The official new x86 version 25.12.5 doesn't have Wan or Wan6 interfaces by default, other platforms haven't been tested.
Usually this issue is caused when only one of your NICs is recognized by the default drivers. Did you install the necessary drivers for your other NIC(s)? (I am assuming you have multiple ports on this x86 machine -- is that a correct assumption?)
The driver is fine, both network ports are the same model, just missing the Wan and Wan6 interfaces. It was fine in 25.12.4.
Does it work if you add them manually?
Manually adding it can work, but this isn’t the default behavior for the OpenWrt image.
To confirm that the behavior is indeed as you describe, please run the following test:
- Create 2 images using the firmware selector -- one each of 25.12.4 and 25.12.5 with the necessary driver package for your network card pre-installed, but no other changes.
- Do a fresh install of 25.12.4 with the above image and check to see if the wan auto-populates in the network config.
- Repeat the process with the 25.12.5 image and check the network file again.
I built it online based on the x86 official image, added open-vm-tools, version 25.12.5, and found there’s no wan or wan6. Then I tested with the official x86 25.12.5 version, and the same problem occurred. This issue doesn’t exist in the 25.12.4 official image or in images built online from 25.12.4.
Generic x86/64 (vmware 24.10.7)
base-files ca-bundle dnsmasq-full dropbear e2fsprogs firewall4 fstools grub2-bios-setup kmod-button-hotplug kmod-nft-offload libc libgcc libustream-mbedtls logd mkf2fs mtd netifd nftables odhcp6c odhcpd-ipv6only opkg partx-utils ppp ppp-mod-pppoe procd-ujail uci uclient-fetch urandom-seed urngd kmod-e1000 kmod-fs-vfat luci luci-app-attendedsysupgrade kmod-vmxnet3 open-vm-tools parted losetup resize2fs
Generic x86/64 (vmware 25.12.5)
apk-mbedtls base-files ca-bundle dnsmasq-full dropbear e2fsprogs firewall4 fstools grub2-bios-setup kmod-button-hotplug kmod-nft-offload libc libgcc libustream-mbedtls logd mkf2fs mtd netifd nftables odhcp6c odhcpd-ipv6only partx-utils ppp ppp-mod-pppoe procd-ujail uci uclient-fetch urandom-seed urngd kmod-e1000 kmod-fs-vfat luci luci-app-attendedsysupgrade kmod-vmxnet3 open-vm-tools parted losetup resize2fs blkid
Looks like you've done your homework, but to be clear, are we comparing
- 24.10.7 vs 25.12.5
or
- 25.12.4 vs 25.12.5
Please be specific, there are four x86_64 images (permutations of (ext4||squashfs) && (BIOS||UEFI)) - URL or at least the full filename.
Works for me (on qemu-kvm, yes my userspace networking is intentionally useless - rest assured, the same also works with proper tap bridging, tested):
$ LANG= wget https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/targets/x86/64/openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img.gz
--2026-07-03 05:28:57-- https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/targets/x86/64/openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img.gz
Resolving downloads.openwrt.org (downloads.openwrt.org)... 2a04:4e42:8e::644, 146.75.122.132
Connecting to downloads.openwrt.org (downloads.openwrt.org)|2a04:4e42:8e::644|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 12290393 (12M) [application/octet-stream]
Saving to: 'openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img.gz'
openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64- 100%[==============================>] 11.72M 42.4MB/s in 0.3s
2026-07-03 05:28:57 (42.4 MB/s) - 'openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img.gz' saved [12290393/12290393]
$ LANG= gunzip openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img.gz
$
$ qemu-system-x86_64 \
-machine accel=kvm:tcg \
-M q35 \
-rtc base=utc \
-cpu kvm64 \
-smp 2 \
-m 256 \
-nographic \
-device virtio-net-pci,mac=00:16:3E:FF:4F:96,netdev=iflan -netdev user,id=iflan \
-device virtio-net-pci,mac=00:16:3E:04:01:88,netdev=ifwan -netdev user,id=ifwan \
-drive file=./openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img,if=none,discard=unmap,index=0,media=disk,id=hd0,format=raw \
-device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi \
-device scsi-hd,drive=hd0 \
-device virtio-rng-pci
[…]
BusyBox v1.37.0 (2026-06-29 12:59:20 UTC) built-in shell (ash)
_______ ________ __
| |.-----.-----.-----.| | | |.----.| |_
| - || _ | -__| || | | || _|| _|
|_______|| __|_____|__|__||________||__| |____|
|__| W I R E L E S S F R E E D O M
-----------------------------------------------------
OpenWrt 25.12.5, r33051-f5dae5ece4 Dave's Guitar
-----------------------------------------------------
=== WARNING! =====================================
There is no root password defined on this device!
