Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

wcat --version Does Not Work

Confirm the binary is installed and executable:

which wcat
wcat --version

For a standalone archive install:

sudo install -m 0755 wirecat-0.1.0-linux-amd64/wcat /usr/local/bin/wcat

TLS Certificate Verification Fails

Use the correct CA bundle and SNI name:

wcat connect --tls --ca-file ./ca.pem --sni service.example service.example 443

For local testing only, use:

wcat connect --tls --tls-insecure 127.0.0.1 8443

Do not use --tls-insecure for production trust decisions.

QUIC Handshake Failed

Check:

• both peers use --quic
• both peers use compatible ALPN values
• the server has --cert and --key
• the client trusts the certificate or intentionally uses --tls-insecure for a local lab
• the linked OpenSSL build exposes QUIC APIs

Useful checks:

openssl version -a
wcat connect --quic --tls-insecure 127.0.0.1 8443

SCTP Does Not Work

SCTP support depends on the host kernel and system libraries. Confirm SCTP is available on the target system and that firewall rules allow the traffic.

Example:

wcat listen --sctp 0.0.0.0 5555
wcat connect --sctp 127.0.0.1 5555

VSOCK Does Not Work

VSOCK is Linux virtualization-specific. It requires a host/guest environment that supports AF_VSOCK.

Examples:

wcat listen --vsock any 5555
wcat connect --vsock 2 5555

PTY Shell Behaves Like A Pipe

Use both --pty and --exec:

wcat listen --pty --exec /bin/bash 0.0.0.0 4444

PTY mode is intended for interactive programs. Plain --exec uses pipes.

Listener Is Reachable By Too Many Peers

Bind to a specific address and use access control:

wcat listen --allow 192.0.2.0/24 127.0.0.1 4444

For local-only testing, bind to 127.0.0.1.

File Transfer Creates Permission Issues

Make sure the receiving directory is writable:

wcat recv ./archive.tar 0.0.0.0 9000

Relay file:PATH endpoints create missing files with mode 0600.