I know this is an old question but I ran across it while I was trying to do the same thing. Being new to C and libnl I struggled to get a simple C program to just spit out access points. I'm posting this here for others who were also trying to write a simple program. iw was a great reference but it was challenging following the code around since it does so much more than scan for access points.
/*
* scan_access_points.c: Prints all detected access points with wlan0 using NL80211 (netlink).
*
* Only works on network interfaces whose drivers are compatible with Netlink. Test this by running `iw list`.
*
* Since only privileged users may submit NL80211_CMD_TRIGGER_SCAN, you'll have to run the compiled program as root.
*
* Build with: gcc $(pkg-config --cflags --libs libnl-genl-3.0) scan_access_points.c
*
* Raspbian prerequisites:
* sudo apt-get install libnl-genl-3-dev
*
* Resources:
* http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/jberg/iw.git/tree/scan.c
* https://mcmap.net/q/1322233/-how-to-use-the-libnl-library-to-trigger-nl80211-commands
* https://mcmap.net/q/1322234/-how-to-send-single-channel-scan-request-to-libnl-and-receive-single-channel-scan-completion-response-for-corresponding-channel
*
* Expected output (as root):
* NL80211_CMD_TRIGGER_SCAN sent 36 bytes to the kernel.
* Waiting for scan to complete...
* Got NL80211_CMD_NEW_SCAN_RESULTS.
* Scan is done.
* NL80211_CMD_GET_SCAN sent 28 bytes to the kernel.
* 47:be:34:f0:bb:be, 2457 MHz, NETGEAR16
* 6b:db:ed:85:ef:42, 2432 MHz, NETGEAR31
* d8:06:ef:a7:f9:80, 2412 MHz, ATT912
* a7:0d:af:0a:19:08, 2462 MHz, ATT185
*
* Expected output (without root):
* NL80211_CMD_TRIGGER_SCAN sent 36 bytes to the kernel.
* Waiting for scan to complete...
* error_handler() called.
* WARNING: err has a value of -1.
* ERROR: nl_recvmsgs() returned -28 (Operation not permitted).
* do_scan_trigger() failed with -28.
*
*/
#include <errno.h>
#include <netlink/errno.h>
#include <netlink/netlink.h>
#include <netlink/genl/genl.h>
#include <linux/nl80211.h>
struct trigger_results {
int done;
int aborted;
};
struct handler_args { // For family_handler() and nl_get_multicast_id().
const char *group;
int id;
};
static int error_handler(struct sockaddr_nl *nla, struct nlmsgerr *err, void *arg) {
// Callback for errors.
printf("error_handler() called.\n");
int *ret = arg;
*ret = err->error;
return NL_STOP;
}
static int finish_handler(struct nl_msg *msg, void *arg) {
// Callback for NL_CB_FINISH.
int *ret = arg;
*ret = 0;
return NL_SKIP;
}
static int ack_handler(struct nl_msg *msg, void *arg) {
// Callback for NL_CB_ACK.
int *ret = arg;
*ret = 0;
return NL_STOP;
}
static int no_seq_check(struct nl_msg *msg, void *arg) {
// Callback for NL_CB_SEQ_CHECK.
return NL_OK;
}
static int family_handler(struct nl_msg *msg, void *arg) {
// Callback for NL_CB_VALID within nl_get_multicast_id(). From http://sourcecodebrowser.com/iw/0.9.14/genl_8c.html.
struct handler_args *grp = arg;
struct nlattr *tb[CTRL_ATTR_MAX + 1];
struct genlmsghdr *gnlh = nlmsg_data(nlmsg_hdr(msg));
struct nlattr *mcgrp;
int rem_mcgrp;
nla_parse(tb, CTRL_ATTR_MAX, genlmsg_attrdata(gnlh, 0), genlmsg_attrlen(gnlh, 0), NULL);
if (!tb[CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GROUPS]) return NL_SKIP;
nla_for_each_nested(mcgrp, tb[CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GROUPS], rem_mcgrp) { // This is a loop.
