Questions[fail2ban](server)

When I run this command fail2ban-client status sshd I got this:

Status for the jail: sshd
|- Filter
|  |- Currently failed: 1
|  |- Total failed:     81
|  `- File list:        /var/log/auth.log
`- Actions
   |- Currently banned: 2
   |- Total banned:     8
   `- Banned IP list:   218.65.30.61 116.31.116.7

It only show two IP in banned IP list instead of 8 just like Total Banned says.

While I do tail -f /var/log/auth.log I got this:

Mar 29 11:08:40 DBSERVER sshd[29163]: error: maximum authentication attempts exceeded for root from 218.65.30.61 port 50935 ssh2 [preauth]
Mar 29 11:08:40 DBSERVER sshd[29163]: Disconnecting: Too many authentication failures [preauth]
Mar 29 11:08:40 DBSERVER sshd[29163]: PAM 5 more authentication failures; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=218.65.30.61  user=root
Mar 29 11:08:40 DBSERVER sshd[29163]: PAM service(sshd) ignoring max retries; 6 > 3
Mar 29 11:08:44 DBSERVER sshd[29165]: pam_unix(sshd:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=218.65.30.61  user=root
Mar 29 11:08:46 DBSERVER sshd[29165]: Failed password for root from 218.65.30.61 port 11857 ssh2
Mar 29 11:09:01 DBSERVER CRON[29172]: pam_unix(cron:session): session opened for user root by (uid=0)
Mar 29 11:09:01 DBSERVER CRON[29172]: pam_unix(cron:session): session closed for user root
Mar 29 11:10:01 DBSERVER CRON[29226]: pam_unix(cron:session): session opened for user root by (uid=0)
Mar 29 11:10:02 DBSERVER CRON[29226]: pam_unix(cron:session): session closed for user root
Mar 29 11:10:18 DBSERVER sshd[29238]: pam_unix(sshd:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=113.122.43.185  user=root
Mar 29 11:10:20 DBSERVER sshd[29238]: Failed password for root from 113.122.43.185 port 46017 ssh2
Mar 29 11:10:33 DBSERVER sshd[29238]: message repeated 5 times: [ Failed password for root from 113.122.43.185 port 46017 ssh2]
Mar 29 11:10:33 DBSERVER sshd[29238]: error: maximum authentication attempts exceeded for root from 113.122.43.185 port 46017 ssh2 [preauth]
Mar 29 11:10:33 DBSERVER sshd[29238]: Disconnecting: Too many authentication failures [preauth]
Mar 29 11:10:33 DBSERVER sshd[29238]: PAM 5 more authentication failures; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=113.122.43.185  user=root
Mar 29 11:10:33 DBSERVER sshd[29238]: PAM service(sshd) ignoring max retries; 6 > 3
Mar 29 11:11:36 DBSERVER sshd[29245]: pam_unix(sshd:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=116.31.116.7  user=root
Mar 29 11:11:38 DBSERVER sshd[29245]: Failed password for root from 116.31.116.7 port 24892 ssh2
Mar 29 11:11:43 DBSERVER sshd[29245]: message repeated 2 times: [ Failed password for root from 116.31.116.7 port 24892 ssh2]
Mar 29 11:11:43 DBSERVER sshd[29245]: Received disconnect from 116.31.116.7 port 24892:11:  [preauth]
Mar 29 11:11:43 DBSERVER sshd[29245]: Disconnected from 116.31.116.7 port 24892 [preauth]
Mar 29 11:11:43 DBSERVER sshd[29245]: PAM 2 more authentication failures; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=116.31.116.7  user=root
Mar 29 11:12:39 DBSERVER sshd[29247]: pam_unix(sshd:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=116.31.116.7  user=root
Mar 29 11:12:41 DBSERVER sshd[29247]: Failed password for root from 116.31.116.7 port 26739 ssh2
Mar 29 11:12:45 DBSERVER sshd[29247]: message repeated 2 times: [ Failed password for root from 116.31.116.7 port 26739 ssh2]
Mar 29 11:12:45 DBSERVER sshd[29247]: Received disconnect from 116.31.116.7 port 26739:11:  [preauth]
Mar 29 11:12:45 DBSERVER sshd[29247]: Disconnected from 116.31.116.7 port 26739 [preauth]
Mar 29 11:12:45 DBSERVER sshd[29247]: PAM 2 more authentication failures; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=116.31.116.7  user=root
Mar 29 11:13:41 DBSERVER sshd[29249]: pam_unix(sshd:auth): authentication failure; logname= uid=0 euid=0 tty=ssh ruser= rhost=116.31.116.7  user=root
Mar 29 11:13:43 DBSERVER sshd[29249]: Failed password for root from 116.31.116.7 port 27040 ssh2

banned IP still trying.

