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pfSense

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pfSense
Version of the FreeBSD operating system
DeveloperRubicon Communications, LLC (Netgate)
OS familyFreeBSD
Working stateCurrent
Source modelClosed source and open source
Latest release2.5.2 (amd64) / July 7, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-07-07)[1]
Latest preview2.6.0[2] / February 17, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-02-17)
Repository
Platforms32-bit (discontinued in 2.4.x); 64-bit Intel / AMD
Default
user interface		Web
LicenseApache License 2.0[3] applies to pfSense CE
Official websitewww.pfsense.org
Support status
Supported by the community

pfSense is a firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD. pfSense Community Edition (CE) is the partially open source version while pfSense Plus has moved to a closed source model. [4] It is installed on a physical computer or a virtual machine to make a dedicated firewall/router for a network. It can be configured and upgraded through a web-based interface, and requires no knowledge of the underlying FreeBSD system to manage.[5][6]

History

The pfSense project started in 2004 as a fork of the m0n0wall project by Chris Buechler and Scott Ullrich and the first release was in 2006.[7] The name was derived from the fact that the software uses the packet-filtering tool, PF.[8]

In 2014, a competing open source firewall and routing software project, OPNsense, was forked from pfsense, with the first official release in Jan 2015.[9] Both pfsense and OPNsense are under active development, while the original m0n0wall project has been discontinued.

In November 2017, a World Intellectual Property Organization panel found Netgate, the copyright holder of pfSense, utilized OPNsense' trademarks in bad faith to discredit OPNsense, and obligated Netgate to transfer ownership of a domain name to Deciso.[10]

In February 2020, a developer directly sponsored by Netgate started to commit code for a WireGuard kernel module to FreeBSD.[11] By February 2021, the module was included in pfSense CE 2.5.0, pfSense Plus 21.02,[12] and scheduled for release in FreeBSD 13.0. Unfortunately, WireGuard founder Jason Donenfeld reviewed the code only to find glaring issues including "random sleeps added to “fix” race conditions, validation functions that just returned true, catastrophic cryptographic vulnerabilities, whole parts of the protocol unimplemented, kernel panics, security bypasses, overflows, random printf statements deep in crypto code, the most spectacular buffer overflows, and the whole litany of awful things."[13] These discoveries prompted FreeBSD and later pfSense to remove WireGuard support.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Releases — Versions of pfSense and FreeBSD". netgate.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  2. ^ pfSense Snapshot Release
  3. ^ "pfSense adopts Apache 2.0 License". Serve The Home (Loyolan Ventures, LLC). 19 June 2016.
  4. ^ Larabel, Michael. "Netgate Announces pfSense Plus With Greater Divergence From pfSense". Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  5. ^ "You should be running a pfSense firewall". InfoWorld. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  6. ^ Miller, Sloan (26 June 2008). "Configure a professional firewall using pfSense". Free Software Magazine (22). Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  7. ^ Fields, Robert (28 October 2016). "Happy 10th Anniversary to pfSense Open Source Software". Netgate Blog.
  8. ^ Mobily, Tony (14 August 2007). "Interview with Jeff Starkweather, Chris Buechler and Scott Ullrich". Free Software Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  9. ^ "About OPNsense". January 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "WIPO Domain Name Decision: D2017-1828". WIPO. November 12, 2017.
  11. ^ Salter, Jim (2021-03-15). "In-kernel WireGuard is on its way to FreeBSD and the pfSense router". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  12. ^ "Releases — 21.02/21.02-p1/2.5.0 New Features and Changes | pfSense Documentation". docs.netgate.com. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  13. ^ Salter, Jim (2021-03-15). "In-kernel WireGuard is on its way to FreeBSD and the pfSense router". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  14. ^ Kumar, Rohit (2021-03-19). "pfSense and FreeBSD Pull Back on Kernel WireGuard Support". ServeTheHome. Retrieved 2021-03-20.

Further reading

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