Use the "passwd" command to set up a new password
in order to prevent unauthorized SSH logins.
--------------------------------------------------
OpenWrt recently switched to the "apk" package manager!
OPKG Command APK Equivalent Description
------------------------------------------------------------------
opkg install <pkg> apk add <pkg> Install a package
opkg remove <pkg> apk del <pkg> Remove a package
opkg upgrade apk upgrade Upgrade all packages
opkg files <pkg> apk info -L <pkg> List package contents
opkg list-installed apk info List installed packages
opkg update apk update Update package lists
opkg search <pkg> apk search <pkg> Search for packages
------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information visit:
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/opkg-to-apk-cheatsheet
root@OpenWrt:~# ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN qlen 1000
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 ::1/128 scope host
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel master br-lan state UP qlen 1000
link/ether 00:16:3e:ff:4f:96 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
3: eth1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP qlen 1000
link/ether 00:16:3e:04:01:88 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 10.0.2.15/24 brd 10.0.2.255 scope global eth1
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 fe80::216:3eff:fe04:188/64 scope link
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
4: br-lan: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP qlen 1000
link/ether 00:16:3e:ff:4f:96 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.168.1.1/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global br-lan
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 fdb2:ed1a:ea0a::1/60 scope global noprefixroute
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 fe80::216:3eff:feff:4f96/64 scope link
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
root@OpenWrt:~# cat /etc/config/network
config interface 'loopback'
option device 'lo'
option proto 'static'
list ipaddr '127.0.0.1/8'
config globals 'globals'
option dhcp_default_duid '00049a0aeae6540642e2bb1a38c5b9065834'
option ula_prefix 'fdb2:ed1a:ea0a::/48'
config device
option name 'br-lan'
option type 'bridge'
list ports 'eth0'
config interface 'lan'
option device 'br-lan'
option proto 'static'
list ipaddr '192.168.1.1/24'
option ip6assign '60'
config interface 'wan'
option device 'eth1'
option proto 'dhcp'
config interface 'wan6'
option device 'eth1'
option proto 'dhcpv6'
root@OpenWrt:~#
As raised by psherman, the behaviour you see can only happen, if there's a problem with your vmware-side network setup, e.g. only one virtual network interface exported to the VM or one of them without the required drivers embedded.
OpenWrt's behaviour (on x86_64 and similar architectures) is as such:
- assign lan to the first detected network interface
- if there's a second network interface, assign wan to it
- any further network interfaces are ignored, until you configure them specifically
What does
root@OpenWrt:~# lspci -knn
[…]
00:02.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Red Hat, Inc. Virtio network device [1af4:1000]
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. Device [1af4:0001]
Kernel driver in use: virtio-pci
00:03.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Red Hat, Inc. Virtio network device [1af4:1000]
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. Device [1af4:0001]
Kernel driver in use: virtio-pci
[…]
(apk update && apk add pciutils, may be easier for you to include pciutils via image-builder) say for you?
I previously used 24.10.7, and later 25.12.4, and there were no problems. I tested it before reporting the issue.
