Dev1 Galaxy Forum / Running a VPN from normal user privilege

Re: Running a VPN from normal user privilege

dummy@example.com (Micronaut) — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 23:00:52 +0000

Hmm, I guess SetUID it is then...

Re: Running a VPN from normal user privilege

dummy@example.com (ralph.ronnquist) — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 21:27:51 +0000

The networking part of the client, i.e. creating a tap interface and manipulating the routing set up, requires root, so the client must run as root anyhow.

Running a VPN from normal user privilege

dummy@example.com (Micronaut) — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 20:20:44 +0000

By default, OpenVPN sets all the keys and certs as root-only access. I guess this makes sense from a security standpoint. But it means you have to run the daemon from a root terminal window to be able to access them. Is there a way to run OpenVPN at a normal user level and still get access to those high-security files? If it's a single user system, no one else ever logs in, would it be too big a deal to change those files so they can be read by the normal user starting the VPN?