Score:0

ssh no longer resolving for any hostnames

us flag

Initially, I thought my SSH wasn't working on a university server due to a recent update to the VPN. I refreshed the connection, re-added the portal and restarted my device but no luck. Then, I tried my SSH on a few more hostnames (namely from OverTheWire.org) and it isn't resolving any of them.

I am using Ubuntu as a Windows Subsystem currently. Haven't updated it or installed anything recently, so I have no idea why SSH has stopped working in the normal fashion.

What actions should I take? I know the university network and my VPN are fine because my mapped drive is still accessible and I am able to access the university network via my browser. Just seems to be a problem specific to SSH right now.

Michael avatar
de flag
This looks like a DNS issue. When you ping/nslookup that hostname, does it resolve to the correct IP address?
user10489 avatar
in flag
VPNs frequently mess up DNS and there are strange DNS caching issues that complicate this. WSL adds yet another layer of complexity to this mess. You should debug DNS with ping, hosts, dig, and nslookup. You may need to flush DNS cache, or just reboot and reconnect the VPN. Or just use ssh from powershell instead of from WSL and see if that makes a difference.
Gabriel Saul avatar
us flag
It seems my issue is now that WSL seems to keep randomly disconnecting from the internet. I solved the issue by resetting all of my network settings and configurations. It was working yesterday. Now it's not connected to the internet yet again.
user10489 avatar
in flag
Is it really not connecting to internet, or is DNS inside WSL just messed up?
Gabriel Saul avatar
us flag
The internet connection breaks when I connect to my university's VPN via GlobalProtect. This only started happening after GlobalProtect's recent update. I was advised to look at /var/log/syslog, but I don't seem to have that file on my system. Any ideas?
user10489 avatar
in flag
Just look at the handful of recently modified files in /var/log (maybe it is messages instead?) But likely the VPN is changing your routing to block everything from internet except the vpn itself.
NotTheDr01ds avatar
vn flag
Actually, `rsyslogd` would normally be started by Systemd, which isn't support under WSL. As far as logging goes, you would need to manually run `sudo service rsyslog start`. However, that's not very likely to tell you anything. WSL2 does have issues with VPNs, since it's running on a virtual NIC in (a subset of) Hyper-V. When the VPN is connected, it's probably shutting off access to "other local networks", and that includes the virtual network for WSL2.
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