If a server is exposed to the Internet, attackers will scan that server for as many vulnerabilities as possible. That’s just part of running a server - so how do we deal with these attacks? Fail2Ban is an essential tool for server administrators. Fail2Ban works by scanning logs and detecting patterns in them, blocking IP addresses who attempt malicious activities (continual failed logins, mass logins, etc). This guide will detail how to configure Fail2Ban on a server running CentOS 6 or Debian Wheezy.
Installing Packages:
On Debian 7, run:
#sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install fail2ban
On CentOS 6, run:
# rpm -Uvh http://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/6/x86_64/epel-release-6-8.noarch.rpm && yum install fail2ban
Configuration:
Fail2Ban’s configuration file is located in /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf. In the event something breaks with the configuration file when we edit it, we should have a backup of the original copy on hand.
# cp /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf.bak
Open the configuration file:
# nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf
This is the default configuration file:
[DEFAULT]
# "ignoreip" can be an IP address, a CIDR mask or a DNS host. Fail2ban will not
# ban a host which matches an address in this list. Several addresses can be
# defined using space separator.
ignoreip = 127.0.0.1
# "bantime" is the number of seconds that a host is banned.
bantime = 3600
# A host is banned if it has generated "maxretry" during the last "findtime"
# seconds.
findtime = 600
# "maxretry" is the number of failures before a host get banned.
maxretry = 3
Enter all IP addresses you wish to grant immunity from Fail2Ban. All desired IP addresses and ranges should be separated by a single space, as shown below.
ignoreip = 127.0.0.1 192.73.232.13 2604:0180::/48
Now, we decide on bantime, findtime, and maxretry values. bantime refers to the length of the ban against an IP or range initiated by Fail2Ban. findtime sets the grace period for a user, in other words, how long each failed login attempt counts as a strike against an IP. maxretry tells Fail2Ban how many failed login attempts a user is given before they are banned.
Restart Fail2Ban:
To restart Fail2Ban, run the following command:
# sudo service fail2ban restart
Your server is now protected by Fail2Ban.
- 0 Els usuaris han Trobat Això Útil