struct nlattr *tb_mcgrp[CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GRP_MAX + 1];
nla_parse(tb_mcgrp, CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GRP_MAX, nla_data(mcgrp), nla_len(mcgrp), NULL);
if (!tb_mcgrp[CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GRP_NAME] || !tb_mcgrp[CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GRP_ID]) continue;
if (strncmp(nla_data(tb_mcgrp[CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GRP_NAME]), grp->group,
nla_len(tb_mcgrp[CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GRP_NAME]))) {
continue;
}
grp->id = nla_get_u32(tb_mcgrp[CTRL_ATTR_MCAST_GRP_ID]);
break;
}
return NL_SKIP;
}
int nl_get_multicast_id(struct nl_sock *sock, const char *family, const char *group) {
// From http://sourcecodebrowser.com/iw/0.9.14/genl_8c.html.
struct nl_msg *msg;
struct nl_cb *cb;
int ret, ctrlid;
struct handler_args grp = { .group = group, .id = -ENOENT, };
msg = nlmsg_alloc();
if (!msg) return -ENOMEM;
cb = nl_cb_alloc(NL_CB_DEFAULT);
if (!cb) {
ret = -ENOMEM;
goto out_fail_cb;
}
ctrlid = genl_ctrl_resolve(sock, "nlctrl");
genlmsg_put(msg, 0, 0, ctrlid, 0, 0, CTRL_CMD_GETFAMILY, 0);
ret = -ENOBUFS;
NLA_PUT_STRING(msg, CTRL_ATTR_FAMILY_NAME, family);
ret = nl_send_auto_complete(sock, msg);
if (ret < 0) goto out;
ret = 1;
nl_cb_err(cb, NL_CB_CUSTOM, error_handler, &ret);
nl_cb_set(cb, NL_CB_ACK, NL_CB_CUSTOM, ack_handler, &ret);
nl_cb_set(cb, NL_CB_VALID, NL_CB_CUSTOM, family_handler, &grp);
while (ret > 0) nl_recvmsgs(sock, cb);
if (ret == 0) ret = grp.id;
nla_put_failure:
out:
nl_cb_put(cb);
out_fail_cb:
nlmsg_free(msg);
return ret;
}
void mac_addr_n2a(char *mac_addr, unsigned char *arg) {
// From http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/jberg/iw.git/tree/util.c.
int i, l;
l = 0;
for (i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
if (i == 0) {
sprintf(mac_addr+l, "%02x", arg[i]);
l += 2;
} else {
sprintf(mac_addr+l, ":%02x", arg[i]);
l += 3;
}
}
}
void print_ssid(unsigned char *ie, int ielen) {
uint8_t len;
uint8_t *data;
int i;
while (ielen >= 2 && ielen >= ie[1]) {
if (ie[0] == 0 && ie[1] >= 0 && ie[1] <= 32) {
len = ie[1];
data = ie + 2;
for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
if (isprint(data[i]) && data[i] != ' ' && data[i] != '\\') printf("%c", data[i]);
else if (data[i] == ' ' && (i != 0 && i != len -1)) printf(" ");
else printf("\\x%.2x", data[i]);
}
break;
}
ielen -= ie[1] + 2;
ie += ie[1] + 2;
}
}
static int callback_trigger(struct nl_msg *msg, void *arg) {
// Called by the kernel when the scan is done or has been aborted.
struct genlmsghdr *gnlh = nlmsg_data(nlmsg_hdr(msg));
struct trigger_results *results = arg;
//printf("Got something.\n");
//printf("%d\n", arg);
//nl_msg_dump(msg, stdout);
if (gnlh->cmd == NL80211_CMD_SCAN_ABORTED) {
printf("Got NL80211_CMD_SCAN_ABORTED.\n");
results->done = 1;
results->aborted = 1;
} else if (gnlh->cmd == NL80211_CMD_NEW_SCAN_RESULTS) {
printf("Got NL80211_CMD_NEW_SCAN_RESULTS.\n");
results->done = 1;
results->aborted = 0;
} // else probably an uninteresting multicast message.
