Question

PRNG is not Seeded

Asked by: phatgreenbuds67

I have been trying to get SSH installed on a complete and fresh installation of Solaris 8.  All patches and packages are installed but when I try to create the keys below is what I see:

# ssh-keygen -t rsa1 -f /usr/local/etc/ssh_host_key -N ""
PRNG is not seeded

I have scoured the Internet looking for an answer and there seems to be no one in the Unix world capable of giving a simple response that makes sense.  

What does this mean and how do I fix it?

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Asked On
2003-04-07 at 13:28:47ID20577371
Tags

seeded

,

prng

Topic

Sun Solaris

Participating Experts
5
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Comments
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Answers

 

by: soupdragonPosted on 2003-04-07 at 14:23:40ID: 8287138

Most answers seem to point to a missing /dev/random file fixed by patch 112438-01 and rebooting. You may also need to creat links if they still don't exist after a reboot.
ln -s /devices/pseudo/random@0:random /dev/random
ln -s /devices/pseudo/random@0:urandom /dev/urandom

Do you have he Pseudo Random Number Generator package installed?

See http://www.unixguide.net/sun/ssh_installation.shtml

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-07 at 17:40:42ID: 8288166

both random and urandom are there. I already created the links as well.

PRNG is installed but thats as far as I have gone. No idea how to config it or how to check it to make sure its all setup properly.  I have installed the patch three times now.

 

by: yuzhPosted on 2003-04-07 at 17:59:24ID: 8288235

You need to make sure that the Pseudo Random Number Generator Daemon -- prngd is running before you can use openssh (ssh)

Modidy the following script to suite you installation (the path to prngd), put the following script in /etc/rc2.d and called it S98prngd. (Startup script)
then run:
/etc/rc2.d/S98prngd start
to start the daemon, after that youshould be able to use ssh.

Here's the startup script

#!/bin/sh
# Start up script for Pseudo Random Number Generator Daemon
#
#  placed in /etc/init.d with file name prngd and then as root run
#  This daemon must run before the sshd start
#  

# chown root /etc/init.d/prngd
# chgrp sys /etc/init.d/prngd
# chmod 555 /etc/init.d/prngd
# ln -s /etc/init.d/prngd /etc/rc2.d/S98prngd
# /etc/rc2.d/S98prngd stop

# /etc/rc2.d/S98prngd start
pid=`/usr/bin/ps -e | /usr/bin/grep prngd | /usr/bin/sed -e 's/^  *//' -e 's/ .*//'`
case $1 in
'start')
        /usr/local/bin/prngd /var/spool/prngd/pool
        ;;
'stop')
        if [ "${pid}" != "" ]
        then
                /usr/bin/kill ${pid}
        fi
        ;;
*)
        echo "usage: /etc/init.d/prngd {start|stop}"
        ;;
esac
#---------------------------------------------------------

Cheers!



 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-07 at 18:39:49ID: 8288362

ARGGGHHHH!!!

this is not working!

here are the packages that have been installed:

# ls
112438-01                          openssh-3.5p1-sol8-sparc-local     tcp_wrappers-7.6-sol8-sparc-local
egd-0.8-sol8-sparc-local           openssl-0.9.6i-sol8-sparc-local    zlib-1.1.4-sol8-sparc-local
libgcc-3.2.2-sol8-sparc-local      prngd-0.9.25-sol8-sparc-local
#

I have followed all docs to the letter and tried ya'lls scripts...still I get the same thing.

 

by: yuzhPosted on 2003-04-07 at 19:02:08ID: 8288426

Ok, you are runing Solaris (SPARC), here's something I wrote sometime ago from my previous installation:

Openssh configuration files:
  Solaris: /usr/local/etc/ssh_config

1) Install the following packages:
  openssl-0.9.6c
  openssh-3.1p1
  prngd-0.9.23
  zlib-1.1.4
  perl-5.6.1

2) Setup the Pseudo Random Number Generator Daemon
 mkdir /var/spool/prngd
 write a script to auto start and stop the prngd daemon (S98prngd), put it in
 /etc/rc2.d, make it start before the sshd startup script

3) cd /usr/local/etc, edit ssh_config and sshd_config file.
 I put the keys in /etc/ssh2

4) create the ssh keys use the following commands:
  ssh-keygen -t rsa1 -f /etc/ssh2/ssh_host_key -N ""
  ssh-keygen -t dsa -f /etc/ssh2/ssh_host_dsa_key -N ""
  ssh-keygen -t rsa -f /etc/ssh2/ssh_host_rsa_key -N ""

5) cp ~/bin/start-ssh.sh /etc/rc2.d/S99sshd
 change the permissions for /etc/rc2.d/S99sshd
 /etc/rc2.d/S99sshd start
   
#Create a sshd startup script, I wrote one for all my systems.

