WireGuard returns to pfSense as an experimental package

WireGuard has returned in pfSense Plus and pfSense CE in experimental form. Netgate monitors the development of the code and asks users for feedback. In March, Netgate removed WireGuard from pfSense, not long after its implementation.

Netgate is supporting a project by developer Christian McDonald, who wants to bring WireGuard to pfSense as an add-on package. McDonald publishes on YouTube about that development. The advantage of his approach, according to Netgate, is that no low-level changes to the pfSense software are required. McDonald bases the kernel driver on net/wireguard-kmod from FreeBSD’s ports project.

For now, this is experimental code for pfSense Plus and CE, and Netgate hopes to improve it with the help of user feedback. The release of the add-on package follows the removal of a kernel-mode implementation of WireGuard from pfSense in March. Netgate decided to take that step because that port was not yet considered ripe for release.

The WireGuard port in question was supposed to make its way into the 13.0 release of FreeBSD, but it didn’t after WireGuard developer Jason Donenfeld found serious problems with the port and didn’t think it was ready. PfSense is FreeBSD-based router and firewall software, and Netgate sponsored the development of the port.