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<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
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<!ENTITY COMMANDNAME "mandos">
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<!ENTITY TIMESTAMP "2025-06-27">
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<!ENTITY % common SYSTEM "common.ent">
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<refentry xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">
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<title>Mandos Manual</title>
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<!-- NWalsh’s docbook scripts use this to generate the footer: -->
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<productname>Mandos</productname>
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<productnumber>&version;</productnumber>
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<date>&TIMESTAMP;</date>
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<firstname>Björn</firstname>
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<surname>Påhlsson</surname>
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<email>belorn@recompile.se</email>
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<firstname>Teddy</firstname>
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<surname>Hogeborn</surname>
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<email>teddy@recompile.se</email>
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<holder>Teddy Hogeborn</holder>
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<holder>Björn Påhlsson</holder>
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<xi:include href="legalnotice.xml"/>
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<refentrytitle>&COMMANDNAME;</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
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<refname><command>&COMMANDNAME;</command></refname>
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Gives encrypted passwords to authenticated Mandos clients
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<command>&COMMANDNAME;</command>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>--interface
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<replaceable>NAME</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>-i
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<replaceable>NAME</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>--address
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<replaceable>ADDRESS</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>-a
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<replaceable>ADDRESS</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>--port
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<replaceable>PORT</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>-p
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<replaceable>PORT</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg><option>--priority
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<replaceable>PRIORITY</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg><option>--servicename
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<replaceable>NAME</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg><option>--configdir
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<replaceable>DIRECTORY</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg><option>--debug</option></arg>
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<arg><option>--debuglevel
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<replaceable>LEVEL</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg><option>--no-dbus</option></arg>
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<arg><option>--no-ipv6</option></arg>
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<arg><option>--no-restore</option></arg>
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<arg><option>--statedir
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<replaceable>DIRECTORY</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg><option>--socket
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<replaceable>FD</replaceable></option></arg>
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<arg><option>--foreground</option></arg>
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<arg><option>--no-zeroconf</option></arg>
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<command>&COMMANDNAME;</command>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>--help</option></arg>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>-h</option></arg>
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<command>&COMMANDNAME;</command>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>--version</option></arg>
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<command>&COMMANDNAME;</command>
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<arg choice="plain"><option>--check</option></arg>
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<refsect1 id="description">
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<title>DESCRIPTION</title>
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<command>&COMMANDNAME;</command> is a server daemon which
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handles incoming requests for passwords for a pre-defined list
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of client host computers. For an introduction, see
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>intro</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>8mandos</manvolnum></citerefentry>. The Mandos server
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uses Zeroconf to announce itself on the local network, and uses
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TLS to communicate securely with and to authenticate the
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clients. The Mandos server uses IPv6 to allow Mandos clients to
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use IPv6 link-local addresses, since the clients will probably
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not have any other addresses configured (see <xref
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linkend="overview"/>). Any authenticated client is then given
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the stored pre-encrypted password for that specific client.
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<refsect1 id="purpose">
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<title>PURPOSE</title>
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The purpose of this is to enable <emphasis>remote and unattended
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rebooting</emphasis> of client host computer with an
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<emphasis>encrypted root file system</emphasis>. See <xref
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linkend="overview"/> for details.
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<refsect1 id="options">
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<title>OPTIONS</title>
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<term><option>--help</option></term>
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<term><option>-h</option></term>
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Show a help message and exit
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<term><option>--interface</option>
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<replaceable>NAME</replaceable></term>
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<term><option>-i</option>
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<replaceable>NAME</replaceable></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="interface"/>
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<term><option>--address
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<replaceable>ADDRESS</replaceable></option></term>
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<replaceable>ADDRESS</replaceable></option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="address"/>
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<replaceable>PORT</replaceable></option></term>
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<replaceable>PORT</replaceable></option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="port"/>
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<term><option>--check</option></term>
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Run the server’s self-tests. This includes any unit
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<term><option>--debug</option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="debug"/>
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<term><option>--debuglevel
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<replaceable>LEVEL</replaceable></option></term>
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Set the debugging log level.
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<replaceable>LEVEL</replaceable> is a string, one of
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<quote><literal>CRITICAL</literal></quote>,
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<quote><literal>ERROR</literal></quote>,
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<quote><literal>WARNING</literal></quote>,
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<quote><literal>INFO</literal></quote>, or
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<quote><literal>DEBUG</literal></quote>, in order of
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increasing verbosity. The default level is
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<quote><literal>WARNING</literal></quote>.
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<term><option>--priority <replaceable>
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PRIORITY</replaceable></option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="priority"/>
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<term><option>--servicename
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<replaceable>NAME</replaceable></option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml"
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xpointer="servicename"/>
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<term><option>--configdir
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<replaceable>DIRECTORY</replaceable></option></term>
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Directory to search for configuration files. Default is
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<quote><literal>/etc/mandos</literal></quote>. See
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> and <citerefentry>
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<refentrytitle>mandos-clients.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
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<term><option>--version</option></term>
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Prints the program version and exit.
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<term><option>--no-dbus</option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="dbus"/>
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See also <xref linkend="dbus_interface"/>.
