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Malanie
Asked: 2020-10-21 11:10:48 +0800 CST

Can't connect to Vsftpd Server - Passive reply with unroutable address

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I have installed Vsftpd Server listening on port 21 in ubuntu server. I've forwarded a port in my router to forward external port 8500 to internal port 21 where my vsftpd server is listening on. However, when I try to connect using ftp client, I'm seeing the following message in filezilla,

"Server sent passive reply with unroutable address. Using server address instead"

I've read that this has to do with being behind a router. But I never had any issues with other routers. Any reason why I am able to access ftp from the outside when using one router but not the other?

vsftpd filezilla nat 14.04

1 Answers

  1. FTP protocol is specific, as it uses two simultaneous connections, in opposite to other protocols like SSH, HTTP or SMTP that use only one.

    Therefore a NAT code on the router needs some special handling of the second connection in case of the FTP protocol - it cannot be handled just like a generic other protocol. Most routers have this functionality (and you don't have a problem with FTP on them), but some don't (and in that case you have a problem).

    There is an option, pasv_address, in VSFtpd config file that you can use to tell VSFtpd to present a specific IP address on that second connection, so using this you can work around this router bug.

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