Return-path: Received: from out2.smtp.messagingengine.com ([66.111.4.26]:46730 "EHLO out2.smtp.messagingengine.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1760431AbXHVR5h (ORCPT ); Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:57:37 -0400 Subject: Re: [PATCH 1/2] mac80211: Remove ieee80211_privacy_mismatch From: Volker Braun To: Johannes Berg Cc: Jouni Malinen , Linux Wireless , Michael Wu In-Reply-To: <1187787855.4314.6.camel@johannes.berg> References: <1187406018.30247.17.camel@thinkpad> <20070818034146.GC1415@jm.kir.nu> <1187787855.4314.6.camel@johannes.berg> Content-Type: text/plain Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:57:35 -0400 Message-Id: <1187805455.9845.104.camel@carrot.hep.upenn.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Sender: linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: On Wed, 2007-08-22 at 15:04 +0200, Johannes Berg wrote: > Volker, can you try # iwpriv wlan0 param 1039 1 Thats PRISM2_PARAM_MIXED_CELL=1039, which you removed in your 023-remove-unused-ioctls-3.patch. If I revert that then I'm sure your iwpriv call would work around my problem. Note that I'm not in a mixed cell! iee80211_privacy_mismatch checks the wrong mismatch. In my case, the AP broadcasts privacy, but I do not (yet) have a WEP key. But really mixed cell support is about the AP _not_ broadcasting privacy, yet the user _having_ a WEP key configured. So say we fix iee80211_privacy_mismatch in checking for the right mismatch only. Then everybody would be happy, except some poor soul on a mixed cell network who would probably never figure out how to enable mixed cell mode. Why do we hate him so much? ;-) There is no security implication in enabling mixed mode by default --- management frames stay unencrypted and data frames with privacy mismatch continue to be dropped. ------------------ snip -------------------------------- Mixed Cells Mode Some access points, for example Cisco 350 or Cisco 1200, support environments in which not all client stations support WEP encryption; this is called Mixed-Cell Mode. When these wireless networks operate in "optional encryption" mode, client stations that join in WEP mode send all messages encrypted, and stations that join in using standard mode send all messages unencrypted. These access points broadcast that these network do not use encryption, but allow clients to join using WEP mode. When "Mixed-Cell" is enabled in a profile, it allows you to connect to access points that are configured for "optional encryption". -------------------------------------------------------- -Volker