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<term><option>--no-ipv6</option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="ipv6"/>
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<term><option>--no-restore</option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="restore"/>
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See also <xref linkend="persistent_state"/>.
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<term><option>--statedir
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<replaceable>DIRECTORY</replaceable></option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="statedir"/>
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<term><option>--socket
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<replaceable>FD</replaceable></option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="socket"/>
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<term><option>--foreground</option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml"
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xpointer="foreground"/>
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<term><option>--no-zeroconf</option></term>
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<xi:include href="mandos-options.xml" xpointer="zeroconf"/>
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<refsect1 id="overview">
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<title>OVERVIEW</title>
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<xi:include href="overview.xml"/>
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This program is the server part. It is a normal server program
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and will run in a normal system environment, not in an initial
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<acronym>RAM</acronym> disk environment.
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<refsect1 id="protocol">
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<title>NETWORK PROTOCOL</title>
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The Mandos server announces itself as a Zeroconf service of type
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<quote><literal>_mandos._tcp</literal></quote>. The Mandos
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client connects to the announced address and port, and sends a
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line of text where the first whitespace-separated field is the
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protocol version, which currently is
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<quote><literal>1</literal></quote>. The client and server then
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start a TLS protocol handshake with a slight quirk: the Mandos
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server program acts as a TLS <quote>client</quote> while the
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connecting Mandos client acts as a TLS <quote>server</quote>.
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The Mandos client must supply a TLS public key, and the key ID
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of this public key is used by the Mandos server to look up (in a
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list read from <filename>clients.conf</filename> at start time)
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which binary blob to give the client. No other authentication
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or authorization is done by the server.
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<title>Mandos Protocol (Version 1)</title><tgroup cols="3"><thead>
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<entry>Mandos Client</entry>
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<entry>Direction</entry>
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<entry>Mandos Server</entry>
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<entry>Connect</entry>
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<entry>-><!-- → --></entry>
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<entry><quote><literal>1\r\n</literal></quote></entry>
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<entry>-><!-- → --></entry>
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<entry>TLS handshake <emphasis>as TLS <quote>server</quote>
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<entry><-><!-- ⟷ --></entry>
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<entry>TLS handshake <emphasis>as TLS <quote>client</quote>
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<entry>Public key (part of TLS handshake)</entry>
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<entry>-><!-- → --></entry>
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<entry><-<!-- ← --></entry>
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<entry>Binary blob (client will assume OpenPGP data)</entry>
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<entry><-<!-- ← --></entry>
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</tbody></tgroup></table>
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<refsect1 id="checking">
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<title>CHECKING</title>
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The server will, by default, continually check that the clients
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are still up. If a client has not been confirmed as being up
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for some time, the client is assumed to be compromised and is no
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longer eligible to receive the encrypted password. (Manual
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intervention is required to re-enable a client.) The timeout,
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extended timeout, checker program, and interval between checks
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can be configured both globally and per client; see
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos-clients.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
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<refsect1 id="approval">
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<title>APPROVAL</title>
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The server can be configured to require manual approval for a
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client before it is sent its secret. The delay to wait for such
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approval and the default action (approve or deny) can be
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configured both globally and per client; see <citerefentry>
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<refentrytitle>mandos-clients.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>. By default all clients
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will be approved immediately without delay.
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This can be used to deny a client its secret if not manually
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approved within a specified time. It can also be used to make
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the server delay before giving a client its secret, allowing
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optional manual denying of this specific client.
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<refsect1 id="logging">
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<title>LOGGING</title>
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The server will send log message with various severity levels to
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<filename class="devicefile">/dev/log</filename>. With the
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<option>--debug</option> option, it will log even more messages,
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and also show them on the console.
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<refsect1 id="persistent_state">
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<title>PERSISTENT STATE</title>
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Client settings, initially read from
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<filename>clients.conf</filename>, are persistent across
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restarts, and run-time changes will override settings in
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<filename>clients.conf</filename>. However, if a setting is
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<emphasis>changed</emphasis> (or a client added, or removed) in
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<filename>clients.conf</filename>, this will take precedence.
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<refsect1 id="dbus_interface">
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<title>D-BUS INTERFACE</title>
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The server will by default provide a D-Bus system bus interface.
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This interface will only be accessible by the root user or a
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Mandos-specific user, if such a user exists. For documentation
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of the D-Bus API, see the file <filename>DBUS-API</filename>.
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<refsect1 id="exit_status">
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<title>EXIT STATUS</title>
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The server will exit with a non-zero exit status only when a
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critical error is encountered.
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<refsect1 id="environment">
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<title>ENVIRONMENT</title>
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<term><envar>PATH</envar></term>
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To start the configured checker (see <xref
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linkend="checking"/>), the server uses
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<filename>/bin/sh</filename>, which in turn uses
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<varname>PATH</varname> to search for matching commands if
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an absolute path is not given. See <citerefentry>
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<refentrytitle>sh</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
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<refsect1 id="files">
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Use the <option>--configdir</option> option to change where
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<command>&COMMANDNAME;</command> looks for its configurations
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files. The default file names are listed here.
