OpenConnect is a free and open-source cross-platform multi-protocol virtual private network (VPN) client software which implement secure point-to-point connections.
| Original author(s) | David Woodhouse |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Daniel Lenski, Nikos Mavrogiannopoulos |
| Initial release | March 18, 2009 (2009-03-18)[1] |
| Stable release | 9.12 / May 20, 2023; 13 months ago (2023-05-20)[1] |
| Repository | |
| Type | VPN |
| License | GNU LGPL v2.1[2] |
| Website | www |
The OpenConnect client supports the following VPN protocols:
It was originally written as an open-source replacement for Cisco's proprietary AnyConnect SSL VPN client,[7] which is supported by several Cisco routers.
As of July 2023[update], support for several other proprietary VPN protocols is desired or in development:
The OpenConnect client is written primarily in C, and it contains much of the infrastructure necessary to add additional VPN protocols operating in a similar flow, and to connect to them via a common user interface:[13]
OpenConnect can be built to use either the GnuTLSorOpenSSL libraries for TLS, DTLS and cryptographic primitives.
OpenConnect is available on Solaris, Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, MacOS, and has graphical user interface clients for Windows,[14] GNOME,[15] and KDE.[16] A graphical client for OpenConnect is also available for Android devices,[17] and it has been integrated into router firmware packages such as OpenWrt.[18]
The OpenConnect project provide clients for Windows and macOS.[19]
The OpenConnect project also offers an Cisco AnyConnect-compatible server, ocserv,[20] and thus offers a full client-server VPN solution.
OpenConnect and ocserv now implement an extended version of the Cisco AnyConnect VPN protocol, which has been proposed as an Internet Standard.[21] Both OpenConnect and ocserv strive to maintain backwards-compatibility with Cisco AnyConnect servers and clients.
OpenConnect's implementation of the Cisco AnyConnect protocol is sufficiently complete, such that some of Cisco's own IP phone devices embed a very old release of OpenConnect[22] in order to connect to Cisco SSL VPNs.[23][24]