return NL_SKIP;
}
static int callback_dump(struct nl_msg *msg, void *arg) {
// Called by the kernel with a dump of the successful scan's data. Called for each SSID.
struct genlmsghdr *gnlh = nlmsg_data(nlmsg_hdr(msg));
char mac_addr[20];
struct nlattr *tb[NL80211_ATTR_MAX + 1];
struct nlattr *bss[NL80211_BSS_MAX + 1];
static struct nla_policy bss_policy[NL80211_BSS_MAX + 1] = {
[NL80211_BSS_TSF] = { .type = NLA_U64 },
[NL80211_BSS_FREQUENCY] = { .type = NLA_U32 },
[NL80211_BSS_BSSID] = { },
[NL80211_BSS_BEACON_INTERVAL] = { .type = NLA_U16 },
[NL80211_BSS_CAPABILITY] = { .type = NLA_U16 },
[NL80211_BSS_INFORMATION_ELEMENTS] = { },
[NL80211_BSS_SIGNAL_MBM] = { .type = NLA_U32 },
[NL80211_BSS_SIGNAL_UNSPEC] = { .type = NLA_U8 },
[NL80211_BSS_STATUS] = { .type = NLA_U32 },
[NL80211_BSS_SEEN_MS_AGO] = { .type = NLA_U32 },
[NL80211_BSS_BEACON_IES] = { },
};
// Parse and error check.
nla_parse(tb, NL80211_ATTR_MAX, genlmsg_attrdata(gnlh, 0), genlmsg_attrlen(gnlh, 0), NULL);
if (!tb[NL80211_ATTR_BSS]) {
printf("bss info missing!\n");
return NL_SKIP;
}
if (nla_parse_nested(bss, NL80211_BSS_MAX, tb[NL80211_ATTR_BSS], bss_policy)) {
printf("failed to parse nested attributes!\n");
return NL_SKIP;
}
if (!bss[NL80211_BSS_BSSID]) return NL_SKIP;
if (!bss[NL80211_BSS_INFORMATION_ELEMENTS]) return NL_SKIP;
// Start printing.
mac_addr_n2a(mac_addr, nla_data(bss[NL80211_BSS_BSSID]));
printf("%s, ", mac_addr);
printf("%d MHz, ", nla_get_u32(bss[NL80211_BSS_FREQUENCY]));
print_ssid(nla_data(bss[NL80211_BSS_INFORMATION_ELEMENTS]), nla_len(bss[NL80211_BSS_INFORMATION_ELEMENTS]));
printf("\n");
return NL_SKIP;
}
int do_scan_trigger(struct nl_sock *socket, int if_index, int driver_id) {
// Starts the scan and waits for it to finish. Does not return until the scan is done or has been aborted.
struct trigger_results results = { .done = 0, .aborted = 0 };
struct nl_msg *msg;
struct nl_cb *cb;
struct nl_msg *ssids_to_scan;
int err;
int ret;
int mcid = nl_get_multicast_id(socket, "nl80211", "scan");
nl_socket_add_membership(socket, mcid); // Without this, callback_trigger() won't be called.
// Allocate the messages and callback handler.
msg = nlmsg_alloc();
if (!msg) {
printf("ERROR: Failed to allocate netlink message for msg.\n");
return -ENOMEM;
}
ssids_to_scan = nlmsg_alloc();
if (!ssids_to_scan) {
printf("ERROR: Failed to allocate netlink message for ssids_to_scan.\n");
nlmsg_free(msg);
return -ENOMEM;
}
cb = nl_cb_alloc(NL_CB_DEFAULT);
if (!cb) {
printf("ERROR: Failed to allocate netlink callbacks.\n");
nlmsg_free(msg);
nlmsg_free(ssids_to_scan);
return -ENOMEM;
}
// Setup the messages and callback handler.
genlmsg_put(msg, 0, 0, driver_id, 0, 0, NL80211_CMD_TRIGGER_SCAN, 0); // Setup which command to run.