Note: you can forgot about perl 5.x if you are not using it.

Please have a look at my note see if it make sense to you.

 

by: yuzhPosted on 2003-04-07 at 19:09:09ID: 8288455

Have you done:

mkdir /var/spool/prngd
 befor starting the prngd ?

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-07 at 19:13:28ID: 8288472

both random and urandom are there. I already created the links as well.

PRNG is installed but thats as far as I have gone. No idea how to config it or how to check it to make sure its all setup properly.  I have installed the patch three times now.

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-07 at 19:20:22ID: 8288490

yeah I did the mkdir /var/spool/prngd

Creating the scripts and starting the daemons are no problem...but sure enough as soon as I try to create the keys I get the message that prng is not seeded.

I followed http://www.unixguide.net/sun/ssh_installation.shtml
and
http://www.sunfreeware.com/openssh8.html

exactly as written. This worked on my previous setup then I changed to a bigger harddrive and re-installed solaris from scratch...now for some reason its not working.

These are newer release files then the ones I previously used. Could there be an issue with these newer releases? Sunfreeware states that PRNG is not required yet it seems as though I cannot do much without it.

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-07 at 19:33:33ID: 8288538

yeah I did the mkdir /var/spool/prngd

Creating the scripts and starting the daemons are no problem...but sure enough as soon as I try to create the keys I get the message that prng is not seeded.

I followed http://www.unixguide.net/sun/ssh_installation.shtml
and
http://www.sunfreeware.com/openssh8.html

exactly as written. This worked on my previous setup then I changed to a bigger harddrive and re-installed solaris from scratch...now for some reason its not working.

These are newer release files then the ones I previously used. Could there be an issue with these newer releases? Sunfreeware states that PRNG is not required yet it seems as though I cannot do much without it.

 

by: yuzhPosted on 2003-04-07 at 19:44:19ID: 8288573

I have not tried the newer release yet, there might be a problem with the new one. (It might be a documentation error at http://www.sunfreeware.com, it happened sometime !). I'm not in the position to make any comment on the newer version.

If you still have the old pakages, it is easy to use them to get it going.

 

by: liddlerPosted on 2003-04-08 at 00:52:11ID: 8289934

I have had this problem before, it was because
/devices/pseudo/random@0:random and  /devices/pseudo/random@0:urandom did not have group and world read permissions.  check their permissions
ls -l /devices/pseudo/random@0:*random
if they are -r------, do
chmod a+r /devices/pseudo/random@0:*random

That fixed it for me on a couple of systems.

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-08 at 07:17:26ID: 8291870

like a dumbass...I was playing where I should not and now the box won't boot at all. So I am in the process of re-installing the OS AGAIN...maybe this time it'll work for me.

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-08 at 12:08:02ID: 8294121

Ok its all back up and I have once again installed the packeages and proper patches...

I followed the setups exactly as described and tried the latest sugestion. Here is what I get:

# ls -l /devices/pseudo/random@0:random /dev/random
/devices/pseudo/random@0:random: No such file or directory
lrwxrwxrwx   1 root     other         31 Apr  8 14:07 /dev/random -> /devices/pseudo/random@0:random
#

I checked /dev fopr the random file and its there but when I try to vi or more on it, it says it does not exist.

