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Set MAC address fails - RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address
I am attempting to change the MAC address of eth0 to 3d:dd:c8:88:c2:0d on a linux mint 15 cinnamon machine. Using "ip link set dev eth0 address" fails as seen below and macchanger produces a similar error message("Cannot assign requested address"). As seen another MAC can be set, but I need this specific one.
Any suggestions as to how I can make the change or just why it fails?
MAC addresses have two special bits in the first byte:
- Bit 0 is the "multicast" bit, noting that the address is a multicast or broadcast address
- Bit 1 is the "local" bit, indicating that the MAC address was not assigned by the vendor and might not be entirely unique.
You are trying to set an address that has the multicast bit set, which does not work because any reply to your host would be interpreted as a multicast packet.
Also, when you change a MAC address and do not have an OUI assigned to you, please set the local assignment bit.
Here's a diagram that may help give more detail:
- 1 I created an account here just to upvote this. I had used an online tool to generate multiple mac addresses, and that online tool didn't take this into account. That lead to very weird behavior on my local network. After manually modifying the first octet everything worked perfectly. – maxb Aug 5, 2019 at 18:08
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Linux 101 : troubleshooting double ip address assignment - error - rtnetlink answers: cannot assign requested address.
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Link status
In the overview of ip a , the link status will already be displayed. But it can also be displayed by running:
This will provide an output along the lines of:
Bringing up an interface can be done by issuing:
RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address
If you get this error when trying to set an interface up, its most probably because you have an invalid MAC address. To set a working MAC, see MAC address spoofing .
In the overview provided by ip a , the ip address will already be displayed. But it can also be displayed by running:
Adding a temporary ip address:
Removing an ip address:
Ping & Tracepath/Traceroute
The ping command can help test connectivity towards a specific host.
The first step would be verifying connectivity towards the default gateway (replace the ip address with your own default gateway):
When erasing the "-c4" parameter, the ping will continue endlessly. It can be aborted by hitting "Control-C".
The output above indicated the default gateway is reachable. When instead a " Destination Host Unreachable " message is displayed, doublecheck the ip address, netmask and default gateway config. This message can also be displayed when ICMP traffic is not permitted towards the default gateway (blocked by a firewall, router,...).
The next step is verifying connectivity towards the configured dns server(s). When no reply is received, tracepath or traceroute can be used to verify the routing towards said server and get an idea of where the issue lies.
Traceroute also used ICMP to determine the path and hence there can be "no reply" answers as well when ICMP traffic is blocked.
tcpdump , and its underlying library libpcap , are multi-platform user space interfaces to the packets on the network. It should be emphasized they do see, they can capture, any inbound packets that reach the local NIC. No matter if the local software firewall is blocking those packets, or not. On the other hand, they can only see outbound packets the firewall passes through: [1]
A short, unintimidating introduction to tcpdump, with examples, is at: [2]
- Network configuration
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Failed to run: ip link set dev veth7e6c37ce address 11:16:3e:59:b3:71: RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address
I am having issues changing the MAC address of containers, even when setting what seem to be a valid MAC addreses but the container no longer starts.
For example, take the mac address generated by LXD, and changing the prefix, e.g. 00:16:3e:69:fe:8b → 01:16:3e:69:fe:8b and the container can longer being started.
Mac address seems valid but it fails, why is this?
That MAC address actually is invalid. Generating MAC addresses isn’t as simple as picking a random number. There are reserved bits which control whether they are unicast or multicast and whether they are global or local.
The address you’re showing is a global multicast address whereas you need a global unicast address for this use.
Thank you, I was not aware of that.
Debian Bug report logs - #858070 ifupdown: ifdown puts the interface down before removing the IPv6 addresses
Package: ifupdown ; Maintainer for ifupdown is Josué Ortega <[email protected]> ; Source for ifupdown is src:ifupdown ( PTS , buildd , popcon ).
Reported by: Daniel Haid <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2017 22:51:02 UTC
Severity: normal
Found in versions ifupdown/0.8.19, ifupdown/0.8.36
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View this report as an mbox folder , status mbox , maintainer mbox
Report forwarded to [email protected], Guus Sliepen <[email protected]> : Bug#858070 ; Package ifupdown . (Fri, 17 Mar 2017 22:51:05 GMT) ( full text , mbox , link ).
Acknowledgement sent to Daniel Haid <[email protected]> : New Bug report received and forwarded. Copy sent to Guus Sliepen <[email protected]> . (Fri, 17 Mar 2017 22:51:05 GMT) ( full text , mbox , link ).
Message #5 received at [email protected] ( full text , mbox , reply ):
Information forwarded to [email protected], Josué Ortega <[email protected]> : Bug#858070 ; Package ifupdown . (Sat, 07 Jan 2023 04:45:03 GMT) ( full text , mbox , link ).
Acknowledgement sent to "Conrad T. Pino" <[email protected]> : Extra info received and forwarded to list. Copy sent to Josué Ortega <[email protected]> . (Sat, 07 Jan 2023 04:45:04 GMT) ( full text , mbox , link ).
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Debbugs is free software and licensed under the terms of the GNU Public License version 2. The current version can be obtained from https://bugs.debian.org/debbugs-source/ .
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RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address
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Cannot remove static address from interface
I am trying to reconfigure one of the ports on my ER POE 5. It is currently set for a static address, but it needs to move to Dynamic as the ISP has changed their network configuration. When attempting to set it back to DHCP, i get a RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address. This is the only interface that is giving me difficulty. It looks like there is a blank address when viewed from the GUI right above it, making me think there is a random new line in the config pushing it down. the other interface lines in the ui are all on one line. I did look through the config tree and only one address was set for that interface " i had hoped to see a blank entry " Has anyone seen this behavior before and come up with a fix ? Id rather not have to default it, but if thats what it takes, so be it.
Eth0 is bad, Eth1 is fine
https://imgur.com/zsLJPPe
Looks like a reboot corrected the problem.
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Using "ip link set dev eth0 address" fails as seen below and macchanger produces a similar error message("Cannot assign requested address"). As
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RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address ... unused ip/subnet just to bring the interface online but not request an ip via dhcp.
RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address ... If you get this error when trying to set an interface up, its most probably because you
Failed to run: ip link set dev veth7e6c37ce address 11:16:3e:59:b3:71: RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address I am having issues
... and then tries to remove the IPv6 addresses, which results in the error message "RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address".
RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address ... up I get a failure to assign the allocated ip address, allocated by my dhcp server.
Using "ip link set dev eth0 address" fails as seen below and macchanger produces a similar error message("Cannot assign requested address").
When attempting to set it back to DHCP, i get a RTNETLINK answers: Cannot assign requested address. This is the only interface that is