Error calling protect() method on socket, MacOS 12.4, OpenVPN Connect 3.3.6

VPN
1

Hello,

I am having trouble connecting to my OpenVPN Cloud service using OpenVPN Connect 3.3.6 on MacOS 12.4

I have done extensive googling and tried the following steps several times:

  • uninstall client, reinstall client
  • uninstall client, reboot, reinstall client
  • install client on top of existing client

Basically, I have followed the prevailing wisdom several times, and it doesn’t seem to work, at least for me.

I have narrowed it down to this Macbook Pro. My windows box and android phone are able to connect to the VPN just fine.

I am unable to downgrade to OpenVPN Connect v2 because the VPN requires SAML authentication, which is not supported in the older versions.

​

Im not looking for a silver bullet, but if you have one that would be great. I’m looking for guidance on where to go from here, all of the public information is just “install the new version of the client” which has been done several times.

2

ok, for future people experiencing this issue, the following commands fixed the problem.

​

  1. sudo launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.openvpn.client.plist
  2. ps auxww | grep ovpnagent
    1. you shouldn’t see: /Library/Frameworks/OpenVPNConnect.framework/Versions/Current/usr/sbin/ovpnagent
  3. sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.openvpn.client.plist
  4. ps auxww | grep ovpnagent
    1. you SHOULD see: 1. /Library/Frameworks/OpenVPNConnect.framework/Versions/Current/usr/sbin/ovpnagent (owned by root)
  5. Reboot the laptop
  6. Connect to the VPN
  7. Profit!

​

I’m not sure how to change the flair on this to “Solved” but can a Moderator do that for me please?

3

I resolved it by reinstalling OpenVPN and reloading the certificate I had. In any case, the VPN was already working for me, but when I updated my Mac to Sonoma 14.5, the VPN stopped working.

4

I had this problem after disabling the OpenVPN client to start automatically on MacOS initialization. After re-enabling it, everything worked as intended.

5

I just reinstalled the app and worked afterwards instantly

6

reinstalling OpenVPN client fixed the issue for me.

7

Have you looked at the client logs?

8

Thanks so much man, fixed this for me.

9

This bug has still not been fixed despite it being an issue for well over a year. How do we get them to fix it? I have to run the following command every time I start a connection:

sudo launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.openvpn.client.plist

10

I’m not only glad to see that you figured this out, but your post saved me a lot of time and aggravation. Thank you.

11

works this way:

sudo su

launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.openvpn.client.plist

untill reboot

12

Si no les funciona, sirve desinstalar e instalar nuevamente y listo

13

Thanks a lot! Fixed the issue for me as well!

14

Two years later and I’m still making use of this post.

15

This is still the workaround for me as of Sep 2024. Thank you for your comment!!

16

Did this, worked until macbook restarts!
Is there not a permanent solution to this?

17

Worked. Thank you so much!

18

worked like a charm. Thank you so much

19

This. Worked! Thank you

20

Very good solution. You save my work to reinstall all the time openvpn to have connection.

Thnak you so much!