Mistborn is your own virtual private cloud platform and WebUI that manages self hosted services, and secures them with firewall, Wireguard VPN w/ PiHole-DNSCrypt, and IP filtering. Optional SIEM+IDS. Supports 2FA, Nextcloud, Jitsi, Home Assistant, +
As featured in [Linux Magazine](https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2020/240/Mistborn/(language)/eng-US) (Linux Pro Magazine in North America) in November 2020
The term [Mistborn](http://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-mistborn-saga-the-original-trilogy) is inspired by a type of powerful Allomancer in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere.
Mistborn started as a passion project for a husband and father protecting his family. Certain family members insisted on connecting their devices to free public WiFi networks. We needed a way to secure all family devices with a solid VPN (Wireguard). Once we had that we wanted to control DNS to block ads to all devices and block malicious websites across all family devices. Then we wanted chat, file-sharing, and webchat services that we could use for ourselves without entrusting our data to some big tech company. And then... home automation. I know I'll be adding more services so I made that easy to do.
See the [Mistborn Network Security](https://gitlab.com/cyber5k/mistborn/-/wikis/Mistborn-Network-Security) wiki page to see the network scan results for Mistborn.
These tools are not vital to Mistborn itself but are integrated to enhance security, ease, and features:
- [iptables](https://www.netfilter.org): The powerful Linux netfilter firewall tool
- [cockpit](https://cockpit-project.org): A Graphical User Interface for system management, including container management
- [Pi-hole](https://pi-hole.net): A DNS server for network-wide ad blocking, etc
- [DNScrypt](https://www.dnscrypt.org): prevents DNS spoofing via cryptographic signatures to verify that responses originate from the chosen DNS resolver and haven't been tampered
- [Traefik](https://docs.traefik.io): A modern, efficient reverse-proxy
- [Wazuh](https://wazuh.com/): Wazuh is a free, open source and enterprise-ready security monitoring solution for threat detection, integrity monitoring, incident response and compliance.
- [Suricata](https://suricata-ids.org/): Suricata is a free and open source, mature, fast and robust network threat detection engine. The Suricata engine is capable of real time intrusion detection (IDS), inline intrusion prevention (IPS), network security monitoring (NSM) and offline pcap processing. Suricata inspects the network traffic using a powerful and extensive rules and signature language, and has powerful Lua scripting support for detection of complex threats.
- [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io): Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first
- [Nextcloud](https://nextcloud.com): Nextcloud offers the industry-leading, on-premises content collaboration platform. It combines the convenience and ease of use of consumer-grade solutions like Dropbox and Google Drive with the security, privacy and control business needs.
- [BitWarden](https://bitwarden.com): Password manager. The easiest and safest way for individuals, teams, and business organizations to store, share, and sync sensitive data.
- [Syncthing](https://syncthing.net): Syncthing is a continuous file synchronization program. It synchronizes files between two or more computers in real time, safely protected from prying eyes.
- [OnlyOffice](https://www.onlyoffice.com): Cloud office suite. ONLYOFFICE provides you with the most secure way to create, edit and collaborate on business documents online.
- [Rocket.Chat](https://rocket.chat): Free, Open Source, Enterprise Team Chat.
- [Jellyfin](https://jellyfin.org): The Free Media Software System.
- [Tor](https://www.torproject.org): The Onion Router. One tool in the arsenal of online security and privacy.
**Note:** Install operating system updates and restart. Raspberry Pi OS particularly needs to be restarted after kernel updates (kernel modules for the currently running kernel may be missing).
See the [Mistborn Network Security](https://gitlab.com/cyber5k/mistborn/-/wikis/Mistborn-Network-Security) wiki page to see more network diagrams and the network scan results for Mistborn.
The Mistborn Security Operations Center provides SIEM services with Wazuh. The Wazuh Manager requires an Open Distro for Elasticsearch backend. When the Mistborn host has >8 GB RAM the provided Elasticsearch backend can be used. Just click "Start Wazuh" on the `Security Center` page and enjoy your Enterprise-grade SIEM. Wazuh agents can be installed on just about any OS and all Wazuh agent traffic is communicated over the Wireguard connections. Instructions for adding endpoint agents can be found within Wazuh itself.
