Check /run/fips/ directory existence instead of the socket file inside
it. Users not in the fips group can stat the directory but not traverse
it, so the socket file check silently returned false and fell back to
$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR with a misleading "No such file" error.
Replace discovery flooding with bloom-filter-guided tree routing:
lookups sent only to tree peers (parent + children) whose bloom
filter contains the target. If no tree peer matches, fall back to
non-tree peers with bloom matches before dropping the request. This
produces single-path forwarding through the spanning tree (90%
traffic reduction) while recovering from dead ends caused by stale
bloom filters, tree restructuring, or transit node failures.
Remove visited bloom filter from LookupRequest wire format (-257
bytes per request). Tree routing is inherently loop-free; request_id
dedup handles edge cases during tree restructuring. Add response-
forwarded flag to prevent response routing loops from convergent
request paths.
Add originator-side exponential backoff (30s base, 300s cap) after
lookup timeouts and bloom misses. Backoff resets on topology changes
(parent switch, new peer, first RTT, reconnection).
Add transit-side per-target rate limiting (2s minimum interval) for
forwarded lookups as defense-in-depth.
Add discovery retry within the timeout window (default: send at T=0,
retry at T=5s, fail at T=10s) to compensate for single-path fragility.
Lookups with zero eligible tree peers fail immediately.
Improve discovery logging: promote key events to info (initiation,
success, timeout with failure count). Add debug logging for dedup,
pending packet retry, backoff suppression, forward rate limiting,
and backoff reset.
New config: discovery.backoff_base_secs, backoff_max_secs,
forward_min_interval_secs, retry_interval_secs, max_attempts.
New stats: req_backoff_suppressed, req_forward_rate_limited,
req_bloom_miss, req_no_tree_peer, req_fallback_forwarded.
Removed: req_already_visited, visited bloom filter.
Add runtime peer management to the FIPS daemon via control socket
commands, and a new chaos simulation scenario that exercises dynamic
topology mutation with ephemeral node identities.
Daemon (connect/disconnect commands):
- Extend control socket Request with optional params field
- Add commands.rs module for mutating command dispatch, separate from
read-only queries
- Add api_connect() on Node: builds ephemeral PeerConfig (no auto-
reconnect), pre-seeds identity cache, reuses initiate_peer_connection
- Add api_disconnect() on Node: calls remove_active_peer(), clears
retry_pending to suppress reconnection
- Route non-show_* commands to async command dispatch in rx_loop
fipsctl CLI:
- Add Connect and Disconnect subcommands accepting npub or hostname
- Resolve hostnames from /etc/fips/hosts before sending to daemon
- Refactor socket I/O into reusable send_request helper
Chaos simulator (maelstrom scenario):
- Add PeerChurnManager: periodically disconnects a random active link
and connects a random unconnected node pair via control socket
- Add send_command() to control.py using base64-encoded JSON payloads
to avoid shell quoting issues in docker exec
- Add PeerChurnConfig to scenario with interval and ephemeral_fraction
- Ephemeral identity support: nodes configured without nsec generate
fresh keypairs on restart; simulator queries show_status for new
npub and updates its cache via on_node_restart callback
- Add maelstrom.yaml: all chaos dimensions (netem, link flaps, node
churn, peer topology churn, traffic) with 50% ephemeral identity
Add TorTransport in src/transport/tor/ supporting three operating modes:
Outbound (socks5 mode):
- Non-blocking SOCKS5 connect via tokio-socks with per-destination
circuit isolation (IsolateSOCKSAuth)
- TorAddr enum for .onion and clearnet address types
- Connection pool with per-connection receive tasks, reuses TCP
stream FMP framing
- connect_async()/connection_state_sync()/promote_connection() follow
the same non-blocking polling pattern as TCP transport
Inbound (directory mode — recommended for production):
- Tor manages the onion service via HiddenServiceDir in torrc
- FIPS reads .onion address from hostname file at startup
- No control port needed — enables Tor Sandbox 1 (seccomp-bpf)
- Accept loop mirrors TCP pattern with DirectoryServiceConfig