nla_put_u32(msg, NL80211_ATTR_IFINDEX, if_index); // Add message attribute, which interface to use.
nla_put(ssids_to_scan, 1, 0, ""); // Scan all SSIDs.
nla_put_nested(msg, NL80211_ATTR_SCAN_SSIDS, ssids_to_scan); // Add message attribute, which SSIDs to scan for.
nlmsg_free(ssids_to_scan); // Copied to `msg` above, no longer need this.
nl_cb_set(cb, NL_CB_VALID, NL_CB_CUSTOM, callback_trigger, &results); // Add the callback.
nl_cb_err(cb, NL_CB_CUSTOM, error_handler, &err);
nl_cb_set(cb, NL_CB_FINISH, NL_CB_CUSTOM, finish_handler, &err);
nl_cb_set(cb, NL_CB_ACK, NL_CB_CUSTOM, ack_handler, &err);
nl_cb_set(cb, NL_CB_SEQ_CHECK, NL_CB_CUSTOM, no_seq_check, NULL); // No sequence checking for multicast messages.
// Send NL80211_CMD_TRIGGER_SCAN to start the scan. The kernel may reply with NL80211_CMD_NEW_SCAN_RESULTS on
// success or NL80211_CMD_SCAN_ABORTED if another scan was started by another process.
err = 1;
ret = nl_send_auto(socket, msg); // Send the message.
printf("NL80211_CMD_TRIGGER_SCAN sent %d bytes to the kernel.\n", ret);
printf("Waiting for scan to complete...\n");
while (err > 0) ret = nl_recvmsgs(socket, cb); // First wait for ack_handler(). This helps with basic errors.
if (err < 0) {
printf("WARNING: err has a value of %d.\n", err);
}
if (ret < 0) {
printf("ERROR: nl_recvmsgs() returned %d (%s).\n", ret, nl_geterror(-ret));
return ret;
}
while (!results.done) nl_recvmsgs(socket, cb); // Now wait until the scan is done or aborted.
if (results.aborted) {
printf("ERROR: Kernel aborted scan.\n");
return 1;
}
printf("Scan is done.\n");
// Cleanup.
nlmsg_free(msg);
nl_cb_put(cb);
nl_socket_drop_membership(socket, mcid); // No longer need this.
return 0;
}
int main() {
int if_index = if_nametoindex("wlan0"); // Use this wireless interface for scanning.
// Open socket to kernel.
struct nl_sock *socket = nl_socket_alloc(); // Allocate new netlink socket in memory.
genl_connect(socket); // Create file descriptor and bind socket.
int driver_id = genl_ctrl_resolve(socket, "nl80211"); // Find the nl80211 driver ID.
// Issue NL80211_CMD_TRIGGER_SCAN to the kernel and wait for it to finish.
int err = do_scan_trigger(socket, if_index, driver_id);
if (err != 0) {
printf("do_scan_trigger() failed with %d.\n", err);
return err;
}
// Now get info for all SSIDs detected.
struct nl_msg *msg = nlmsg_alloc(); // Allocate a message.
genlmsg_put(msg, 0, 0, driver_id, 0, NLM_F_DUMP, NL80211_CMD_GET_SCAN, 0); // Setup which command to run.
nla_put_u32(msg, NL80211_ATTR_IFINDEX, if_index); // Add message attribute, which interface to use.
nl_socket_modify_cb(socket, NL_CB_VALID, NL_CB_CUSTOM, callback_dump, NULL); // Add the callback.
int ret = nl_send_auto(socket, msg); // Send the message.
printf("NL80211_CMD_GET_SCAN sent %d bytes to the kernel.\n", ret);
ret = nl_recvmsgs_default(socket); // Retrieve the kernel's answer. callback_dump() prints SSIDs to stdout.
nlmsg_free(msg);
if (ret < 0) {
printf("ERROR: nl_recvmsgs_default() returned %d (%s).\n", ret, nl_geterror(-ret));
return ret;
}
return 0;
}
