LOW
The severity is rated as LOW because this issue primarily affects user convenience and does not pose a significant security risk. While it can be annoying for users, there are clear steps to mitigate the problem with minimal effort.

The Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN app has a known issue where it fails to reconnect automatically after the system resumes from sleep. This issue affects users who rely on consistent connectivity for privacy and security. The root cause is likely related to how the PIA application handles different network protocols during system state transitions. By changing the protocol from OpenVPN to WireGuard, users can effectively resolve this problem. WireGuard offers a more streamlined approach to handling connection states compared to OpenVPN. This fix ensures that the VPN reconnects without manual intervention every time the computer wakes up.

Affected Systems
  • Private Internet Access (PIA) app
Affected Versions: all versions that support OpenVPN protocol
Remediation
  • Open the Private Internet Access application.
  • Navigate to settings and select 'Change Protocol'.
  • Select WireGuard from the list of available protocols.
Stack Impact

Minimal direct impact on common homelab stacks. However, users relying on PIA for privacy might experience temporary lapses in connectivity if they do not switch to WireGuard.

Source →