Monitoring (control_port mode and optional in directory mode):
- Async control port client supporting TCP and Unix socket connections
via Box<dyn AsyncRead/Write> trait objects
- AUTHENTICATE with cookie or password auth
- 8 GETINFO queries: bootstrap, circuits, traffic, liveness, version,
dormant state, SOCKS listeners
- Background monitoring task polls every 10s, caches TorMonitoringInfo
in Arc<RwLock> for synchronous query access
- Bootstrap milestone logging (25/50/75/100%), stall warning (>60s),
network liveness transitions, dormant mode entry
- Directory mode optionally connects to control port when control_addr
is configured (non-fatal on failure)
Operator visibility:
- show_transports query exposes tor_mode, onion_address, tor_monitoring
(bootstrap, circuit_established, traffic, liveness, version, dormant)
- fipstop transport detail view: Tor mode, onion address, SOCKS5/control
errors, connection stats, Tor daemon status section
- fipstop table view: tor(mode) label with truncated onion address hint
Security hardening:
- Per-destination circuit isolation via IsolateSOCKSAuth
- Unix socket default for control port (/run/tor/control)
- Reference torrc with HiddenServiceDir, VanguardsLiteEnabled,
ConnectionPadding, DoS protections (PoW + intro rate limiting)
Config:
- TorConfig with socks5, control_port, and directory modes
- DirectoryServiceConfig: hostname_file, bind_addr
- control_addr, control_auth, cookie_path, connect_timeout,
max_inbound_connections
Testing:
- 69 unit + integration tests with mock SOCKS5 and control servers
- Docker tests: socks5-outbound (clearnet via Tor) and directory-mode
(HiddenServiceDir onion service)
Documentation:
- Transport layer design doc: Tor architecture, directory mode
- Configuration doc: Tor config tables and examples
fipsctl and fipstop checked XDG_RUNTIME_DIR before /run/fips/, causing
them to look in /run/user/<uid>/fips/ while the systemd-managed daemon
listens on /run/fips/control.sock. Reorder the fallback to check the
system-wide path first. Also improve the permission-denied error in
fipsctl to suggest adding the user to the fips group.
Add full npub column, transport type/address, direction (in/out),
goodput, and LQI-ascending sort to peers table. Colorize spanning
tree parent (magenta) and children (cyan). Add tree relationship
and transport info to show_peers JSON output.
Compute network size estimate by summing bloom filter estimated entry
counts from the spanning tree parent (upward) and children (downward),
leveraging the tree's non-overlapping partition property. Uses the
standard formula n = -(m/k) * ln(1 - X/m) already in BloomFilter.
Surfaces the estimate in three places:
- show_status JSON: "estimated_mesh_size" field
- Periodic info log at MMP log interval (default 30s)
- fipstop Node dashboard State section as "mesh: ~N"
Embed git commit hash, dirty flag, and target triple in all binaries
via a zero-dependency build.rs. Wire clap short/long version output
so -V shows "0.1.0 (rev abc1234)" and --version adds the target
triple. Log version at daemon startup.
Add version field to show_status control socket API response. Show
the daemon's version in fipstop's tab bar title and Runtime section.
Add CHANGELOG.md in Keep a Changelog format with the 0.1.0-alpha
release (2026-02-24) and unreleased work since then.
Implement identity management for the FIPS daemon with two modes:
Ephemeral (default): A fresh keypair is generated on every start.
Key files (fips.key, fips.pub) are written for operator visibility
but overwritten on each restart. This is privacy-friendly and
requires no configuration.
Persistent (opt-in via `node.identity.persistent: true`): Uses
three-tier identity resolution:
1. Explicit nsec in config file (advanced users)
2. Persistent key file alongside config (reused across restarts)
3. Generate new keypair, persist to key file
Key files follow the SSH id_ed25519/id_ed25519.pub convention:
- fips.key: bare bech32 nsec string, mode 0600
- fips.pub: bare bech32 npub string, mode 0644
The daemon always writes fips.pub on startup so operators can
find their current identity via `cat /etc/fips/fips.pub`.
Identity resolution extracted into testable `resolve_identity()`
function in config module. Graceful degradation: key file write
failure silently falls back to ephemeral identity.