Just to compare, with no (supported- or otherwise) network cards exported into the VM:
$ qemu-system-x86_64 \
-machine accel=kvm:tcg \
-M q35 \
-rtc base=utc \
-cpu kvm64 \
-smp 2 \
-m 256 \
-nographic \
-nic none \
-drive file=./openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img,if=none,discard=unmap,index=0,media=disk,id=hd0,format=raw \
-device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi \
-device scsi-hd,drive=hd0 \
-device virtio-rng-pci
[…]
BusyBox v1.37.0 (2026-06-29 12:59:20 UTC) built-in shell (ash)
_______ ________ __
| |.-----.-----.-----.| | | |.----.| |_
| - || _ | -__| || | | || _|| _|
|_______|| __|_____|__|__||________||__| |____|
|__| W I R E L E S S F R E E D O M
-----------------------------------------------------
OpenWrt 25.12.5, r33051-f5dae5ece4 Dave's Guitar
-----------------------------------------------------
=== WARNING! =====================================
There is no root password defined on this device!
Use the "passwd" command to set up a new password
in order to prevent unauthorized SSH logins.
--------------------------------------------------
OpenWrt recently switched to the "apk" package manager!
OPKG Command APK Equivalent Description
------------------------------------------------------------------
opkg install <pkg> apk add <pkg> Install a package
opkg remove <pkg> apk del <pkg> Remove a package
opkg upgrade apk upgrade Upgrade all packages
opkg files <pkg> apk info -L <pkg> List package contents
opkg list-installed apk info List installed packages
opkg update apk update Update package lists
opkg search <pkg> apk search <pkg> Search for packages
------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information visit:
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/opkg-to-apk-cheatsheet
root@OpenWrt:~# ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN qlen 1000
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 ::1/128 scope host
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
root@OpenWrt:~# cat /etc/config/network
config interface 'loopback'
option device 'lo'
option proto 'static'
list ipaddr '127.0.0.1/8'
config globals 'globals'
option dhcp_default_duid '00040a2fa6ebf53c45abad44ebe4719af38f'
option ula_prefix 'fd7a:f868:1f48::/48'
config device
option name 'br-lan'
option type 'bridge'
list ports 'eth0'
config interface 'lan'
option device 'br-lan'
option proto 'static'
list ipaddr '192.168.1.1/24'
option ip6assign '60'
root@OpenWrt:~#
which probably matches your experience.
I'm testing two official bios images, I think the efi image has the same problem too
"https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/targets/x86/64/openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-ext4-combined.img.gz"
"https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/targets/x86/64/openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img.gz"
In the test environment on VMware Workstation, I used an x86_64 official image from an online build, removed extra network card drivers, kept only kmod-e1000, and added VMware packages.
In this url "https://openwrt.org/releases/25.12/notes-25.12.5"
Known issues
Zyxel EX5601-T0: the WAN interface was renamed from eth1 to wan — check and update your network configuration after upgrading.
25.12.5 fixed a lot of network issues, I think the problem might be in the initialization script.
Very unlikely, but you could confirm that, if you'd provide the requested information (lspci -knn, ip -a maybe even dmesg). It is way more likely that something goes wrong either with your hypervisor side (emulated) network cards or that you miss the required kernel modules for the emulated network cards.
Sorry, but I can't -and won't- test Broadcom VMware. It would be up to you, to do some basic debugging beyond 'doesn't work'.
