[OTR-users] Gaim Crashing when Generating Key on FC4

[Paul Wouters]

On Mon, 17 Jul 2006, Ian Goldberg wrote:

> > I ran gaim with strace and I noticed that when it was asked to "generate
> > key" it opened /dev/random instead of /dev/urandom, and kept timing out.
> > I couldn't do anything else with the application, it froze even the
> > "repainting" of the application when moving the window around. I don't
> > know what it opened for the FC5 version (because it all just worked).
> >
> > Has anyone had the same experience?
>
> Unless the packager for FC5 did something funny, it should also be
> opening /dev/random.

I did not do anything funny :)

I have noticed however, that on VIA cpu's with hw_random.ko loaded, which
means you get a new /dev/hw_random dvice, that the /dev/random device stops
producing any random. I also noticed in newer linux kernels, /dev/hw_random
seems obsoleted for /dev/hwrng, though a softlink is still made. Finally,
I noticed that with udev, those devices are made in mode 700, which means
only root can get random. I ran a chmod 755 /dev/hw_random /dev/hwrng in
rc.local.

If you are not running a VIA padlock machine, then there is another reason
why you are not getting any random. Running Xwindows on a box should really
fill up the random device with disk, mouse and keyboard events, so there is
something seriously broken if you run out of random. Is there another device
or application that you use that is providing lots of strong crypto that might
be using up all the generated random?

> point.  However, it's been noted before that some implementations of
> virtual private servers have a broken /dev/random that never returns
> anything.  Is your FC4 maybe running on one of those?

True. With xen2 guests, I have also had problems in the past with randomness,
but I believe those have been addressed now. I haven't had a problem with that
in a long time.

Paul