Add `fipsctl keygen` subcommand for manual key generation:
- `-d <dir>` output directory (default: /etc/fips)
- `-f` force overwrite existing files
- `-s` print nsec/npub to stdout instead of writing files
- Warns that `persistent: true` must be set in config
- Works without a running daemon
Includes unit tests for key file read/write roundtrip, file
permissions, whitespace trimming, empty file error, path derivation,
ephemeral-by-default behavior, ephemeral key cycling, persistent
key file loading, and persistent generate-and-reuse lifecycle.
Implement hop-by-hop ECN congestion signaling through the FMP layer,
transport-level congestion detection via kernel drop counters, and
chaos harness integration for end-to-end validation.
FMP/session ECN plumbing:
- Thread ce_flag parsed at link layer through dispatch_link_message,
handle_session_datagram, handle_session_payload, and
handle_encrypted_session_msg to session delivery
- Replace hardcoded false in session-layer record_recv() with actual
ce_flag, activating ecn_ce_count tracking in session MMP
ECN congestion detection and CE relay:
- Add EcnConfig (node.ecn.*) with configurable loss_threshold (5%)
and etx_threshold (3.0) for transit congestion detection
- Add send_encrypted_link_message_with_ce() that ORs FLAG_CE into FMP
header flags; original method delegates with ce_flag=false
- Compute outgoing_ce = incoming_ce || local congestion on next-hop
link, enabling hop-by-hop CE relay through transit nodes
IPv6 ECN-CE marking:
- Mark ECN-CE (0b11) in IPv6 Traffic Class on received DataPackets
before TUN delivery when FMP CE flag is set
- Only marks ECN-capable packets (ECT(0)/ECT(1)); Not-ECT packets
unchanged per RFC 3168
Transport congestion abstraction and UDP kernel drop detection:
- Add TransportCongestion struct to transport layer for transport-
agnostic local congestion indicators
- Replace tokio::UdpSocket with AsyncFd<socket2::Socket> using
libc::recvmsg() with ancillary data parsing
- Enable SO_RXQ_OVFL for kernel receive buffer drop counter on every
packet, wiring up previously-stubbed UdpStats.kernel_drops
- Add TransportDropState for per-transport delta tracking with 1s
tick sampling via sample_transport_congestion()
- Extend detect_congestion() with transport kernel drop check
alongside MMP loss metrics
Congestion monitoring and control:
- Add CongestionStats (ce_forwarded, ce_received, congestion_detected,
kernel_drop_events) to NodeStats with snapshot serialization
- Wire counters into forwarding path, session handler, and transport
drop sampling with rate-limited warn logging (5s interval)
- Expose congestion data in show_routing control query and
ecn_ce_count in show_mmp peer entries
- Add congestion counters to fipstop routing tab in two-column layout
Chaos harness integration:
- Add query_routing(), query_transports(), snapshot_all_congestion()
to chaos control module
- Add congestion/kernel-drop log analysis in logs module
- Add congestion-stress scenario: 10-node tree, 1 Mbps bandwidth,
5-10% netem loss, heavy iperf3 traffic
- Add IngressConfig for tc ingress policing with per-peer policer
filters simulating upstream bandwidth bottlenecks
- Add iperf3 JSON result capture to traffic manager for throughput
measurement across scenarios
- Add ECN A/B test scenarios (ecn-ab-on/off.yaml) with ingress
policing and comparison script
- Enable TCP ECN negotiation (tcp_ecn=1 sysctl) in container
entrypoint for end-to-end CE propagation
Tests:
- 10 ECN unit/integration tests: mark_ipv6_ecn_ce variants, CE relay
chain (3-node propagation), EcnConfig serde roundtrip
- 3 transport drop congestion detection unit tests
Documentation:
- Update fips-mesh-layer.md: replace outdated CE Echo stub with full
ECN Congestion Signaling section covering detection logic, CE relay,
IPv6 marking, session tracking, and monitoring counters
- Update fips-configuration.md: add node.ecn.* parameter table and
ecn block in complete reference YAML
- Update fips-transport-layer.md: add Congestion Reporting section
with TransportCongestion struct, congestion() trait method, and
per-transport status; document AsyncFd/recvmsg/SO_RXQ_OVFL in UDP
- Update chaos README: add congestion/ECN scenario docs, ingress
traffic control, and iperf3 JSON capture sections
- Update README.md: add ECN to features list and "What works today";
update transport and tooling entries
Add a Unix domain socket interface for querying node state at runtime.
