Question 1

Is sshfront secure enough for production use?

Accepted Answer

sshfront can be secure if properly configured with robust auth hooks and scripts, but it shifts security responsibility to the user. The README cautions against running without authentication hooks, and vulnerabilities in custom scripts could expose the server.

Question 2

How to set up sshfront with public key authentication?

Accepted Answer

Use the -a flag with a custom auth-hook script that validates public keys, like the provided example/authcheck. This script should check the $key argument against authorized keys and return exit status 0 for success, with optional environment variables passed to the handler.

Question 3

Can sshfront handle interactive SSH sessions?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but it depends on the handler script. For example, using bash as a handler enables interactive sessions, but advanced terminal features might require additional scripting. The README shows a bash server example, but it may not support all interactive protocols.

Question 4

sshfront vs OpenSSH for custom SSH services?

Accepted Answer

sshfront is better for rapid prototyping and script-based customization, as it delegates logic to external handlers without modifying SSH server code. OpenSSH is more suitable for production with built-in features like SFTP and better security out-of-the-box, but requires configuration files and patches for custom behavior.

Question 5

What are the performance implications of using sshfront?

Accepted Answer

sshfront is lightweight with minimal overhead, but performance depends on handler scripts. Inefficient scripts or high concurrency can degrade performance, as it spawns external processes for each connection without built-in optimizations like connection pooling.

Question 6

How to pass custom environment variables in sshfront?

Accepted Answer

Use the -e flag to pass the server's environment to the handler, or output KEY=value pairs from the auth-hook to inject variables. The README specifies that auth hook output is parsed as environment variables, enabling dynamic context setup.

sshfront

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