Pihole provides a way to block outgoing DNS requests for given lists of blocked domains. Coppercloud provides a way to block outgoing network calls of all types to given lists of IP addresses (IPv4 only for now). This is especially useful for blocking outgoing telemetry (data and state sharing) to owners of software running on all of your devices.
This example shows Coppercloud blocking a list of Microsoft IP addresses on a network with Windows 10 clients.
In Mistborn, Gateways are upstream from the VPN server so connections to third-party services (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, etc.) will appear to be coming from the public IP address of the Gateway. I setup a Gateway at home (Raspberry Pi with `wireguard` and `openresolv` installed) and with our Mistborn on DigitalOcean, all Wireguard profiles created with this Gateway will appear to be coming from my house and are not blocked. No port-forwarding required (assuming Mistborn is publicly accessible).
Remote desktops enable multiple users to share desktop resources and data. Remote desktops also enable groups to prevent sensitive data from ever entering an endpoint devices such as a smartphone. For reference, some United States Government regulations require controls to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) that are not feasible to implement on all endpoint devices and remote desktops prevent the data from entering the device (see NIST SP 800-171 3.1.19, CMMC AC.3.022).
Mistborn enables remote desktop access via the Apache Guacamole extra service, which supports VNC, RDP, SSH, and other protocols.
Guacamole implements its own users and groups access controls to manage access to individual desktops. All Mistborn users must be authenticated with Mistborn (via Wireguard only or MFA) to access the Guacamole interface.
By default direct communication between network clients is blocked. Mistborn clients can all talk to Mistborn and communicate via shared services (Jitsi, Nextcloud, etc). Direct client to client communication can be enabled via the "client-to-client" toggle.
Mistborn is regularly tested on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (DigitalOcean droplet with 2 GB RAM). It has also been successfully used on Debian Buster and Raspbian Buster systems (though not regularly tested). Make sure to install OS updates and restart before installing Mistborn (Wireguard installs differently on recent kernels).
When Mistborn-base starts up it will create volumes, initialize the PostgreSQL database, start pihole, run Django migrations and then check to see if a Mistborn superuser named `admin` exists yet. If not, it will create the superuser `admin` along with an accompanying default Wireguard configuration file and start the Wireguard service. You can watch all of this happen with:
[Install wireguard](https://www.wireguard.com/install/) on your computer. If you get a `resolvconf: command not found` error when starting Wireguard then install openresolv: `sudo apt-get install -y openresolv`
Mistborn users can be added (non-privileged or superuser) and removed by superusers. Multiple Wireguard profiles can be created for each user. A non-privileged user can create profiles for themselves.
*Wireguard Management in Mistborn*
## Extra Services
Mistborn makes extra services available.
*Mistborn Extra Services Available*
## Mistborn Firewall Metrics
Mistborn functions as a network firewall and provides metrics on blocked probes from the internet.
There are multiple ways to authenticate and use the system.
*Mistborn Multi Factor Authentication - Authenticator App Setup*
## Profile: Wireguard Authentication
Mistborn always authenticates with Wireguard. You must have a valid Wireguard configuration file associated with the correct internal IP address. A classic Mistborn profile (Wireguard Only) will allow you to access the internet and all services hosted by Mistborn once you have connected via Wireguard. Note: individual services may require passwords or additional authentication.
## Profile: Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)
In addition to Wireguard, you may create a Mistborn profile enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA). You must first connect to Mistborn via Wireguard. Then all internet traffic will route you to the Mistborn webserver where you must first setup and thereafter authenticate with an app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.). You must go to [http://home.mistborn](http://home.mistborn) to complete the authentication process.
*Mistborn Multi Factor Authentication Prompt*
### MFA Internet Access
Internet access is blocked via iptables until authentication is completed for an MFA profile. You must go to [http://home.mistborn](http://home.mistborn) to complete the authentication process. Click "Sign Out" to re-block internet access until authentication completes again.
*Mistborn Multi Factor Authentication - Token Prompt*
### MFA Mistborn Service Access - Fixed on 4 December 2020
Mistborn service access is blocked via traefik until Mistborn authentication is complete. You will not be able to access the web pages for pihole, cockpit, or any extra services until authentication is complete for an MFA profile. Attempting to visit one of these pages will produce a "Mistborn: Not authorized" HTTP 403. Click "Sign Out" to re-block access until authentication completes again.