However when I check with sudo iptables -L INPUT -v -n I got this:

Chain INPUT (policy ACCEPT 228 packets, 18000 bytes)
 pkts bytes target     prot opt in     out     source               destination
 6050  435K f2b-sshd   tcp  --  *      *       0.0.0.0/0            0.0.0.0/0            multiport dports 22

What am I doing wrong here?

How can I show all banned IP list?

I have a fail2ban configured like below:

• block the ip after 3 failed attempts
• release the IP after 300 sec timeout

This works perfectly and I want to keep it this way such that a valid user gets a chance to retry the login after the timeout. Now, I want to implement a rule where if same IP is been detected as attack and blocked, unblocked 5 times, permanently block the IP and never unblock again. Can this be achieved with fail2ban alone or I need to write my own script to do that?

I am doing this in centos.

In my server, the ssh port is not the standard 22. I have set a different one. If I setup fail2ban, will it be able to detect that port? How can I tell it to check that port rather than port 22?

The output of iptables -L -v -n:

 Chain fail2ban-ssh (1 references)
 pkts bytes target     prot opt in     out     source               destination                                                                                         
    0     0 DROP       all  --  *      *       119.235.2.158        0.0.0.0/0                                                                                           
    0     0 RETURN     all  --  *      *       0.0.0.0/0            0.0.0.0/0                                                                                           

 Chain fail2ban-ssh-ddos (0 references)
 pkts bytes target     prot opt in     out     source               destination

The output of service iptables status :

iptables: unrecognized service

Summery of fail2ban-regex /var/log/auth.log /etc/fail2ban/filter.d/sshd.conf:

Summary
=======

Addresses found:
[1]
[2]
[3]
    113.59.222.240 (Wed Mar 21 18:24:47 2012)
    113.59.222.240 (Wed Mar 21 18:24:52 2012)
    119.235.14.153 (Wed Mar 21 21:52:53 2012)
    113.59.222.21 (Thu Mar 22 07:50:44 2012)
    176.9.57.203 (Fri Mar 23 19:34:29 2012)
    176.9.57.203 (Fri Mar 23 19:34:42 2012)
    113.59.222.56 (Sat Mar 31 14:23:52 2012)
    113.59.222.56 (Sat Mar 31 14:24:05 2012)
    119.235.14.183 (Mon Apr 02 20:49:13 2012)
    119.235.14.168 (Sat Apr 21 09:58:56 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:11:03 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:11:40 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:11:43 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:11:47 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:12:49 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:12:52 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:12:55 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:12:58 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:13:02 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:13:04 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:13:25 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:19:18 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:19:52 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:19:55 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:19:55 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:19:58 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:20:02 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:20:05 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:40:16 2012)
[4]
[5]
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:11:38 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:12:46 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:19:49 2012)
[6]
    119.235.2.155 (Wed Mar 21 13:13:30 2012)
    113.59.222.240 (Wed Mar 21 18:24:43 2012)
    119.235.14.153 (Wed Mar 21 21:52:51 2012)
    176.9.57.203 (Fri Mar 23 19:34:26 2012)
    119.235.2.158 (Wed Apr 25 13:19:15 2012)
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]

Date template hits:
1169837 hit(s): MONTH Day Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): WEEKDAY MONTH Day Hour:Minute:Second Year
0 hit(s): WEEKDAY MONTH Day Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): Year/Month/Day Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): Day/Month/Year Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): Day/Month/Year Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): Day/MONTH/Year:Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): Month/Day/Year:Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): Year-Month-Day Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): Day-MONTH-Year Hour:Minute:Second[.Millisecond]
0 hit(s): Day-Month-Year Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): TAI64N
0 hit(s): Epoch
0 hit(s): ISO 8601
0 hit(s): Hour:Minute:Second
0 hit(s): <Month/Day/Year@Hour:Minute:Second>

Success, the total number of match is 37

However, look at the above section 'Running tests' which could contain important
information.

