[Issue][Podman] ICMP ping connectivity check fails in rootless Podman containers (pasta networking)

[jollySleeper]

Description

Starting from v1.13.0, speedtest-tracker uses ICMP ping for internet connectivity checks before running speedtests. However, this fails in rootless Podman containers using pasta/slirp4netns networking, which blocks ICMP traffic even with NET_RAW capability.

Root Cause

Rootless Podman uses userspace networking (pasta/slirp4netns) which does not forward ICMP ping packets. While NET_RAW capability allows raw socket creation, the pasta network layer blocks ICMP traffic for security reasons.

Verified that:

• Host can ping successfully
• Container has NET_RAW capability
• Container can make HTTP requests (curl works)
• Container ping fails with 100% packet loss

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run speedtest-tracker v1.13.0+ in rootless Podman container
2. Wait for scheduled speedtest or trigger manual test
3. Check logs - ping check fails with "unknownError" and 100% packet loss

Environment

• Container Runtime: Podman (rootless)
• Networking: pasta/slirp4netns (default for rootless)
• Speedtest-Tracker: v1.13.0+
• OS: Linux (tested on Debian/Ubuntu)

Current Workaround

Downgrade to v1.12.4 which uses HTTP-based connectivity checks instead of ICMP ping:

IMAGE_SOURCE="lscr.io/linuxserver/speedtest-tracker:1.12.4"

Expected Behavior

Speedtest-tracker should either:

1. Detect ICMP unavailability and fallback to HTTP checks
2. Document that v1.13.0+ requires host networking for rootless environments
3. Provide configuration to disable ping checks

Logs

[2026-01-08 06:52:29] production.INFO: Pinged hostname {"host":"icanhazip.com","data":{"success":false,"error":"unknownError","host":"icanhazip.com","packet_loss_percentage":100,"packets_transmitted":null,"packets_received":null,"options":{"timeout_in_seconds":5,"interval":1.0,"packet_size_in_bytes":56,"ttl":64},"timings":{"minimum_time_in_ms":null,"maximum_time_in_ms":null,"average_time_in_ms":null,"standard_deviation_time_in_ms":null},"raw_output":"PING icanhazip.com (104.16.185.241) 56(84) bytes of data.\n\n--- icanhazip.com ping statistics ---\n1 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 0ms\n"}}

Related Issues

• [Bug] Ping is failing during internet check starting from v1.13.0 #2611 - Ping is failing during internet check starting from v1.13.0
• [Bug] Speedtest is not running. #2594 - External IP fetch failing
• [Bug] Ping is failing during internet check #2560 - Missing iputils dependency

This affects users running speedtest-tracker in rootless Podman environments (Docker users with privileged containers are unaffected).

[alexjustesen]

Thanks for the write up, it'll be a little until I can spin up a Pi with Podman but I'll give this a test.

[Linux-Pope]

Hi,
i can reproduce the Problem:

[2026-01-14 09:00:01] production.DEBUG: Pinged hostname {"host":"icanhazip.com","data":{"success":false,"error":"unknownError","host":"icanhazip.com","packet_loss_percentage":100,"packets_transmitted":null,"packets_received":null,"options":{"timeout_in_seconds":5,"interval":1.0,"packet_size_in_bytes":56,"ttl":64},"timings":{"minimum_time_in_ms":null,"maximum_time_in_ms":null,"average_time_in_ms":null,"standard_deviation_time_in_ms":null}}} [2026-01-14 09:00:20] production.DEBUG: Pinged hostname {"host":"icanhazip.com","data":{"success":false,"error":"unknownError","host":"icanhazip.com","packet_loss_percentage":100,"packets_transmitted":null,"packets_received":null,"options":{"timeout_in_seconds":5,"interval":1.0,"packet_size_in_bytes":56,"ttl":64},"timings":{"minimum_time_in_ms":null,"maximum_time_in_ms":null,"average_time_in_ms":null,"standard_deviation_time_in_ms":null}}} [2026-01-14 09:01:23] production.DEBUG: Pinged hostname {"host":"icanhazip.com","data":{"success":false,"error":"unknownError","host":"icanhazip.com","packet_loss_percentage":100,"packets_transmitted":null,"packets_received":null,"options":{"timeout_in_seconds":5,"interval":1.0,"packet_size_in_bytes":56,"ttl":64},"timings":{"minimum_time_in_ms":null,"maximum_time_in_ms":null,"average_time_in_ms":null,"standard_deviation_time_in_ms":null}}}

I've tried to change: SPEEDTEST_EXTERNAL_IP_URL to another ip-service but that didnt change anything.

With 1.12.4 the Ping-Check and Speedtest is working fine again.
Thanks.