/driver_common.c
  LD  hostapd
  CC  hostapd_cli.c
  CC  ../src/common/wpa_ctrl.c
  CC  ../src/common/cli.c
  CC  ../src/utils/edit_simple.c
  LD  hostapd_cli
  8. Install the compiled commands (optional)
    $ make install

Running hostapd

  1. Check if wifi interface with the name “wlan0” is available. This is created on boot up of the ubuntu machine or by installing wifi driver manually

    $ iwconfig 
wlan0     IEEE 802.11  ESSID:off/any  
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on

$ iw dev 
phy#1
	Interface wlan0
		ifindex 5
		wdev 0x100000001
		addr 02:00:00:00:00:00
		type managed
		txpower 20.00 dBm
  2. Create a hostapd.conf file in /etc/hostapd/ folder with below content
    $ sudo vim /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

    Copy below content

    interface=wlan0
driver=nl80211
ssid=test_wpa
hw_mode=g
channel=6
macaddr_acl=0
auth_algs=1
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
wpa=1
wpa_passphrase=12345678
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
  3. Go to hostapd directory
    $ cd hostapd-2.9/hostapd
  4. Run hostapd by issuing follwing command
    $ sudo ./hostapd /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

    Below log messages are seen on console after running hostapd

    Configuration file: /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf
Using interface wlan0 with hwaddr 02:00:00:00:00:00 and ssid "test_wpa"
wlan0: interface state UNINITIALIZED->ENABLED
wlan0: AP-ENABLED

  5. Mode of “wlan0” interface is now assigned as “AP/Master”. Check this by querying information via iwconfig/iw command

    $ iwconfig 
wlan0     IEEE 802.11  Mode:Master  Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on

$ iw dev
phy#1
	Interface wlan0
		ifindex 5
		wdev 0x100000001
		addr 02:00:00:00:00:00
		ssid test_wpa
		type AP
		channel 6 (2437 MHz), width: 20 MHz (no HT), center1: 2437 MHz
		txpower 20.00 dBm
  6. verify that AP is working in WPA-PERSONAL in beacon frame

    Beacon->Wireless_Managment->tagged_parameter->vendor_specific->WPA_version=1

Running wpa_supplicant

METHOD 1: With Network Block in wpa_supplicant.conf file

  1. Check if wifi interface with the name “wlan1” is available. This is created on boot up of the ubuntu machine or by installing wifi driver manually
    $ iwconfig 
wlan1     IEEE 802.11  ESSID:off/any  
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on

$ iw dev
phy#2
	Interface wlan1
		ifindex 6
		wdev 0x200000001
		addr 02:00:00:00:01:00
		type managed
		txpower 20.00 dBm
  2. Go to wpa_supplicant directory
    $ cd wpa_supplicant-2.9/wpa_supplicant

  3. Create wpa_supplicant.conf file with following network block contents

    delete all existing content and copy below content

    ctrl_interface=/run/wpa_supplicant
update_config=1
network={
	ssid="test_wpa"
	proto=WPA
	key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
	psk="12345678"
}
  4. Run wpa_supplicant
    $ sudo ./wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -i wlan1 -c wpa_supplicant.conf

    Below log messages are seen on console after running wpa_supplicant

    Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
wlan1: SME: Trying to authenticate with 02:00:00:00:00:00 (SSID='test_wpa' freq=2437 MHz)
wlan1: Trying to associate with 02:00:00:00:00:00 (SSID='test_wpa' freq=2437 MHz)
wlan1: Associated with 02:00:00:00:00:00
wlan1: CTRL-EVENT-SUBNET-STATUS-UPDATE status=0
wlan1: WPA: Key negotiation completed with 02:00:00:00:00:00 [PTK=TKIP GTK=TKIP]
wlan1: CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED - Connection to 02:00:00:00:00:00 completed [id=0 id_str=]

    Message “CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED” indicates that wpa_supplicant(station) is connected to hostapd(ap) successfully

  5. Run wpa_cli and check status in wpa_cli prompt
    $ sudo ./wpa_cli -i wlan1
> status
bssid=02:00:00:00:00:00
freq=2437
ssid=test_wpa
id=0
mode=station
pairwise_cipher=TKIP
group_cipher=TKIP
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_state=COMPLETED
address=02:00:00:00:01:00
uuid=572cf82f-c957-5653-9b16-b5cfb298abf1

    Message “wpa_state=COMPLETE” indicates that wpa_supplicant(station) is connected to hostapd(ap) successfully