*Mistborn Multi Factor Authentication - Not Authorized (Login Incomplete)*
- **Sessions**: Traefik checks the authenticated sessions on the server side to determine whether to allow access to the Mistborn service web pages. If an open session exists for your Mistborn IP address then access will be granted. You may close all sessions by clicking "Sign Out" on the Mistborn home page. Expired sessions are regularly cleaned by the Mistborn system (celery periodic task).
Mistborn will generate the Wireguard configuration script for the Gateway. From a base Ubuntu/Debian/Raspbian operating system the following packages are recommended to be installed beforehand:
All your devices can be connected to Mistborn as Wireguard clients.
First steps:
1. Device: Download the Wireguard app on your device. Links: [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wireguard.android) [Apple](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wireguard/id1441195209)
1. Mistborn: Create a Wireguard profile for the device.
1. Device: Scan Wireguard client QR code in Wireguard app.
1. Device: Enable Wireguard connection.
All of you device network traffic is now being routed through Wireguard. Ads and malicious sites are blocked by pihole. DNS queries are verified via DNScrypt.
But wait, there's more! You can:
- visit the [Mistborn web interface](http://home.mistborn) through your phone's browser.
- download the apps for any extra services you have running and connect them to your Mistborn using the Mistborn domains.
Some apps require TLS (HTTPS). All traffic to Mistborn domains already occurs over Wireguard but to keep apps running, a TLS certificate exists for Mistborn and can be imported into your device's trusted credentials in the security settings. This certificate is checked every day and will be re-generated when expiration is less than 30 days away.
The core Mistborn services have volumes mounted in `/opt/mistborn_volumes/base`. These should not be modified. The extra services' volumes are mounted in:
```
/opt/mistborn_volumes/extra
```
Your data from Nextcloud, Syncthing, Bitwarden, etc. will be located there.
## How do I SSH into Mistborn?
If Mistborn is installed via SSH then an iptables rule is added allowing external SSH connections from the same source IP address only. If Mistborn was installed locally then no external SSH is permitted.
SSH is permitted from any device connected to Mistborn by Wireguard.
Once you're connected to Wireguard you should see .mistborn domains and the internet should work as expected. Be sure to use http (http://home.mistborn). Wireguard is the encrypted channel so there's usually no need to bother with TLS certs (WebRTC functionality and some mobile apps require TLS so it is available). Here are some things to check if you have issues:
Note the Mistborn naming convention for Wireguard interfaces on the server is wg<listeningport>. So if the particular Wireguard process is listening on UDP port 56392 then the interface will be named wg56392 and the config will be in `/etc/wireguard/wg56392.conf`
Ensure that your public IP address in your client profile (e.g. `Endpoint = <Mistborn public IP address>:<random port>`) is actually publicly available (not in 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, or 192.168.0.0/16) if you are attempting to access Mistborn across the internet.
Instead of defaulting to a system DNS server, Docker will try to use a public DNS server (e.g. 8.8.8.8). If you're having issues pulling or building Docker containers with "failure to connect" errors, this is the likely problem. You can manually set the DNS server Docker should use with the `DOCKER_OPTS` field in `/etc/default/docker`. Example:
New installations of 18.04 and 20.04 after 25 April 2020 don't seem to be having issues. If you installed Mistborn on Ubuntu 18.04 prior to 25 April 2020 and then upgrade to 20.04 you may have one minor issue described below.
Owing to changes in docker NAT rules and container DNS resolution, some Wireguard client configurations generated with Mistborn before 25 April 2020 (be sure to update Mistborn) may experience issues after upgrading to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. Symptoms: can ping but can't resolve DNS.
Solution: Edit the Wireguard client config and set the DNS directive as follows:
```
DNS = 10.2.3.1
```
Close the config and restart the client Wireguard process.
Be sure to always reboot after updating the kernel. When the kernel is updated the kernel modules are deleted (for the currently running kernel) and you will have issues with any function requiring kernel modules (e.g. `iptables` or `wireguard`).
**Note**: The Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit BETA (versions from May 2020 and prior) have a bug where the os-release info indicates that it is Debian. Mistborn proceeds to install as though it were Debian. Since it's not Debian there are errors.