The jail.conf:

    # Fail2Ban configuration file.
#
# This file was composed for Debian systems from the original one
#  provided now under /usr/share/doc/fail2ban/examples/jail.conf
#  for additional examples.
#
# To avoid merges during upgrades DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE
# and rather provide your changes in /etc/fail2ban/jail.local
#
# Author: Yaroslav O. Halchenko <[email protected]>
#
# $Revision: 281 $
#

# The DEFAULT allows a global definition of the options. They can be override
# in each jail afterwards.

[DEFAULT]

# "ignoreip" can be an IP address, a CIDR mask or a DNS host
ignoreip = 127.0.0.1
bantime  = 14400
maxretry = 3

# "backend" specifies the backend used to get files modification. Available
# options are "gamin", "polling" and "auto".
# yoh: For some reason Debian shipped python-gamin didn't work as expected
#      This issue left ToDo, so polling is default backend for now
backend = polling

#
# Destination email address used solely for the interpolations in
# jail.{conf,local} configuration files.
destemail = root@localhost

#
# ACTIONS
#

# Default banning action (e.g. iptables, iptables-new,
# iptables-multiport, shorewall, etc) It is used to define 
# action_* variables. Can be overriden globally or per 
# section within jail.local file
banaction = iptables-multiport

# email action. Since 0.8.1 upstream fail2ban uses sendmail
# MTA for the mailing. Change mta configuration parameter to mail
# if you want to revert to conventional 'mail'.
mta = sendmail

# Default protocol
protocol = tcp

#
# Action shortcuts. To be used to define action parameter

# The simplest action to take: ban only
action_ = %(banaction)s[name=%(__name__)s, port="%(port)s", protocol="%(protocol)s]

# ban & send an e-mail with whois report to the destemail.
action_mw = %(banaction)s[name=%(__name__)s, port="%(port)s", protocol="%(protocol)s]
              %(mta)s-whois[name=%(__name__)s, dest="%(destemail)s", protocol="%(protocol)s]

# ban & send an e-mail with whois report and relevant log lines
# to the destemail.
action_mwl = %(banaction)s[name=%(__name__)s, port="%(port)s", protocol="%(protocol)s]
               %(mta)s-whois-lines[name=%(__name__)s, dest="%(destemail)s", logpath=%(logpath)s]

# Choose default action.  To change, just override value of 'action' with the
# interpolation to the chosen action shortcut (e.g.  action_mw, action_mwl, etc) in jail.local
# globally (section [DEFAULT]) or per specific section 
action = %(action_)s

#
# JAILS
#

# Next jails corresponds to the standard configuration in Fail2ban 0.6 which
# was shipped in Debian. Enable any defined here jail by including
#
# [SECTION_NAME] 
# enabled = true

#
# in /etc/fail2ban/jail.local.
#
# Optionally you may override any other parameter (e.g. banaction,
# action, port, logpath, etc) in that section within jail.local

[ssh]

enabled = true
port    = ssh
filter  = sshd
logpath  = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 4

# Generic filter for pam. Has to be used with action which bans all ports
# such as iptables-allports, shorewall
[pam-generic]

enabled = false
# pam-generic filter can be customized to monitor specific subset of 'tty's
filter  = pam-generic
# port actually must be irrelevant but lets leave it all for some possible uses
port = all
banaction = iptables-allports
port     = anyport
logpath  = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 6

[xinetd-fail]

enabled   = false
filter    = xinetd-fail
port      = all
banaction = iptables-multiport-log
logpath   = /var/log/daemon.log
maxretry  = 2


[ssh-ddos]

enabled = true
port    = ssh
filter  = sshd-ddos
logpath  = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 6

#
# HTTP servers
#

[apache]

enabled = false
port    = http,https
filter  = apache-auth
logpath = /var/log/apache*/*error.log
maxretry = 6

# default action is now multiport, so apache-multiport jail was left
# for compatibility with previous (<0.7.6-2) releases
[apache-multiport]

enabled   = false
port      = http,https
filter    = apache-auth
logpath   = /var/log/apache*/*error.log
maxretry  = 6

[apache-noscript]

enabled = false
port    = http,https
filter  = apache-noscript
logpath = /var/log/apache*/*error.log
maxretry = 6

[apache-overflows]

enabled = false
port    = http,https
filter  = apache-overflows
logpath = /var/log/apache*/*error.log
maxretry = 2

 [nginx-auth]
 enabled = true
 filter = nginx-auth
 action = iptables-multiport[name=NoAuthFailures, port="http,https"]
 logpath = /var/log/nginx*/*error*.log
 bantime = 600 # 10 minutes
 maxretry = 6

 [nginx-login]
 enabled = true
 filter = nginx-login
 action = iptables-multiport[name=NoLoginFailures, port="http,https"]
 logpath = /var/log/nginx*/*access*.log
 bantime = 600 # 10 minutes
 maxretry = 6