Just for shits and giggles:
$ qemu-system-x86_64 \
-machine accel=kvm:tcg \
-M q35 \
-rtc base=utc \
-cpu kvm64 \
-smp 2 \
-m 256 \
-nographic \
-device vmxnet3,mac=00:16:3E:FF:4F:96,netdev=iflan \
-netdev user,id=iflan \
-device vmxnet3,mac=00:16:3E:04:01:88,netdev=ifwan \
-netdev user,id=ifwan \
-drive file=./openwrt-25.12.5-x86-64-generic-squashfs-combined.img,if=none,discard=unmap,index=0,media=disk,id=hd0,format=raw \
-device virtio-scsi-pci,id=scsi \
-device scsi-hd,drive=hd0 \
-device virtio-rng-pci
[…]
BusyBox v1.37.0 (2026-06-29 12:59:20 UTC) built-in shell (ash)
_______ ________ __
| |.-----.-----.-----.| | | |.----.| |_
| - || _ | -__| || | | || _|| _|
|_______|| __|_____|__|__||________||__| |____|
|__| W I R E L E S S F R E E D O M
-----------------------------------------------------
OpenWrt 25.12.5, r33051-f5dae5ece4 Dave's Guitar
-----------------------------------------------------
=== WARNING! =====================================
There is no root password defined on this device!
Use the "passwd" command to set up a new password
in order to prevent unauthorized SSH logins.
--------------------------------------------------
OpenWrt recently switched to the "apk" package manager!
OPKG Command APK Equivalent Description
------------------------------------------------------------------
opkg install <pkg> apk add <pkg> Install a package
opkg remove <pkg> apk del <pkg> Remove a package
opkg upgrade apk upgrade Upgrade all packages
opkg files <pkg> apk info -L <pkg> List package contents
opkg list-installed apk info List installed packages
opkg update apk update Update package lists
opkg search <pkg> apk search <pkg> Search for packages
------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information visit:
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/opkg-to-apk-cheatsheet
root@OpenWrt:~# ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN qlen 1000
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 ::1/128 scope host
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq master br-lan state UP qlen 1000
link/ether 00:16:3e:ff:4f:96 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
3: eth1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP qlen 1000
link/ether 00:16:3e:04:01:88 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 10.0.2.15/24 brd 10.0.2.255 scope global eth1
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 fec0::216:3eff:fe04:188/64 scope site dynamic noprefixroute
valid_lft 86386sec preferred_lft 14386sec
inet6 fe80::216:3eff:fe04:188/64 scope link
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
4: br-lan: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP qlen 1000
link/ether 00:16:3e:ff:4f:96 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.168.1.1/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global br-lan
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 fd7b:2415:9e68::1/60 scope global noprefixroute
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
inet6 fe80::216:3eff:feff:4f96/64 scope link
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
root@OpenWrt:~# cat /etc/config/network
config interface 'loopback'
option device 'lo'
option proto 'static'
list ipaddr '127.0.0.1/8'
config globals 'globals'
option dhcp_default_duid '0004f873a41fd32640deb11b74a187f0c0e5'
option ula_prefix 'fd7b:2415:9e68::/48'
config device
option name 'br-lan'
option type 'bridge'
list ports 'eth0'
config interface 'lan'
option device 'br-lan'
option proto 'static'
list ipaddr '192.168.1.1/24'
option ip6assign '60'
config interface 'wan'
option device 'eth1'
option proto 'dhcp'
config interface 'wan6'
option device 'eth1'
option proto 'dhcpv6'
root@OpenWrt:~# apk update && apk add pciutils
[https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/targets/x86/64/packages/packages.adb]
[https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/packages/x86_64/base/packages.adb]
[https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/targets/x86/64/kmods/6.12.94-1-a7bc15f451f9652701ba04af9cfb0b95/packages.adb]
[https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/packages/x86_64/luci/packages.adb]
[https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/packages/x86_64/packages/packages.adb]
[https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/packages/x86_64/routing/packages.adb]
[https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/packages/x86_64/telephony/packages.adb]
