A platform for easily managing your cloud server and Wireguard access
A secure platform for easily standing up and managing your own cloud services: including firewall, ad-blocking, and Wireguard VPN access
# Table of Contents
# Table of Contents
[[_TOC_]]
[[_TOC_]]
# What is Mistborn
# What is Mistborn
The term [Mistborn](http://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-mistborn-saga-the-original-trilogy) comes from a type of powerful Allomancer in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere.
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 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 and pornographic 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 services as I go so I made that easy to do.
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.
Mistborn depends on these open source technologies:
Ideal for teams who:
- hate internet ads
- need to be protected from malicious internet domains
- need to collaborate securely
- want to retain sole ownership of their data
- want to easily grant and revoke access to people and devices via a simple web interface
- want secure internet access wherever they are
- want to limit or stop data collecting services
- want to prevent being detected/blocked for using a proxy or VPN service
Mistborn depends on these core open source technologies:
@ -40,21 +91,28 @@ Mistborn protects your data in a variety of ways:
- The Mistborn firewall blocks unsolicited incoming internet packets
- The Mistborn firewall blocks unsolicited incoming internet packets
- Pi-hole running on Mistborn blocks outgoing internet requests to configurable blocked domains (ads, malicious/phishing domains, etc.)
- Pi-hole running on Mistborn blocks outgoing internet requests to configurable blocked domains (ads, malicious/phishing domains, etc.)
# Coppercloud
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.
# Gateways
# Gateways
I was getting frustrated at being forced to choose between being connected to my VPN and using streaming services that I have paid for.
We were getting frustrated at being forced to choose between being connected to our VPN and using streaming services that we have paid for.
*Netflix blocking my connections that it sees coming from a DigitalOcean droplet*
*Netflix blocking my connections that it sees coming from a DigitalOcean droplet*
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, then all VPN profiles created with this Gateway will apear to be coming from my house and are not blocked. No port-forwarding required (assuming Mistborn is publicly accessible).
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 (Mistborn on DigitalOcean) then 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).
The Gateway adds an extra network hop. DNS is still resolved in Mistborn so pihole is still blocking ads.
The Gateway adds an extra network hop. DNS is still resolved in Mistborn so pihole is still blocking ads.
# Installation
# Installation
Mistborn is regularly tested on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (DigitalOcean droplet with 2 GB RAM). It has also been successfully used on Debian Buster and Raspbian Buster systems (though not regularly tested).
Mistborn is regularly tested on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (DigitalOcean droplet with 2 GB RAM). It has also been successfully used on Debian Buster and Raspbian Buster systems (though not regularly tested). Additionally tested on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
Clone the git repository and run the install script:
Clone the git repository and run the install script:
Please notice that the following lines are **NOT** part of the Wireguard config:
Please notice that the following lines are **NOT** part of the Wireguard config:
```
```
@ -188,9 +246,73 @@ On Gateway:
- Run `sudo systemctl start wg-quick@gateway`
- Run `sudo systemctl start wg-quick@gateway`
- Run `sudo systemctl enable wg-quick@gateway`
- Run `sudo systemctl enable wg-quick@gateway`
# Phones and Mobile Devices
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.
The TLS certificate can be found here:
```
/opt/mistborn_volumes/base/tls/cert.crt
```
# FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
## Where is My Data?
The Docker services mount volumes located in:
```
/opt/mistborn_volumes
```
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.
Password authentication in enabled. Mistborn disables password authentication for root. Fail2ban blocks IPs with excessive failed login attempts.
You can SSH using the Mistborn domain when connected by Wireguard:
```
ssh user@home.mistborn
```
# Troubleshooting
# Troubleshooting
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 we're not bothering with TLS certs. Here are some things to check if you have issues:
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:
See if any docker containers are stopped:
See if any docker containers are stopped:
```
```
@ -218,6 +340,20 @@ The `dev/` folder contains a script for completing a hard reset: destroying and
sudo ./dev/rebuild.sh
sudo ./dev/rebuild.sh
```
```
## Troubleshooting Extra Services
Each extra service has its own systemd process which can be monitored:
```
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-homeassistant
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-bitwarden
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-syncthing
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-jellyfin
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-nextcloud
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-jitsi
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-rocketchat
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-onlyoffice
sudo journalctl -xfu Mistborn-tor
```
## Troubleshooting Docker
## Troubleshooting Docker
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:
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:
```
```
@ -229,6 +365,51 @@ Be sure to restart Docker afterward:
sudo systemctl restart docker
sudo systemctl restart docker
```
```
## Troubleshooting Upgrade from Ubuntu 18.04 to 20.04
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.
# Technical and Security Insights
These are some notes regarding the technical design and implementations of Mistborn. Feel free to contact me for additional details.
## Attack Surface
- **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 design Wireguard clients cannot talk directly to each other but can use shared services and resources on Mistborn (e.g. Syncthing, Nextcloud, Jitisi, etc.)
- **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 10 years. The nanny at Apple has decided to restrict the kinds of certificates iOS users may choose to manually trust and so you may have issues with TLS on an Apple device for now.
- 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.
# Roadmap
Many features and refinements are in the works at various stages including:
- Option to upload metrics information to Cyber5K to refine each Mistborn instance's firewall
- Option to email default admin Wireguard config file
- Adding more extra services (e.g. Gitlab, Game Servers, etc.)
- Cyber5K marketplace to share Gateway access (to fixed IP addresses or domains, and for a fixed amount of time)
- Mistborn managing wireless interfaces for local access points (stripped down RaspAP)
- Optional periodic backup of local Mistborn config files and credentials to Cyber5K
- Internal network scan tool and feedback
- Anomaly detection in network traffic
# Contact
# Contact
Contact me at [steven@cyber5k.com](mailto:steven@cyber5k.com)
Contact me at [steven@cyber5k.com](mailto:steven@cyber5k.com)
@ -236,4 +417,5 @@ Contact me at [steven@cyber5k.com](mailto:steven@cyber5k.com)
Steven Foerster
6 years ago