In commit 0da2c91e6452, the hostapd rc script was modified to down and then up the wireless interface by way of a new hostapd_poststart function: hostapd_poststart() { ifconfig ${ifn} down sleep 2 ifconfig ${ifn} up } But this function, which references the variable $ifn, is defined before $ifn is defined. Thus, when hostapd is started or restarted, the poststart function simply executes 'ifconfig down', sleeps, then 'ifconfig up'. This results in errors from the ifconfig calls that 'down' and 'up' are not valid interfaces, and the wireless interface is not properly restarted. I don't follow the logic because I don't know what is supposed to be passed in $2 to $ifn. Would it be better to define a new var for rc.conf called something like $hostapd_iface that the user can use to identify which interface is the wireless one that hostapd should control? Note, this first appeared in 13.1-RC2, so a fix should probably be pushed out so it makes it into the final RC before release.
(In reply to Joshua Kinard from comment #0) First, that's not how shell functions work. Second, the hostapd script requires an additional argument, the interface name. So, it's your usage error. There is no bug.
(In reply to Andriy Gapon from comment #1) Prior to this //recent// change, I did not have to specify an interface to the rc script. 'service hostapd restart' worked as expected, as it has been for the past two years, because the interface was specified in hostapd's config file. The interface being required in this instance is so it can be passed to ifconfig, NOT to hostapd. This isn't a usage error, this is an improper overloading of the rc script's functionality, if anything. As far as bourne shell functions go, unless a variable is explicitly passed to it, it will pull it from global scope. But because the function is defined before $ifn, it gets a blank value. This means when substitution occurs, you get "ifconfig down" followed by "ifconfig up" (note the two spaces). The commit that added this change references a similar commit to wpa_supplicant, 5fcdc19a8111, and if you look at that rc script, the equivalent poststart function is defined AFTER $ifn is defined, so it will pickup an interface passed to the rc script. wpa_supplicant's rc script also includes an explicit check for $ifn being defined, and if not, returns 1 for an error. The hostapd rc script does not have such a check, thus it is logical to assume that the interface argument is optional, NOT required. If this assumption is wrong, then that is itself a second bug, because the author of the change forgot to enforce the passing of an interface in a similar manner to what wpa_supplicant's rc script is doing. This is a bug :)
I suspect that the need for $ifn was for systems with more than one wireless radio, so the user would have to supply an interface so the the correct radio was restarted by ifconfig. In my case, I only have a single radio, so I don't need to always pass an interface. The preexisting logic allows for this and it's been that way for some time. So I am pretty confident that it is not usage error. If it is, then that is still a bug because the rc script should explicitly check and enforce that usage. When the poststart function was added, I guess the committer didn't realize that hostapd made passing $ifn entirely optional, thus the poststart function would break if $ifn wasn't defined (after the function gets moved to be below $ifn's definition). I think the rc script could be made more robust by including some rc variables in rc.conf to specify the defined wireless interfaces, then the rc script can restart each defined interface appropriately. Most systems won't (as far as I know) exceed two radios (2.4GHz & 5GHz), so this won't add much cruft to rc.conf.
It looks like rc.d/hostapd indeed supports two execution models. You can set hostapd_enable=YES or ifconfig_wlan0="HOSTAP". Both are documented. In the second usage, netconfig passes an interface name, in the first one it doesn't. So it does seem like a regression, and hostapd_poststart should do nothing if [ -z "$ifn" ] is true.
A commit in branch main references this bug: URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=1452bfcd9bbcb2f5bbb89fa38d01ce51dd9b6d44 commit 1452bfcd9bbcb2f5bbb89fa38d01ce51dd9b6d44 Author: Cy Schubert <cy@FreeBSD.org> AuthorDate: 2022-04-22 16:03:08 +0000 Commit: Cy Schubert <cy@FreeBSD.org> CommitDate: 2022-04-22 16:15:49 +0000 libexec/rc.d/hostapd: Down/up interface when interface is specified When no interface is specified results in a syntax error in the rc script. Only execute poststart when an interface has been specified. PR: 263358 Submitted by: markj Reported by: Joshua Kinard <freebsd@kumba.dev> Fixes: 0da2c91e64528d896f69d36670e25b4b4a140579 MFC after: 3 days libexec/rc/rc.d/hostapd | 8 +++++--- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
A commit in branch stable/13 references this bug: URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=c93cddd19baf396806a982f7659dcc77cdd5867e commit c93cddd19baf396806a982f7659dcc77cdd5867e Author: Cy Schubert <cy@FreeBSD.org> AuthorDate: 2022-04-22 16:03:08 +0000 Commit: Cy Schubert <cy@FreeBSD.org> CommitDate: 2022-04-25 13:49:04 +0000 libexec/rc.d/hostapd: Down/up interface when interface is specified When no interface is specified results in a syntax error in the rc script. Only execute poststart when an interface has been specified. PR: 263358 Submitted by: markj Reported by: Joshua Kinard <freebsd@kumba.dev> Fixes: 0da2c91e64528d896f69d36670e25b4b4a140579 (cherry picked from commit 1452bfcd9bbcb2f5bbb89fa38d01ce51dd9b6d44) libexec/rc/rc.d/hostapd | 8 +++++--- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
A commit in branch stable/12 references this bug: URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=d818ef7df7330e8b3aac43f5160e102d6a702862 commit d818ef7df7330e8b3aac43f5160e102d6a702862 Author: Cy Schubert <cy@FreeBSD.org> AuthorDate: 2022-04-22 16:03:08 +0000 Commit: Cy Schubert <cy@FreeBSD.org> CommitDate: 2022-04-25 13:51:12 +0000 libexec/rc.d/hostapd: Down/up interface when interface is specified When no interface is specified results in a syntax error in the rc script. Only execute poststart when an interface has been specified. PR: 263358 Submitted by: markj Reported by: Joshua Kinard <freebsd@kumba.dev> Fixes: 0da2c91e64528d896f69d36670e25b4b4a140579 (cherry picked from commit 1452bfcd9bbcb2f5bbb89fa38d01ce51dd9b6d44) libexec/rc/rc.d/hostapd | 8 +++++--- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
Fixed.