[https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.5/packages/x86_64/video/packages.adb]
OK: 11090 distinct packages available
(1/4) Installing libkmod (32-r1)
Executing libkmod-32-r1.post-install
(2/4) Installing libpci (3.14.0-r2)
Executing libpci-3.14.0-r2.post-install
(3/4) Installing pciids (0.407-r1)
Executing pciids-0.407-r1.post-install
(4/4) Installing pciutils (3.14.0-r2)
Executing pciutils-3.14.0-r2.post-install
* add alternative: /usr/bin/lspci -> /usr/libexec/lspci-pciutils
OK: 21.1 MiB in 186 packages
root@OpenWrt:~# lspci -knn
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31/P35/P31 Express DRAM Controller [8086:29c0]
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. QEMU Virtual Machine [1af4:1100]
lspci: Unable to load libkmod resources: error -2
00:01.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Device [1234:1111] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. Device [1af4:1100]
Kernel driver in use: bochs-drm
00:02.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: VMware VMXNET3 Ethernet Controller [15ad:07b0] (rev 01)
Subsystem: VMware VMXNET3 Ethernet Controller [15ad:07b0]
Kernel driver in use: vmxnet3
00:03.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: VMware VMXNET3 Ethernet Controller [15ad:07b0] (rev 01)
Subsystem: VMware VMXNET3 Ethernet Controller [15ad:07b0]
Kernel driver in use: vmxnet3
00:04.0 SCSI storage controller [0100]: Red Hat, Inc. Virtio SCSI [1af4:1004]
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. Device [1af4:0008]
Kernel driver in use: virtio-pci
00:05.0 Unclassified device [00ff]: Red Hat, Inc. Virtio RNG [1af4:1005]
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. Device [1af4:0004]
Kernel driver in use: virtio-pci
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation 82801IB (ICH9) LPC Interface Controller [8086:2918] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. QEMU Virtual Machine [1af4:1100]
Kernel driver in use: lpc_ich
00:1f.2 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation 82801IR/IO/IH (ICH9R/DO/DH) 6 port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] [8086:2922] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. QEMU Virtual Machine [1af4:1100]
Kernel driver in use: ahci
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller [8086:2930] (rev 02)
Subsystem: Red Hat, Inc. QEMU Virtual Machine [1af4:1100]
root@OpenWrt:~#
Yes, that's not a VMware environment, but the closes I can get with free software - suggesting that at least kmod-vmxnet3 should be complete (dependencies fullfilled) and functional. If it does work in real VMware is something you'll have to confirm.
FWIW, using latest VMware Workstation (which is free, btw., and available for Windows as well as for Linux):
- Fresh VM created, 2 NICs, VMware Workstation uses e1000 virtual NIC by default (not vmxnet3)
- 25.12.4 - eth1 is created as wan/wan6
- 25.12.5 - eth1 is detected (visible with
ip l) but nowan/wan6I/F created - SNAPSHOT from last night: same as 25.12.5
So, behavior is in fact confirmed as observed by OP.
Now, either OP or somebody else who's interested in running OpenWrt in VMware needs to analyze/bisect.
Good luck 
I don't want to downplay a potential regression but the simplest of all is as always to use the image builder and just prepare and attach all needed configs upfront especially for virtual environments...
Don't shoot the messenger - I just tested and confirmed OP's observation.
Image builder isn't the catch-all solution. I, for example, compile my images myself and configure them using shell script. The script has to presume a common ground, though, and in case it (hypothetically) expects wan/wan6 to be there like it should be on a 2-or-more-NIC setup, then it'll fail unexpectedly.
So I understand the OP's annoyance with the regression.
Anyway, all I wanted to do is confirm the claim on an actual VMware setup, since I have one handy. Other than that, I'm outta here, not my use case
Yes no no. I just wanted to add an additional comment to yours 
I tested it again using QEMU for Windows, and it still recognizes the eth0 and eth1 network cards, but there’s no wan or wan6 interface. This isn’t a virtual machine issue; version 25.12.4 works fine on virtual machines.
Version 25.12.5 fixed a lot of network-related problems, with quite a few changes, so I think there’s an issue with the network initialization script. Could the forum admin pass this problem on to the developers? Thanks.