SSH to disable VPN (or VPN kill switch)

[JTnola]

Is it possible to SSH into the router to disable the VPN (and/or to disable the VPN kill switch?)

 

[JTnola]

(My kill switch has engaged, so my router won’t let me log on to the WebGUI to fix the situation.)

 

[John Fitzgerald]

(My kill switch has engaged, so my router won’t let me log on to the WebGUI to fix the situation.)

Have you tried a router reboot?

 

[JTnola]

Have you tried a router reboot?

That’s the problem. The PIA server I was using appears to not exist anymore. So the router rebooted, can’t connect to the VPN (so the kill switch engages), and — voila! — we’re locked out of the router.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Seems a bit strange that if the VPN client isn't working it would prevent you from accessing the router's GUI locally. I thought the VPN kill switch only effected internet access. If you're blocked from accessing the GUI how are you going to access the router through SSH, it's the same IP address?

 

[John Fitzgerald]

That’s the problem. The PIA server I was using appears to not exist anymore. So the router rebooted, can’t connect to the VPN (so the kill switch engages), and — voila! — we’re locked out of the router.

I would do a manual reboot by pulling the Barrel end of the power cord, wait 60 seconds, then plug it back in, and see what that gets you.

If not you may need to do a WPS Reset. Hope you have a more current backup so you can restore quickly.

Edit: Also try by disconnecting from modem to regain access via hardwired straight to PC. @ColinTaylor

Edit: Also reboot modem by disconnecting power. (separate action)

 

[JTnola]

I did a hard and used a recent backup and all is well.

But yeah .. when there’s no internet, there’s no local access. I don’t really get it.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I did a hard and used a recent backup and all is well.

But yeah .. when there’s no internet, there’s no local access. I don’t really get it.

It would be most helpful if you Updated your Signature to reflect your hardware, firmware and scripts.
Your IP Reserved Range should be evaluated.

 

[JTnola]

It would be most helpful if you Updated your Signature to reflect your hardware, firmware and scripts.
Your IP Reserved Range should be evaluated.

IP Reserved Range (?) … to what end?

RT-AC86U
386.11
Diversion standard
Skynet
ScMerlin

 

[Viktor Jaep]

I did a hard and used a recent backup and all is well.

But yeah .. when there’s no internet, there’s no local access. I don’t really get it.

One of the reasons why I built "remote reset protection" into vpnmon-r2... it basically checks against a file sitting out there on the internet every 15mins, and if the file says reboot, then it reboots the router. I've been in a pickle before where VPN borks things up preventing clients from getting in/going out and remotely locks me out... or the killswitch preventing this traffic. Reboot fixes everything.

VPNMON - VPNMON-R2 v2.52 -Mar 27, 2023- Monitor your VPN connection's Health (Thread locked/closed)

Haha, I didn't realize how much of a pain Turkey would be. Using the recommended list from Nord works marginally better. Maybe an additional config option to use that for people that are in countries that limit VPN API access? I just ran this and it took 1m 44s from the router: curl --silent...

www.snbforums.com

 

[JTnola]

One of the reasons why I built "remote reset protection" into vpnmon-r2... it basically checks against a file sitting out there on the internet every 15mins, and if the file says reboot, then it reboots the router. I've been in a pickle before where VPN borks things up preventing clients from getting in/going out and remotely locks me out... or the killswitch preventing this traffic. Reboot fixes everything.

VPNMON - VPNMON-R2 v2.52 -Mar 27, 2023- Monitor your VPN connection's Health (Thread locked/closed)

Haha, I didn't realize how much of a pain Turkey would be. Using the recommended list from Nord works marginally better. Maybe an additional config option to use that for people that are in countries that limit VPN API access? I just ran this and it took 1m 44s from the router: curl --silent...

www.snbforums.com

Brilliant.

Thank you!

(How resource intensive is vpnmon-r2?)

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Brilliant.

Thank you!

(How resource intensive is vpnmon-r2?)

Not very... if you like, I can try to break out this code so you can just have it run just for this purpose?