Score:0

I cannot get my SCR3310 smart card reader to work in Ubuntu 20.04.2, despite installing cackey, pcsc_scan and the DOD certificates

in flag

I cannot get my SCR3310 smart card reader to work in Ubuntu 20.04.2, despite installing cackey, pcsc_scan and the DOD certificates. When I run pcsc_scan, it says there is a reader and a card, but the scan never quits scanning and never says "DoD CAC card issued Jan XX, 20XX". And, I never get the green light on the reader when I do the scan. What am I missing? I've followed the guides I've found on the web, like this one:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CommonAccessCard

and this one: How do I install and configure a Security Card (CAC) Reader for Ubuntu 13.04

Help! I'm new to Linux/Ubuntu [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/g6yBr.png

waltinator avatar
it flag
Telling us which remote procedure (RP) you "followed" doesn't help us help you for N reasons: 1) It's remote. Will the link exist tomorrow? 2) Reading the RP doesn't tell us how accurately you "followed" it. Did you suffer typos or missed lines? We have. 3) Reading the RP omits the error messages you got on your system. These error messages (and the commands that caused them) are key elements in any diagnosis.
Tom Withers avatar
in flag
I'm not getting any error messages. The procedure to install what I needed, which is a CAC-enabled machine, isn't working. A good working "RP" (I'm new to Ubuntu/Linux) would be great
Score:2
it flag

Many device access problems can be resolved through group membership changes.

Specifically, if ls -l shows that the group permissions (the second "rwx" triplet) is "rw" (e.g."-rw-rw----"), then, adding oneself to the group that owns the device will grant rw access.

Here's how:

device="/dev/whatever"
sudo adduser $USER $(stat -c "%G" $device)

This allows you membership in the group that can rw the device, but there is one more step.

To make all your processes members of the new group, logout and login. Group memberships are set up at login time.

To create a single process in the new group (for testing, prior to logout/login):

newgrp $(stat -c "%G" $device)  

or, just type the group name. See man newgrp.

Tom Withers avatar
in flag
Thanx, but I cannot figure out what you're saying. I am new to Ubuntu/Linux syntax. "/dev/whatever" - am I supposed to type that in? or does "whatever" stand for something I should know, but obviously do not.
waltinator avatar
it flag
`/dev/whatever` stands for the name of your device - this is a canned answer. You can find the device name by watching `sudo journalctl --follow` as you connect your device. OR `ls -1 /dev >dev.before`, connect the device, wait 10 seconds, `ls -1 /dev >dev.after;diff dev.{before,after}`.
Tom Withers avatar
in flag
does this look right? "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:12.1/usb5/5-3"
Score:2
mx flag

I've had issues using the "latest" cackey on 20.04 (however I'm running KDE). For some reason I've only bean able to get the version 7.5.1 for Debian to work using the instructions from MiltaryCAC.com

You can download 7.5.1 here: cackey_0.7.5-1_amd64.deb

Install with sudo dpkg -i cackey_0.7.5-1_amd64.deb

That said, the KDE package manager "updates" cackey frequently, and breaks it. So I have to keep version 7.5.1 install file and reinstall it after I log in, fortunately I don't have to redo any of the other install steps, just run the command above BEFORE you open any web browsers. It's a bit of a hack but works.

user535733 avatar
cn flag
+1 for keeping it on-hand.
Score:0
az flag

Unsure if this was ever solved for you, but I just got it up and running using the militarycac.com/linux.htm instructions and libcackey0.7.5-1. I tried for a while with the updated version of of cackey, but as @Infurious said above, it refuses to work (I couldn't even through the modutil command).

The only sticking point right now is I only have OWA running in Firefox and not Chrome yet, but that should be fixable. And if not, it's way more convenient than having to dual-boot just for the sake of using my CAC. As far as I can tell, the rest of the CAC certs work in Chrome too, it's just OWA that doesn't want to play nice.

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