 [nginx-badbots]
 enabled  = true
 filter = apache-badbots
 action = iptables-multiport[name=BadBots, port="http,https"]
 logpath = /var/log/nginx*/*access*.log
 bantime = 86400 # 1 day
 maxretry = 1

 [nginx-noscript]
 enabled = true
 action = iptables-multiport[name=NoScript, port="http,https"]
 filter = nginx-noscript
 logpath = /var/log/nginx*/*access*.log
 maxretry = 6
 bantime  = 86400 # 1 day

 [nginx-proxy]
 enabled = true
 action = iptables-multiport[name=NoProxy, port="http,https"]
 filter = nginx-proxy
 logpath = /var/log/nginx*/*access*.log
 maxretry = 0
 bantime  = 86400 # 1 day


#
# FTP servers
#

[vsftpd]

enabled  = false
port     = ftp,ftp-data,ftps,ftps-data
filter   = vsftpd
logpath  = /var/log/vsftpd.log
# or overwrite it in jails.local to be
# logpath = /var/log/auth.log
# if you want to rely on PAM failed login attempts
# vsftpd's failregex should match both of those formats
maxretry = 6


[proftpd]

enabled  = false
port     = ftp,ftp-data,ftps,ftps-data
filter   = proftpd
logpath  = /var/log/proftpd/proftpd.log
maxretry = 6


[wuftpd]

enabled  = false
port     = ftp,ftp-data,ftps,ftps-data
filter   = wuftpd
logpath  = /var/log/auth.log
maxretry = 6


#
# Mail servers
#

[postfix]

enabled  = false
port     = smtp,ssmtp
filter   = postfix
logpath  = /var/log/mail.log


[couriersmtp]

enabled  = false
port     = smtp,ssmtp
filter   = couriersmtp
logpath  = /var/log/mail.log


#
# Mail servers authenticators: might be used for smtp,ftp,imap servers, so
# all relevant ports get banned
#

[courierauth]

enabled  = false
port     = smtp,ssmtp,imap2,imap3,imaps,pop3,pop3s
filter   = courierlogin
logpath  = /var/log/mail.log


[sasl]

enabled  = false
port     = smtp,ssmtp,imap2,imap3,imaps,pop3,pop3s
filter   = sasl
# You might consider monitoring /var/log/warn.log instead
# if you are running postfix. See http://bugs.debian.org/507990
logpath  = /var/log/mail.log


# DNS Servers


# These jails block attacks against named (bind9). By default, logging is off
# with bind9 installation. You will need something like this:
#
# logging {
#     channel security_file {
#         file "/var/log/named/security.log" versions 3 size 30m;
#         severity dynamic;
#         print-time yes;
#     };
#     category security {
#         security_file;
#     };
# };
#
# in your named.conf to provide proper logging

# !!! WARNING !!!
#   Since UDP is connectionless protocol, spoofing of IP and immitation
#   of illegal actions is way too simple.  Thus enabling of this filter
#   might provide an easy way for implementing a DoS against a chosen
#   victim. See
#    http://nion.modprobe.de/blog/archives/690-fail2ban-+-dns-fail.html
#   Please DO NOT USE this jail unless you know what you are doing.
#[named-refused-udp]
#
#enabled  = false
#port     = domain,953
#protocol = udp
#filter   = named-refused
#logpath  = /var/log/named/security.log

[named-refused-tcp]

enabled  = false
port     = domain,953
protocol = tcp
filter   = named-refused
logpath  = /var/log/named/security.log

I just noticed an error in the fail2ban log:

2012-04-25 14:57:29,359 fail2ban.actions.action: ERROR iptables -N fail2ban-ssh-ddos

I'm using Fail2Ban on a server and I'm wondering how to unban an IP properly.

I know I can work with IPTables directly: iptables -D fail2ban-ssh <number>

But is there not a way to do it with the fail2ban-client?

In the manuals it states something like: fail2ban-client get ssh actionunban <IP>. But that doesn't work.

Also, I don't want to /etc/init.d/fail2ban restart as that would lose all the bans in the list.

I'm setting up a LAMP server and need to prevent SSH/FTP/etc. brute-force logon attempts from succeeding. I've seen many recommendations for both denyhosts and fail2ban, but few comparisons of the two. I also read that an IPTables rule can fill the same function.

Why would I choose one of these methods over another? How do people on serverfault handle this problem?