USBNet not working Paperwhite 5.3.6

[futsoulja]

Hello - I'm new to this forum.

I just got the Paperwhite on FW 5.3.1 and so went about JB / USBnet / Screensaver hack, etc. Then realized I wanted to upgrade the firmware so I upgraded to 5.3.6. Went back and re-installed the Certificates and the Rescue Pack. USBnet then wasn't working so I reinstalled it also.

Now - here is the trouble I'm having and I'm hoping someone can help me. Pardon me if this is already on the forum somewhere, I can't find it.

I have set my own root password. When I enable usbNetworking using ;un - I can ssh to the kindle but can't log in with my password (Access denied).

If I create the ENABLE_DIAGS file and reboot, then enable USBNetworking form there, I can ssh and log in just fine.

So..... what's happening here. Are there two different root accounts? Am I missing something?

Please help and thank you ahead of time!

[knc1]

Originally Posted by futsoulja

I have set my own root password. When I enable usbNetworking using ;un - I can ssh to the kindle but can't log in with my password (Access denied).

If I create the ENABLE_DIAGS file and reboot, then enable USBNetworking form there, I can ssh and log in just fine.

So..... what's happening here. Are there two different root accounts? Am I missing something?

Please help and thank you ahead of time!

Yes.
The K5 (and K4) devices are dual-boot machines.

Other than the exported USB storage partition and the internal /var/local partition (both used by both systems) - each system is otherwise independent of each other.
Different kernel images and system images for the "Main" and "Diags" operating systems.

Pick one bootable system at a time to modify.

In general, you don't modify the "Diags" OS image, since it is a vital part of recovering a non-working "Main" OS image.

PS: I own a K5-Paperwhite, and the USBnetworking install works just fine - **IF** you follow the directions without making any mistakes (Hint: none of the directions involve the "Diags" OS").

[futsoulja]

ok, that makes sense then

The only reason I went into DIAG mode was because I could no longer get into USBNet using the normal route. When I first installed it, everything worked fine and I could log in with my password. After the upgrade to 5.3.6 is when I started having trouble.

I'm guessing the new firmware has a new root password. Perhaps the old password generators for the KT and K4 still work for the PaperWhite. I'll go try that now.

Thanks!

[futsoulja]

OK, well that didn't work. At least not using this tool. http://members.ping.de/~sven/kindle.html

I don't suppose there is any way of modifying the password without resetting the kindle?

[knc1]

Originally Posted by futsoulja

ok, that makes sense then

The only reason I went into DIAG mode was because I could no longer get into USBNet using the normal route. When I first installed it, everything worked fine and I could log in with my password. After the upgrade to 5.3.6 is when I started having trouble.

I'm guessing the new firmware has a new root password. Perhaps the old password generators for the KT and K4 still work for the PaperWhite. I'll go try that now.

Thanks!

The 5.3.6 (and some of the earlier update versions) are complete system image replacements.
I.E: They re-wrote /etc/passwd

Easier:
The USBnetworking hack also provides a telnetd server, so just telnet into the device.

PS: The USBnetwork addin does not require a password over the USB cable (only over Wifi).
Read the readme files in the USBnetwork archive.

[futsoulja]

Thanks again - I did read the readme and the first time I installed USBnet I was able to ssh with root and a blank password connected to USB. Now connected to USB or wifi it will not let me in with a blank password or with any password I have tried. I'll try telnetd.

[futsoulja]

Perfect!

I was able to use telnet to log in and change the password. Now I'm set. I can ssh with USB and Wifi again!

Thanks for your help!

[knc1]

Super!
The "read the readme(s)" was because I am writing most of my replies from memory.

The readme(s) should always be considered as more accurate than my memory.
Or anything my mind decides to make my hands type.

[NiLuJe]

As knc1 said, full firmware updates, meaning the password gets reset along with the rest . Also, the root account is now locked, so you need a recent enough version of USBNetwork to work around that if you're using OpenSSH instead of dropbear.

(And as a FYI, USBNetwork hasn't ever supported the 'set a password via ;un' trick Yifan relied on for simple_usbnet, because it isn't needed with the default settings (ie. ssh over wifi disabled), like knc1 said, it doesn't check credentials over USB).

Might be a good time to switch to pubkeys and enjoy truly passwordless logins

[knc1]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

(And as a FYI, USBNetwork hasn't ever supported the 'set a password via ;un' trick Yifan relied on for simple_usbnet, because it isn't needed with the default settings (ie. ssh over wifi disabled), like knc1 said, it doesn't check credentials over USB).

And neither the Amazon firewall nor the KUAL firewall place any restrictions on the USB network connection.

For the USB cable, it is assumed that it is physically secure.
I.E: Your eyeball is what keeps it from being wire-tapped.

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Might be a good time to switch to pubkeys and enjoy truly passwordless logins

My sequence of "SSH HowTo"s went even further, describing how to set up a short "nickname" (or "shortcut" name) for your SSH accessible devices.

I.E:
ssh knc1 <--- shell on the knetconnect.com server 3,000 miles away
ssh kpw <--- shell on the Kindle Paperwhite sitting next to my keyboard
( Which, of course, use different pub-key pairs.)

These "shortcut names" work with ssh, scp, sftp, rsync & probably other programs.

The "shortcut names" also work when using ssh as a replacement for rsh (when passing a shell command to the remote shell).
Also described and demonstrated in the long series of "SSH HowTo"s.

Also described and demonstrated is how to get rid of the dropbear banner and the system MOTD (both annoying when running scripts that execute partially on the host and partially on the remote).

About the only things missing in the HowTos is tunneling and port forwarding (sorry, I got tired of typing about ssh).

Filter this forum's threads on the "HowTo" prefix - you'll find them (you only have to find one - they are all forward and backward linked to the next/prior HowTo in the series).

[futsoulja]

For the USB cable, it is assumed that it is physically secure.
I.E: Your eyeball is what keeps it from being wire-tapped.

True

[NiLuJe]

@knc1: Heh, funny story: that's not dropbear's default behavior, the default settings are patched to print the Kindle's /etc/issue in my USBNetwork build... *inserts evil laugh here*. IIRC, there's a switch to disable it altogether. I can easily add it as a configurable option in the next release .

EDIT: ... Which is exactly what you used in the patch linked in your thread, oops. .

(Kind of forgot about it to tell the truth, I switched to OpenSSH on nearly all my devices, the dropbear/libtom regression on ARM that kills the performance of the auth kinda got on my nerve... ^^).

EDIT²: Done. Look for the QUIET_DROPBEAR config flag in the next release (defaults unchanged).