## Troubleshooting Debian 10
Run updates and restart before installing Mistborn (`sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y dist-upgrade && sudo shutdown -r now`). Some older Linux kernels will prevent newer Wireguard versions from installing.
- **Wireguard**: Wireguard is the only way in to Mistborn. When new Wireguard profiles are generated they are attached to a random UDP port. Wireguard does not respond to unauthenticated traffic. External probes on the active Wireguard listening ports are not logged and do not appear on the Metrics page.
- **SSH**: If Mistborn is installed over SSH (most common) then an iptables rule is added allowing future SSH connections from the same source IP address. All other external SSH is blocked. Internal SSH (over the Wireguard tunnels) is allowed. Password authentication is allowed. The SSH key for the `mistborn` user is only accepted from internal source IP addresses. Fail2ban is also installed.
- **Traefik**: Iptables closes web ports (TCP 80 and 443) from external access and additonally all web interfaces are behind the Traefik reverse-proxy. All web requests (e.g. home.mistborn) must be resolved by Mistborn DNS (Pihole/dnsmasq) and originate from a Wireguard tunnel.
- **Docker**: When Docker exposes a port it creates a PREROUTING rule in the NAT table to catch eligible network requests. This means that even if your INPUT chain policy is DROP, your docker containers with exposed ports can receive and respond to traffic. Whenever Mistborn brings up a docker container with an exposed port it creates an iptables rule to block external traffic to that service.
## Firewall
- **IPtables**: Iptables rules and chains are manipulated directly. If UFW is present it is disabled. IPtables-persistent is used to save a simple set of secure default rules (most importantly setting the INPUT and FORWARD policies to DROP and allowing ESTABLISHED and RELATED traffic) that will be effective immediately upon system startup. Additional rules and chains are created by Docker on startup. Mistborn also creates some iptables chains during installation that are saved in the persistent rules. Mistborn iptables chains and rules are designed to work with Docker's with logic that is easy to follow. A power cycle will always result in a working state.
- **PostUp/PostDown**: Wireguard configuration files on Mistborn include PostUp and PostDown directives that set routes and iptables rules for each Wireguard client individually.
- **Wireguard**: There is a one-to-one mapping between each Wireguard client and server instance listening on Mistborn. By default Wireguard clients cannot talk directly to each other but can use shared services and resources on Mistborn (e.g. Syncthing, Nextcloud, Jitisi, etc). Toggling the "client-to-client" option will enable direct client-to-client communication.
- **Metrics**: In addition to the iptables INPUT policy set to DROP, an iptables chain exists that logs the packet meta data before dropping it. Mistborn redirects packets that will be dropped to this chain instead. A summary of the data about these dropped packets (unsolicited network traffic) can be found on the Metrics page.
- **Coppercloud**: Coppercloud works by populating ipsets with the ipset module in iptables to DROP (blacklist) or ACCEPT (whitelist) a given set of IP addresses. Upon system startup a celery task will compile the IP addresses, create the ipsets, and iptables rules.
## Additonal Notes
- Interface names are not hardcoded anywhere in Mistborn. Two commands that are used in different circumstances to determine the default network interface and the interface that would route a public IP address are: `ip -o -4 route show to default` and `ip -o -4 route get 1.1.1.1`.
- The "Update" button will pull updated Docker images for mistborn, postgresql, redis, pihole, and dnscrypt. Those services will then be restarted.
- The generated TLS certificate has an RSA modulus of 4096 bits, is signed with SHA-256, and is good for 397 days. The certificate is checked daily and will regenerate when expiration is within 30 days.
- Outbound UDP on port 53 is blocked. All DNS requests should be handled by the dnscrypt_proxy service and if any client, service, etc. tries to circumvent that it is blocked.
- [Linux Magazine](https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2020/240/Mistborn/(language)/eng-US) November 2020 (featuring Mistborn version from early May 2020)
- [Awesome Open Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hekP0_crotw) July 2020 (featuring Mistborn version from early July 2020)
You can find recent bugfixes, functional additions, some extra documentation and more at the Cyber5K Patreon page: [https://www.patreon.com/cyber5k](https://www.patreon.com/cyber5k)