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-08 at 12:08:48ID: 8294132

# ln -s /devices/pseudo/random@0:random /dev/random
# ln -s /devices/pseudo/random@0:urandom /dev/urandom
#
# cd /dev
# ls
allkmem       fd0c          logindmux     ptyp9         ptyr1         rfd0a         term          ttype         ttyr6
arp           fssnapctl     m640          ptypa         ptyr2         rfd0b         ticlts        ttypf         ttyr7
audio         ge            mem           ptypb         ptyr3         rfd0c         ticots        ttyq0         ttyr8
audioctl      hme           mouse         ptypc         ptyr4         rmt           ticotsord     ttyq1         ttyr9
bd.off        icmp          msglog        ptypd         ptyr5         rsm           tnfctl        ttyq2         ttyra
ce            icmp6         nca           ptype         ptyr6         rsr0          tnfmap        ttyq3         ttyrb
cfg           ip            null          ptypf         ptyr7         rts           tod           ttyq4         ttyrc
conslog       ip6           openprom      ptyq0         ptyr8         sad           tty           ttyq5         ttyrd
console       ipd           pm            ptyq1         ptyr9         se_hdlc       ttya          ttyq6         ttyre
cua           ipdcm         poll          ptyq2         ptyra         se_hdlc0      ttyb          ttyq7         ttyrf
diskette      ipdptp        power_button  ptyq3         ptyrb         se_hdlc1      ttyp0         ttyq8         udp
diskette0     ipsecah       printers      ptyq4         ptyrc         sound         ttyp1         ttyq9         udp6
dsk           ipsecesp      ptmajor       ptyq5         ptyrd         sppp          ttyp2         ttyqa         urandom
dump          kbd           ptmx          ptyq6         ptyre         sppptun       ttyp3         ttyqb         volctl
ecpp0         keysock       pts           ptyq7         ptyrf         sr0           ttyp4         ttyqc         winlock
eri           kmem          ptyp0         ptyq8         qe            stderr        ttyp5         ttyqd         wrsmd
fb            kstat         ptyp1         ptyq9         qfe           stdin         ttyp6         ttyqe         wscons
fb0           ksyms         ptyp2         ptyqa         random        stdout        ttyp7         ttyqf         zero
fbs           le            ptyp3         ptyqb         rawip         swap          ttyp8         ttyr0
fcode         llc1          ptyp4         ptyqc         rawip6        syscon        ttyp9         ttyr1
fd            llc2          ptyp5         ptyqd         rdiskette     sysmsg        ttypa         ttyr2
fd0           lockstat      ptyp6         ptyqe         rdiskette0    systty        ttypb         ttyr3
fd0a          lofictl       ptyp7         ptyqf         rdsk          tcp           ttypc         ttyr4
fd0b          log           ptyp8         ptyr0         rfd0          tcp6          ttypd         ttyr5

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-08 at 14:17:38ID: 8295130

I am convinced that there is not a single individual out there who knows what this means or how to fix it. Sure there are a few who tried some stuff and got lucky but I doubt that they really knew what the problem really was. I have wiped out my Solaris 8 (Sparc) install and started completely from scratch several times now. No matter what I do I still get this message. I have scoured the web looking for an intelligent explanation using simple english and have yet to find one. A previous install worked perfectly...then I try to change to a larger harddrive and now this is.

And Unix is better then what Mr. Gates?

 

by: kspinkaPosted on 2003-04-08 at 16:12:31ID: 8295738

phatgreenbuds67,

  Do yourself a favor and install Solaris 9.  It installs and configures SSH by default.  Since you are using the SPARC platform, it is a free download for you: http://wwws.sun.com/software/solaris/binaries/get.html

   /kristofer

 

by: yuzhPosted on 2003-04-08 at 18:47:08ID: 8296375

Hi phatgreenbuds67,

   *nix is not a user friendly OS, but think about the bright side, it is stable, and more secure than M$.

    And we all have fun with it.

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-09 at 01:59:59ID: 8298076

kspinka,

unfortunately that is not an option. This box is here for a specific purpose. To lab my current production Provider-1 setup in preperation for migration to NG. So its crucial that I run Solaris 8 to mimic the as closely as possible the current production environment.

yuzh,

yeah as frustrated as I am getting, I admit that I am enjoying learning unix...just wish there was some way to get decent docs or help pages...I have finally had to crawl to our Unix admins for help. This is not an easy thing for a network type like myself. But I think I may have it straightend out.  If I do I'll post it here among the other resolutions.