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<term><filename>/etc/mandos/mandos.conf</filename></term>
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Server-global settings. See
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> for details.
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<term><filename>/etc/mandos/clients.conf</filename></term>
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List of clients and client-specific settings. See
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos-clients.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> for details.
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<term><filename>/run/mandos.pid</filename></term>
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The file containing the process id of the
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<command>&COMMANDNAME;</command> process started last.
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<emphasis >Note:</emphasis> If the <filename
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class="directory">/run</filename> directory does not
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exist, <filename>/var/run/mandos.pid</filename> will be
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class="directory">/var/lib/mandos</filename></term>
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Directory where persistent state will be saved. Change
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this with the <option>--statedir</option> option. See
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also the <option>--no-restore</option> option.
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<term><filename class="devicefile">/dev/log</filename></term>
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The Unix domain socket to where local syslog messages are
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<term><filename>/bin/sh</filename></term>
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This is used to start the configured checker command for
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each client. See <citerefentry>
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<refentrytitle>mandos-clients.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> for details.
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This server might, on especially fatal errors, emit a Python
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backtrace. This could be considered a feature.
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There is no fine-grained control over logging and debug output.
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<xi:include href="bugs.xml"/>
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<refsect1 id="example">
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<title>EXAMPLE</title>
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Normal invocation needs no options:
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<userinput>&COMMANDNAME;</userinput>
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Run the server in debug mode, read configuration files from
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the <filename class="directory">~/mandos</filename> directory,
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and use the Zeroconf service name <quote>Test</quote> to not
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collide with any other official Mandos server on this host:
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<!-- do not wrap this line -->
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<userinput>&COMMANDNAME; --debug --configdir ~/mandos --servicename Test</userinput>
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Run the server normally, but only listen to one interface and
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only on the link-local address on that interface:
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<!-- do not wrap this line -->
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<userinput>&COMMANDNAME; --interface eth7 --address fe80::aede:48ff:fe71:f6f2</userinput>
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<refsect1 id="security">
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<title>SECURITY</title>
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<refsect2 id="server">
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<title>SERVER</title>
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Running this <command>&COMMANDNAME;</command> server program
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should not in itself present any security risk to the host
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computer running it. The program switches to a non-root user
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<refsect2 id="clients">
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<title>CLIENTS</title>
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The server only gives out its stored data to clients which
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does have the correct key ID of the stored key ID. This is
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guaranteed by the fact that the client sends its public key in
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the TLS handshake; this ensures it to be genuine. The server
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computes the key ID of the key itself and looks up the key ID
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in its list of clients. The <filename>clients.conf</filename>
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos-clients.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>)
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<emphasis>must</emphasis> be made non-readable by anyone
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except the user starting the server (usually root).
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As detailed in <xref linkend="checking"/>, the status of all
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client computers will continually be checked and be assumed
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compromised if they are gone for too long.
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For more details on client-side security, see
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos-client</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>8mandos</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
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<refsect1 id="see_also">
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<title>SEE ALSO</title>
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>intro</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>8mandos</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos-clients.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos.conf</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>mandos-client</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>8mandos</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
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<citerefentry><refentrytitle>sh</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
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<ulink url="http://www.zeroconf.org/">Zeroconf</ulink>
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Zeroconf is the network protocol standard used by clients
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for finding this Mandos server on the local network.
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<ulink url="https://www.avahi.org/">Avahi</ulink>
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Avahi is the library this server calls to implement
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Zeroconf service announcements.
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<ulink url="https://gnutls.org/">GnuTLS</ulink>
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GnuTLS is the library this server uses to implement TLS for
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communicating securely with the client, and at the same time
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confidently get the client’s public key.
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RFC 4291: <citetitle>IP Version 6 Addressing
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Architecture</citetitle>
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<term>Section 2.2: <citetitle>Text Representation of
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Addresses</citetitle></term>
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<listitem><para/></listitem>
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<term>Section 2.5.5.2: <citetitle>IPv4-Mapped IPv6
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Address</citetitle></term>
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<listitem><para/></listitem>
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<term>Section 2.5.6, <citetitle>Link-Local IPv6 Unicast
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Addresses</citetitle></term>
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The clients use IPv6 link-local addresses, which are
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immediately usable since a link-local address is
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automatically assigned to a network interfaces when it
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RFC 5246: <citetitle>The Transport Layer Security (TLS)
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Protocol Version 1.2</citetitle>
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TLS 1.2 is the protocol implemented by GnuTLS.
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RFC 4880: <citetitle>OpenPGP Message Format</citetitle>
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The data sent to clients is binary encrypted OpenPGP data.
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RFC 7250: <citetitle>Using Raw Public Keys in Transport
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Layer Security (TLS) and Datagram Transport Layer Security
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This is implemented by GnuTLS version 3.6.6 and is, if
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present, used by this server so that raw public keys can be
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RFC 6091: <citetitle>Using OpenPGP Keys for Transport Layer
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Security (TLS) Authentication</citetitle>
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This is implemented by GnuTLS before version 3.6.0 and is,
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if present, used by this server so that OpenPGP keys can be
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