A spawned tokio task accepts connections and communicates with the main
event loop via mpsc/oneshot channels, keeping all Node access
single-threaded.
Includes:
- src/control/ module with socket lifecycle, JSON protocol, and 11
query handlers (status, peers, links, tree, sessions, bloom, mmp,
cache, connections, transports, routing)
- Separate fipsctl binary for CLI queries (fipsctl show <command>)
- ControlConfig in node configuration (enabled, socket_path)
- Integration into the main select! event loop
Fix promote_connection to transfer NoiseSession, session indices,
transport ID, and source address to ActivePeer. Populate peers_by_index
during promotion for O(1) encrypted frame dispatch.
Add responder-side promotion in handle_msg1 — after sending msg2, the
responder immediately promotes to ActivePeer since Noise IK completes
in one step for the responder side.
Wire run_rx_loop into the fips binary using tokio::select with Ctrl+C
shutdown signal, so the daemon actually processes incoming packets.
Add end-to-end integration test: two nodes with real UDP sockets
perform full Noise IK handshake and bidirectional encrypted frame
exchange (266 tests, all passing).
Rename NodeId to NodeAddr and npub to pubkey throughout documentation
and source code for consistency with the established identity model.
Add FIPS API vs IPv6 adapter overview to session protocol document.
Add transport address terminology note to wire protocol document.
Wire format:
- Add HandshakeMessageType enum (NoiseIKMsg1=0x01, NoiseIKMsg2=0x02)
- Define unified TLV framing for handshake and post-handshake messages
- Update fips-design.md and fips-protocol-flow.md with wire format details
Initialization:
- Defer TUN setup until after peer connections initiated
- Order: packet channel → transports → peers → TUN
Logging cleanup:
- Consolidate node/TUN info logs into aligned multi-line format
- TUN shutdown: single start/stop message, remove intermediate noise
- Remove ip link show callout and redundant Starting node message
- Change UDP transport stopped to debug level
- Defer TUN setup until after peer connections initiated
- Split TUN packet/device logs into aligned multi-line format
- Remove ip link show debug callout from fips binary
Spanning tree initialization:
- TreeState now uses sequence=1 and current timestamp per protocol spec
- Added ParentDeclaration::sign() and TreeState::sign_declaration() methods
- Node initialization logs identity (node_id, address)
Node lifecycle refactoring:
- Moved TUN init and thread spawning into async Node::start()
- Moved TUN shutdown and thread cleanup into async Node::stop()
- Node owns I/O infrastructure (thread handles, TunTx channel)
- Removed: init_tun(), take_tun_device(), tun_device(), tun_device_mut()
- Added: tun_tx() accessor for packet sending
tun.rs:
- Added run_tun_reader() function (moved from binary)
fips.rs binary reduced from 230 to 117 lines. All 171 tests pass.
- New icmp.rs module: builds RFC 4443 compliant ICMPv6 Type 1 Code 0
responses with proper checksum and packet validation
- TUN reader/writer separation: fd duplication allows independent I/O
on separate threads
- TunWriter services mpsc queue for multiple future packet sources
- Reader now sends ICMPv6 errors for unroutable packets instead of
silently dropping them
- 171 tests passing
- Add TUN interface detection on startup, delete existing before create
- Add proper interface deletion on shutdown via netlink
- Add TUN packet reader in separate thread with DEBUG logging
- Add graceful shutdown handling for expected "Bad address" error
- Add take_tun_device() to Node for reader ownership transfer
- Add shutdown_tun_interface() public function for cleanup by name
- Add tokio signal feature for Ctrl+C handling
- Add --wait / -w command-line flag for debugger attachment
- When --wait is set, daemon blocks after init with thread::park()
- Add ip link show output after TUN device creation for debugging
Johnathan Corgan