94 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
94 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
+++
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date = '2024-10-23T20:43:44-03:00'
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title = 'Securing Your Linux Server with Fail2Ban for SSH Protection'
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description = "Thanwer's Blog Post about how to use Fail2ban"
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tags = [
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"webserver",
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"GNU/Linux",
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"Basics Series",
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]
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+++
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[Fail2ban](https://github.com/fail2ban/fail2ban) is a software which scans log files like `/var/log/auth.log` and bans IP addresses which have done too many failed login attempts.
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This is just one layer of security and should be used together with other tools and techniques such as iptables and SSH hardening.
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I always configure a simple SSH jail using fail2ban on my GNU/Linux servers.
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Today, I am going to show you how to configure a simple SSH jail.
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## Installing fail2ban
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First you (obviously) need to install the fail2ban package.
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```bash
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apt install fail2ban # For Ubuntu/Debian
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yum install fail2ban # For CentOS/RHEL
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```
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## Configuring Fail2Ban
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The fail2ban configuration is very simple, the configuration files are located at: `/etc/fail2ban`
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The `fail2ban.conf` contains the default configuration profile, it is a good practice to not edit this file, but instead create a separate file named `fail2ban.local`, which overrides `fail2ban.conf`:
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```bash
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cp /etc/fail2ban/fail2ban.conf /etc/fail2ban/fail2ban.local
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```
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The defaults should make a working setup for now, so let's skip this for now.
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Next, we have the `jail.conf` file, which is where we configure our "jails" as the name suggests.
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Here we are going to make some changes, so first let's create a `jail.local` file with the following content:
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```text
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[DEFAULT]
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bantime.multipliers = 5 15 30 60 300 720 1440 2880
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bantime = 86400
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findtime = 86400
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maxretry = 2
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ignoreip = 192.2.0.0/24, 2001:0DB8::/32
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[sshd]
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backend=systemd
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enabled=true
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mode=aggressive
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action = iptables[name=SSH, port=22, protocol=tcp]
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```
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Those settings are self explanatory, in the `[DEFAULT]` section we are setting some parameters, like for how long we should ban the attackers, and trusted IPs, remember to change those values as your needs, specially `ignoreip`.
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Take your time to fine tune those parameters.
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## Enabling and testing Fail2ban
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Enable and start the fail2ban service
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```bash
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systemctl enable --now fail2ban
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```
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For SSH jails the test is very simple, you can test by simply failing to log on a couple times.
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You can check the status with the command:
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```bash
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fail2ban-client status
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fail2ban-client status sshd
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```
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As you can see, the SSH service on a cloud VPS is constantly being attacked, my server has almost 400 currently banned IPs.
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## More jails
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Today I showed how to protect your GNU/Linux SSH service, but is is not over, you can use fail2ban to protect any service that you run!
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You can even integrate fail2ban protection with [Cloudflare](https://github.com/nesrual/fail2ban-cloudflare!) if you use their services!
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I suggest you to check the `/etc/fail2ban/filter.d` folder, which contains the default filters for popular services, like Apache, Asterisk, Mail server services, etc...
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Be sure to take a look at the [official documentation](https://github.com/fail2ban/fail2ban/wiki).
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