 

by: kspinkaPosted on 2003-04-09 at 02:14:33ID: 8298138

phatgreenbuds67,

  On Solaris 8 I have used the following guide: http://www.sunfreeware.com/opensshdoc.html to install OpenSSH, but I no longer recommend it as Solaris 8 has a native /dev/random.

  Sun has released a patch (112438-01 for SPARC), albeit some time ago, to support /dev/{u,}random.  With that said, I recommend that you install the patch and then download the OpenSSH source from: ftp://ftp3.usa.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/OpenSSH/portable/openssh-3.6.1p1.tar.gz and compile/install it.  It's rather simple when you have a random device built in.

  /kristofer

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-09 at 02:31:44ID: 8298218

I have done all this, several times. I have followed the docs word for word. I have installed the patch from Sun and still I get this PRNG message. So I installed PRNG and still the same message. I went to the OpenSSH site and read through the faqs. Those guys are just great. They can tell you all about the problem but not a word about how to fix it.

As for the random device thats built in? Thats what I thought to...but as I said this error started on a fresh install where OpenSSH was the first thing I have tried to get working.

 

by: kspinkaPosted on 2003-04-09 at 02:34:21ID: 8298230

 I understand your frustration, but if you follow my instructions, verbatim, you will have no problems getting OpenSSH up and running.

  The random device is only available after installing the Solaris patch.

   /kristofer

 

by: kspinkaPosted on 2003-04-09 at 03:23:49ID: 8298434

 I understand your frustration, but if you follow my instructions, verbatim, you will have no problems getting OpenSSH up and running.

  The random device is only available after installing the Solaris patch.

   /kristofer

 

by: soupdragonPosted on 2003-04-09 at 05:53:04ID: 8299188

There are a number of options to get the /dev/random device working described (vaguely) in Sun document 27606.

PRNG is a package that emulates /dev/random functionality - required for Solaris pre version 8 - in your case you should not need this package at all.

Solaris version 9 has the /dev/random device pre-installed.

Solaris version 8 is the problem, requiring the patch 112438-01 (SPARC) to be installed. For some reason this patch was built such that a reconfiguration reboot is required following installation (call 'touch /reconfigure before rebooting).

Checks to do..

showrev -p | grep 112438  -- Is patch applied?
ls -la /kernel/drv/random -- Is kernel driver there?

If you have applied the patch sucessfully but not reconfigure rebooted then do so. You could try to call 'add_drv random; devfsadm -i random' to install it without a reboot but I can't confirm if this works.

If the installation has worked you should have the device files.  
/devices/pseudo/random@0:random
/devices/pseudo/random@0:urandom

If these don't exist no amount of linking and permission changing is going to work.

It also appears that certain Solaris 8 Releases, Solaris 8 HW 12/02 or later, (cat /etc/release to find out version) include this patch already, but it was applied incorrectly at source! See bug ID 4791713. If this is the case, then the above 2 checks will suggest the patch is applied, but the following will report no random device..

grep random /etc/name_to_major -- Is it there?
grep random /etc/devlink.tab   -- or here?

If the answer to the last 2 questions is no then you have hit the bug in 4791713. To fix call..

rem_drv random
add_drv random
edit /etc/devlink.tab to add this line below <TAB> before \M0:
type=ddi_pseudo;name=random     \M0
devfsadm -i random

This removes the random driver from kernel and reapplies it, adds it to the device table and reconfigures the kernel to add the random device.

 

by: phatgreenbuds67Posted on 2003-04-09 at 14:41:33ID: 8303034

Soupdragon,

You are the man! Finally this works and yes I was a victim of that bug. You resolution fixed it and was easy to follow. Thank you sooo much.

 

by: liddlerPosted on 2004-02-29 at 00:53:44ID: 10479287

No comment has been added lately, so it's time to clean up this TA.
I will leave a recommendation in the Cleanup topic area that this question is:

Answered by soupdragon

Please leave any comments here within the next four days.

PLEASE DO NOT ACCEPT THIS COMMENT AS AN ANSWER!

liddler
EE Cleanup Volunteer

 

by: jorgemariouPosted on 2004-04-26 at 08:17:05ID: 10919239

Soupdragon, thanks a lot. I had the same problem phatgreenbuds67 had but thanks to you I got rid of it. Thanks.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

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