A Telnet honeypot that logs failed login attempts to track botnet activity like Mirai.
telnetlogger is a Telnet honeypot that simulates a Telnet server to log failed login attempts, capturing IP addresses and credentials used by attackers. It was created specifically to track the Mirai botnet and similar malware by providing the Telnet responses these bots expect. The tool outputs simple text files that can be analyzed to understand attack patterns and sources.
Security researchers, network administrators, and hobbyists monitoring botnet activity or studying Telnet-based attacks on their networks.
It's a lightweight, cross-platform alternative to full Telnet daemons that may not work with modern botnets, focusing purely on logging with minimal setup and dependencies.
Simulates enough of a Telnet connection in order to log failed login attempts.
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Simulates Telnet responses that the Mirai botnet expects, making it effective for tracking this threat where standard telnetd fails, as noted in the README.
Logs to plain text files that are easy to process with Unix tools like sort and uniq, demonstrated in the sample output for passwords and IPs.
Compiles and runs on both Linux/Unix and Windows systems, offering flexibility for deployment on various platforms without complex dependencies.
Supports logging of IPv6 addresses alongside IPv4, essential for modern network monitoring, as shown in the sample ips.txt file.
Requires manual sorting with tools like sort and uniq to filter duplicates, adding overhead for data analysis, as admitted in the README.
Outputs only plain text without structured formats like JSON, limiting integration with automated security information and event management (SIEM) systems.
Exclusively targets Telnet (port 23), so it cannot capture attacks on other services such as SSH or HTTP, restricting its use in broader security monitoring.