Question about MD5/auth warnings.

[Ondrej Zajicek]

On Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 12:29:35PM +0000, Leo Vandewoestijne via Bird-users wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> 
> 
> On a router with several sessions I use "cascading" templates.
> Not all sessions have authentication, but those that do all default to MD5.
> 
> When leaving the authentication option unset, you get warnings like:
> 
> bird: /usr/local/etc/bird.conf:57:18: Missing authentication option, assuming MD5
> 
> 
> 
> But when setting 'authentication md5;' in my main template, then sessions without password will complain:
> 
> bird: /usr/local/etc/bird.conf:56:28 MD5 authentication and password option should be used together
> /usr/local/etc/rc.d/bird: WARNING: failed to start bird
> 
> 
> 
> In the past using a useless 'password "";' helped to simply surpress warnings, but not anymore.
> 
> 
> So now I have to add multiple templates to add 'authentication md5;' to sessions with authentication.
> 
> Long story short, my question is:
> why can't you affirm 'authentication md5;' as main default, regardless wether sessions do or don't have a password?

Hi

See https://bird.network.cz/pipermail/bird-users/2025-August/018356.html

-- 
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo

Ondrej 'Santiago' Zajicek (email: santiago at crfreenet.org)
"To err is human -- to blame it on a computer is even more so."