dlimkin/ssh-tunnel-dropbear repository overview

⁠SSH Tunnel Proxy Server

Minimal Docker setup to run a SSH Tunnel Proxy Server with Dropbear for reverse SSH tunneling.
It allows your local machine to expose a local service (e.g., localhost:80)

⁠💰 Funding

If you find this project useful, consider supporting its development through cryptocurrency donations:

• BTC: bc1qsrl63vcuqnmp6drl3f6uhcvnky2t5vqlg2r2jq QR code⁠
• ETH or (ERC-20): 0xd1ce59aD3615cdbFCc8cc2C496E9CB0E10CD543B QR code⁠
• TRON or (TRC-20): TZ84vr4XcuKcQZAsEJUdyvq5FT6LG66NjX QR code⁠
• SOLANA: BE3hxHZfbk7qpgPtG7hARXJrGJjpwbd1eu9geYtUZNob QR code⁠

⁠⚡ Features

• Lightweight Dropbear SSH server on Alpine Linux
• Configurable environment variable
• Exposes SSH and HTTP ports (configurable, default 22 for SSH, 8080 for HTTP)
• Works in Docker, Compose, and Swarm

⁠🔗 Environment Variables

The following environment variables can be used to configured:

⁠Notes:

• If SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE is provided and valid or authorized_keys are mounted via volume, password authentication will be disabled.
• If no key is provided, use USER_PASS to set a password or a random password will be generated and printed to the console.

⁠1️⃣ Docker Example

⁠Run container

docker run -e USER_NAME=tunnel \
  -p 2022:22 \
  -p 8080:80 \
  -v /path/to/authorized_keys:/home/tunnel/.ssh/authorized_keys:ro \
  dlimkin/ssh-tunnel-dropbear

⁠Connect from local machine

ssh -p <docker-port> -N -R 8080:127.0.0.1:80 tunnel@<docker-host>

⁠Notes:

• 2022 is the exposed SSH port on the Docker host
• 8080 is the exposed port on the Docker host that will forward to your local machine's port
• 127.0.0.1:80 is the local service you want to expose (change as needed)
• tunnel is the username (change if you set a different USER_NAME)
• <docker-host> is the IP or hostname of your Docker host
• <docker-port> is the SSH port you exposed (e.g., 2022)

⁠2️⃣ Docker Compose Example

⁠docker-compose.yml (optional Traefik labels)

version: "3.9"

services:
  tunnel-server:
    image: dlimkin/ssh-tunnel-dropbear
    environment:
      - USER_NAME=mycustomuser # optional, default is 'tunnel', and change in volume target below
    ports:
      - "2022:22"
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
        - /path/to/authorized_keys:/home/mycustomuser/.ssh/authorized_keys:ro
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.tunnel-server.rule=Host(`devhost.mydomain.com`)"
      - "traefik.http.services.tunnel-server.loadbalancer.server.port=8080"

⁠3️⃣ Docker Swarm Stack Example

⁠docker-stack.yml (optional Traefik labels)

version: "3.9"

services:
  tunnel-server:
    image: dlimkin/ssh-tunnel-dropbear
    environment:
      - USER_NAME=mycustomuser # optional, default is 'tunnel'
      - SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE=/run/secrets/ssh_pub_key # optional, use docker swarm secret
    ports:
      - "2022:22"
      - "8080:8080"
    secrets:
      - ssh_pub_key
    deploy:
      replicas: 1
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.tunnel-server.rule=Host(`devhost.mydomain.com`)"
      - "traefik.http.services.tunnel-server.loadbalancer.server.port=8080"

secrets:
  ssh_pub_key:
    external: true