AmneziaWG Protocol Fails to Route Traffic on Linux Despite Successful Connection

[anothervoyager]

Describe the bug
AmneziaWG protocol fails to provide internet access on Linux distributions despite the AmneziaVPN client reporting a successful connection. Browsers cannot load any websites, while the same configuration works correctly on Windows 11. Other protocols (e.g., Xray) function properly on the same Linux systems.

To Reproduce

1. Install AmneziaVPN version 4.8.11.4 on a Linux system (tested on Arch Linux, Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 13).
2. Configure a server using the AmneziaWG protocol.
3. Connect to the server via the AmneziaVPN client.
4. Observe that the client displays "Connected", but no websites load in the browser.

Expected behavior
After a successful connection using the AmneziaWG protocol, internet traffic should be properly routed through the VPN, and websites should load normally—consistent with behavior on Windows 11.

Log files
Relevant log snippet (from Arch Linux):

[2025-12-09 12:28:24.089Z] [DEBUG] Amnezia  : IpcClient::init succeed  
[2025-12-09 12:28:24.094Z] [INFO] Amnezia  : Logging has enabled on AmneziaVPN version 4.8.11.4 3b3a0aa  
[2025-12-09 12:28:24.094Z] [INFO] Amnezia  : Arch Linux (x86_64)  
[2025-12-09 12:28:28.968Z] [DEBUG] Amnezia  : VpnConfigurator::getDnsForConfig "1.1.1.1" "1.0.0.1"  
[2025-12-09 12:28:28.969Z] [DEBUG] Amnezia  : "ConnectToVpn, Server index is 0, container is amnezia-awg, route mode is" Settings::VpnOnlyForwardSites  
[2025-12-09 12:28:28.970Z] [DEBUG] Amnezia LocalSocketController : Daemon connected  
[2025-12-09 12:28:30.515Z] [DEBUG] Amnezia LocalSocketController : Parse command: connected  
[2025-12-09 12:28:30.515Z] [DEBUG] Amnezia LocalSocketController : Handshake completed with: B6GAa2Z/0+91ap3orgi0Z2yPL3hTAakytAkDEyhemTo=

Screenshots
Not included, but UI shows "Connected" status while browser requests time out.

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• OS: Arch Linux, Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 13
• Version: AmneziaVPN 4.8.11.4 (build 3b3a0aa)

Smartphone (please complete the following information):

• Not applicable

Server (please complete the following information):

• OS: Not specified (assumed standard Amnezia server setup; same server works with Windows client)

Additional context

• The issue is Linux-specific; identical configuration works flawlessly on Windows 11.
• Xray protocol functions correctly on the same Linux machines, confirming general connectivity and client functionality.
• Builds tested from official GitHub source, AUR (Arch), and Ubuntu installation guide—all exhibit the same problem.
• All required dependencies are installed.
• DNS settings in the client are set to "1.1.1.1" and "1.0.0.1".
• Route mode: VpnOnlyForwardSites.

[developsessions]

I have the same issue on Fedora 43

[goldic342]

I think the problem is related to Qt. The daemon logs show:

Dec 11 15:43:37 abc AmneziaVPN-service.sh[1197]: No suitable DNS manager found.`

The check comes from:

if (isServiceActive("nscd.service")) {
    p.start("systemctl", { "restart", "nscd" });
} else if (isServiceActive("systemd-resolved.service")) {
    p.start("systemctl", { "restart", "systemd-resolved" });
} else {
    qDebug() << "No suitable DNS manager found.";
}

And the status check:

bool RouterLinux::isServiceActive(const QString &serviceName) {
    QProcess p;
    p.start("systemctl", { "is-active", "--quiet", serviceName });
    p.waitForFinished();
    return p.exitCode() == 0;
}

This code works correctly in a minimal standalone Qt test app, but inside the Amnezia daemon the exit codes are wrong, so it never detects an active DNS manager. Likely caused by the service’s execution environment.

OS: Arch Linux

The issue appeared without updating the amnezia client to new versions, updating the client didn't help.

[developsessions]

But it is not only a DNS issue, because in my case, I am also not able to ping IP Adresses behind the VPN network.

[galtsevt]

I’ve run into the same issue: the client says “Connected” but nothing works except the web UI of the VPS where the VPN server is installed (reachable by IP).

[Aranqar]

OS: Linux 6.19.10-1-cachyos. Can confirm the same issue.
You could temporarily fix the problem by doing:

  sudo resolvectl domain amn0 ""
  sudo resolvectl default-route amn0 no
  sudo resolvectl flush-caches

And that fixes the problem, only until restart. I tried a couple different solutions, but in the end couldn't resolve the problem and just added 'ExecStartPost' to the amnezia.service after startup

---

P.S. Here is an update from my side. The above resolvectl fix didn't help me with my xray config, and only helped for amneziaWG and AmneziaWGv2
So what I'm doing now for xray config is:

❯ sudo ip route replace {your_vpn_ip}/32 via 192.168.0.1 dev wlan0
❯ sudo resolvectl domain tun2 ""

From what I understood, here is what happened, that caused it

Routing loop: Amnezia creates a tun2 interface and adds a default route through it, but fails to
add a bypass route for the VPN server IP itself. So traffic to the VPN server goes → tun2 → VPN
server → tun2 → ∞. That's why you need the manual ip route replace.

DNS issue: Amnezia sets tun2 as the DNS routing interface with a catch-all domain, so DNS queries
also go through the broken tunnel until you clear it with resolvectl domain tun2 "".

[galtsevt]

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. The client shows "Connected" but no internet access.

Root cause: The VPN interface amn0 gets the wrong IP. Config says 10.8.0.4/24, but client assigns 10.8.0.0/32.

Why internet doesn't work: The client adds correct routes (0.0.0.0/1 and 128.0.0.0/1 via amn0), but with an invalid IP on the interface, the routes don't function.

Workaround (after connecting to VPN):

sudo ip addr del 10.8.0.0/32 dev amn0
sudo ip addr add 10.8.0.4/24 dev amn0
sudo ip route add 0.0.0.0/1 dev amn0
sudo ip route add 128.0.0.0/1 dev amn0
sudo resolvectl dns amn0 1.1.1.1 1.0.0.1
sudo resolvectl domain amn0 "~."

After this, traffic goes through the VPN and internet works.

I've made a script to automate this. Hope this helps others while the bug is being fixed.

OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS