wpa_cli(8) - NetBSD Manual Pages

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WPA_CLI(8)              NetBSD System Manager's Manual              WPA_CLI(8)


NAME

     wpa_cli -- text-based frontend program for interacting with wpa_suppli-
     cant


SYNOPSIS

     wpa_cli [commands]


DESCRIPTION

     The wpa_cli utility is a text-based frontend program for interacting with
     wpa_supplicant(8).  It is used to query current status, change configura-
     tion, trigger events, and request interactive user input.

     The wpa_cli utility can show the current authentication status, selected
     security mode, dot11 and dot1x MIBs, etc.  In addition, wpa_cli can con-
     figure EAPOL state machine parameters and trigger events such as reasso-
     ciation and IEEE 802.1X logoff/logon.

     The wpa_cli utility provides an interface to supply authentication infor-
     mation such as username and password when it is not provided in the
     wpa_supplicant.conf(5) configuration file.  This can be used, for exam-
     ple, to implement one-time passwords or generic token card authentication
     where the authentication is based on a challenge-response that uses an
     external device for generating the response.

     The wpa_cli utility supports two modes: interactive and command line.
     Both modes share the same command set and the main difference is that in
     interactive mode, wpa_cli provides access to unsolicited messages (event
     messages, username/password requests).

     Interactive mode is started when wpa_cli is executed without any parame-
     ters on the command line.  Commands are then entered from the controlling
     terminal in response to the wpa_cli prompt.  In command line mode, the
     same commands are entered as command line arguments.

     The control interface of wpa_supplicant(8) can be configured to allow
     non-root user access by using the ctrl_interface_group parameter in the
     wpa_supplicant.conf(5) configuration file.  This makes it possible to run
     wpa_cli with a normal user account.


AUTHENTICATION PARAMETERS

     When wpa_supplicant(8) needs authentication parameters, such as username
     and password, that are not present in the configuration file, it sends a
     request message to all attached frontend programs, e.g., wpa_cli in
     interactive mode.  The wpa_cli utility shows these requests with a
     ``CTRL-REQ-<type>-<id>:<text>'' prefix, where <type> is IDENTITY,
     PASSWORD, or OTP (one-time password), <id> is a unique identifier for the
     current network, and <text> is description of the request.  In the case
     of a OTP (One Time Password) request, it includes the challenge from the
     authentication server.

     A user must supply wpa_supplicant(8) the needed parameters in response to
     these requests.

     For example,

           CTRL-REQ-PASSWORD-1:Password needed for SSID foobar
           > password 1 mysecretpassword

           Example request for generic token card challenge-response:

           CTRL-REQ-OTP-2:Challenge 1235663 needed for SSID foobar
           > otp 2 9876


COMMANDS

     The following commands may be supplied on the command line or at a prompt
     when operating interactively.

     status  Report the current WPA/EAPOL/EAP status for the current inter-
             face.

     mib     Report MIB variables (dot1x, dot11) for the current interface.

     help    Show usage help.

     interface [ifname]
             Show available interfaces and/or set the current interface when
             multiple are available.

     level debug_level
             Change the debugging level in wpa_supplicant(8).  Larger numbers
             generate more messages.

     license
             Display the full license for wpa_cli.

     logoff  Send the IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine into the ``logoff''
             state.

     logon   Send the IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine into the ``logon''
             state.

     set [settings]
             Set variables.  When no arguments are supplied, the known vari-
             ables and their settings are displayed.

     pmksa   Show the contents of the PMKSA cache.

     reassociate
             Force a reassociation to the current access point.

     reconfigure
             Force wpa_supplicant(8) to re-read its configuration file.

     preauthenticate BSSID
             Force preauthentication of the specified BSSID.

     identity network_id identity
             Configure an identity for an SSID.

     password network_id password
             Configure a password for an SSID.

     otp network_id password
             Configure a one-time password for an SSID.

     terminate
             Force wpa_supplicant(8) to terminate.

     quit    Exit wpa_cli.


SEE ALSO

     wpa_supplicant.conf(5), wpa_supplicant(8)


HISTORY

     The wpa_cli utility first appeared in NetBSD 4.0.


AUTHORS

     The wpa_cli utility was written by Jouni Malinen <jkmaline@cc.hut.fi>.
     This manual page is derived from the README file included in the
     wpa_supplicant distribution.

NetBSD 5.1                      October 1, 2005                     NetBSD 5.1