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Endlessh

Endlessh is an SSH tarpit that very slowly sends an endless, random SSH banner.

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Endlessh is an SSH tarpit that very slowly sends an endless, random SSH banner. It keeps SSH clients locked up for hours or even days at a time. The purpose is to put your real SSH server on another port and then let the script kiddies get stuck in this tarpit instead of bothering a real server.

Platform availability

Available on 2 of 9 platforms

  • Unraid
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS
  • Proxmox (not listed)
  • Helm (not listed)
  • Mac (not listed)
  • Windows (not listed)
  • Linux (not listed)

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

34/100 Low

Maintained
0last commit 1992 days ago
Popular
798,568 GitHub stars
Easy to install
452 install platforms, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
No data

Based on 3 of 4 factors.

Availability: platform listings confirmed today, links checked 10 days ago

GitHub stars
8,568
Open issues
49
Last commit
2021-04-30
Latest release
1.0
License
Unlicense
Activity
stale

Checked 4 days ago - source: GitHub (skeeto/endlessh)

Resources & Compatibility

ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.

Checked 14 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Start the stack with Docker Compose In the examples folder, run docker-compose up -d. This starts Endlessh plus Prometheus and Grafana; without it, there is no SSH service or monitoring to test. source
  • Test the SSH port (2222) Run ssh -p 2222 localhost to test the default SSH port. If the connection hangs, Endlessh is working; if it fails immediately, check that the service is running and port 2222 is open. source
  • Keep the metrics port private Prometheus metrics are served on port 2112 by default, so you can check status from your own machine. Avoid exposing that port publicly because it can reveal connection details. source

Fetched 7 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives

No alternatives collected yet.

Common questions

How should I configure ports when using Endlessh?

Move your real SSH server to another port and let scanners connect to Endlessh instead.

Can I run Endlessh in Docker?

Yes, at least one self-hoster reports running Endlessh through Docker.

Have users seen scanners stop after only a few Endlessh responses?

One self-hoster reports that scanners now stop after 20-30 seconds and 2-3 responses, while previously they stayed connected for days.

Can I monitor Endlessh with Grafana?

A community user shared a custom Grafana dashboard that reads Prometheus metrics for monitoring Endlessh.

Answers sourced from github.com, www.reddit.com, www.reddit.com

Community

Collected 13 days ago - public community threads