  6. Mode of “wlan1” interface is now assigned as “Managed” with ssid “test_wpa”. Check this by querying information via iwconfig/iw command
    $ iwconfig 

wlan1     IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"test_wpa"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.437 GHz  Access Point: 02:00:00:00:00:00   
          Bit Rate:1 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on
          Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-30 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

$ iw dev
phy#2
	Interface wlan1
		ifindex 6
		wdev 0x200000001
		addr 02:00:00:00:01:00
		ssid test_wpa
		type managed
		channel 6 (2437 MHz), width: 20 MHz (no HT), center1: 2437 MHz
		txpower 20.00 dBm

METHOD 2: Without Network Block in wpa_supplicant.conf file

  1. Go to wpa_supplicant directory
    $ cd wpa_supplicant-2.9/wpa_supplicant
  2. Create wpa_supplicant.conf file without a network block
    $ vim wpa_supplicant.conf  # add the following contents
ctrl_interface=/run/wpa_supplicant
update_config=1
  3. Run wpa_supplicant without network block in wpa_supplicant.conf file
    $ sudo ./wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -i wlan1 -c wpa_supplicant.conf
  4. Run wpa_cli to connect to WPA network
    $ sudo ./wpa_cli -i wlan1
> scan
OK
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED 
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-RESULTS 
> 
> scan_result
bssid / frequency / signal level / flags / ssid
02:00:00:00:00:00	2437	-30	[WPA-PSK-TKIP][ESS]	test_wpa
> 
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED 
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-RESULTS 

> add_network 
0
> set_network 0 ssid "test_wpa"
OK
> set_network 0 key_mgmt WPA-PSK
OK
> set_network 0 proto WPA
OK
> set_network 0 psk "12345678"
OK
> enable_network 0
OK
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED 
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-RESULTS 
<3>SME: Trying to authenticate with 02:00:00:00:00:00 (SSID='test_wpa' freq=2437 MHz)
<3>Trying to associate with 02:00:00:00:00:00 (SSID='test_wpa' freq=2437 MHz)
<3>Associated with 02:00:00:00:00:00
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SUBNET-STATUS-UPDATE status=0
<3>WPA: Key negotiation completed with 02:00:00:00:00:00 [PTK=TKIP GTK=TKIP]
<3>CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED - Connection to 02:00:00:00:00:00 completed [id=0 id_str=]
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED 
> 
> status
bssid=02:00:00:00:00:00
freq=2437
ssid=test_wpa
id=0
mode=station
pairwise_cipher=TKIP
group_cipher=TKIP
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_state=COMPLETED
p2p_device_address=42:00:00:00:01:00
address=02:00:00:00:01:00
uuid=572cf82f-c957-5653-9b16-b5cfb298abf1

Run data traffic

Steps

AP

Station

Step 1 : Assign IP address

 
$ ifconfig wlan0 192.168.3.1 up

$ ifconfig wlan1 192.168.3.10 up

Step 2 : Check IP address

 
$ ifconfig wlan0
wlan0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.3.1  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.3.255
        ether 02:00:00:00:00:00  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 61  bytes 11085 (11.0 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 130  bytes 25688 (25.6 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

$ ifconfig wlan1
wlan1: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.3.10  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.3.255
        ether 02:00:00:00:01:00  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 73  bytes 13119 (13.1 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 65  bytes 13111 (13.1 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Step 3 : Check ping

 
$ ping 192.168.3.10
PING 192.168.3.10 (192.168.3.10) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.3.10: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.092 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.3.10: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.036 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.3.10: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.094 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.3.10: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.105 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.3.10: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.094 ms


$ ping 192.168.3.1
PING 192.168.3.1 (192.168.3.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.3.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.121 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.3.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.091 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.3.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.090 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.3.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.097 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.3.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.243 ms

Step 4 : Run iperf TCP DL

 
$ iperf -c 192.168.3.10 -i 1 -t 5

$ iperf -s -i 1

Step 5 : Run iperf TCP UL

 
$ iperf -s -i 1

$ iperf -c 192.168.3.1 -i 1 -t 5

Step 6 : Run iperf UDP DL

 
$ iperf -c 192.168.3.10 -u -b 1000M -i 1 -t 5

$ iperf -s -u -i 1

Step 7 : Run iperf UDP UL

 
$ iperf -s -u -i 1

$ iperf -c 192.168.3.1 -u -b 1000M -i 1 -t 5