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Write your own ssh Server with the Python Twisted library

SSH Server with the Python Twisted Library

Installing the library

Assuming you have Python installed on your system:

pip install twisted
pip install pyOpenSSL
pip install service_identity

Testing the installation

$ python
>>> import twisted
>>> twisted.__version__
'15.2.1'
>>> import OpenSSL
>>> import twisted.internet.ssl
>>> twisted.internet.ssl.SSL
<module 'OpenSSL.SSL' from '/usr/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/OpenSSL/SSL.pyc'>

Implementing your own ssh-sever with Twisted

Put this script into a file sshserver.py

from twisted.conch import avatar, recvline
from twisted.conch.interfaces import IConchUser, ISession
from twisted.conch.ssh import factory, keys, session
from twisted.conch.insults import insults
from twisted.cred import portal, checkers
from twisted.internet import reactor
from zope.interface import implements
 
class SSHDemoProtocol(recvline.HistoricRecvLine):
    def __init__(self, user):
       self.user = user
 
    def connectionMade(self):
        recvline.HistoricRecvLine.connectionMade(self)
        self.terminal.write("Welcome to my test SSH server.")
        self.terminal.nextLine()
        self.do_help()
        self.showPrompt()
 
    def showPrompt(self):
        self.terminal.write("$ ")
 
    def getCommandFunc(self, cmd):
        return getattr(self, 'do_' + cmd, None)
 
    def lineReceived(self, line):
        line = line.strip()
        if line:
            print line
            f = open('logfile.log', 'w')
            f.write(line + '\n')
            f.close
            cmdAndArgs = line.split()
            cmd = cmdAndArgs[0]
            args = cmdAndArgs[1:]
            func = self.getCommandFunc(cmd)
            if func:
                try:
                    func(*args)
                except Exception, e:
                    self.terminal.write("Error: %s" % e)
                    self.terminal.nextLine()
            else:
                self.terminal.write("No such command.")
                self.terminal.nextLine()
        self.showPrompt()
 
    def do_help(self):
        publicMethods = filter(
            lambda funcname: funcname.startswith('do_'), dir(self))
        commands = [cmd.replace('do_', '', 1) for cmd in publicMethods]
        self.terminal.write("Commands: " + " ".join(commands))
        self.terminal.nextLine()
 
    def do_echo(self, *args):
        self.terminal.write(" ".join(args))
        self.terminal.nextLine()
 
    def do_whoami(self):
        self.terminal.write(self.user.username)
        self.terminal.nextLine()
 
    def do_quit(self):
        self.terminal.write("Thanks for playing!")
        self.terminal.nextLine()
        self.terminal.loseConnection()
 
    def do_clear(self):
        self.terminal.reset()
 
class SSHDemoAvatar(avatar.ConchUser):
    implements(ISession)
 
 
    def __init__(self, username):
        avatar.ConchUser.__init__(self)
        self.username = username
        self.channelLookup.update({'session': session.SSHSession})
 
 
    def openShell(self, protocol):
        serverProtocol = insults.ServerProtocol(SSHDemoProtocol, self)
        serverProtocol.makeConnection(protocol)
        protocol.makeConnection(session.wrapProtocol(serverProtocol))
 
 
    def getPty(self, terminal, windowSize, attrs):
        return None
 
 
    def execCommand(self, protocol, cmd):
        raise NotImplementedError()
 
 
    def closed(self):
        pass
 
 
class SSHDemoRealm(object):
    implements(portal.IRealm)
     
    def requestAvatar(self, avatarId, mind, *interfaces):
        if IConchUser in interfaces:
            return interfaces[0], SSHDemoAvatar(avatarId), lambda: None
        else:
            raise NotImplementedError("No supported interfaces found.")
def getRSAKeys():
 
 
    with open('id_rsa') as privateBlobFile:
        privateBlob = privateBlobFile.read()
        privateKey = keys.Key.fromString(data=privateBlob)
 
 
    with open('id_rsa.pub') as publicBlobFile:
        publicBlob = publicBlobFile.read()
        publicKey = keys.Key.fromString(data=publicBlob)
 
 
    return publicKey, privateKey
 
 
if __name__ == "__main__":
    sshFactory = factory.SSHFactory()
    sshFactory.portal = portal.Portal(SSHDemoRealm())
 
 
users = {'admin': 'aaa', 'guest': 'bbb'}
sshFactory.portal.registerChecker(
    checkers.InMemoryUsernamePasswordDatabaseDontUse(**users))
pubKey, privKey = getRSAKeys()
sshFactory.publicKeys = {'ssh-rsa': pubKey}
sshFactory.privateKeys = {'ssh-rsa': privKey}
reactor.listenTCP(22222, sshFactory)
reactor.run()

Create an RSA key for encryption

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "lihs@punkt.de"

ATTENTION: as a standard, the key gets written into the .ssh directory of the current user - make sure not to override your keys!!!

Start the server

python sshserver.py

Connect to the server

ssh admin@localhost -p 22222
 
((password 'aaa'))
 
>>> Welcome to my test SSH server.
Commands: clear echo help quit whoami
$

Testing commands

The above server is implemented in such a way, that it outputs all commands to STDOUT. So you can redirect the output into a file and after a ssh session assure that the expected commands where called on the server. This is neat for functional testing of programs using an ssh connection.

That's it - hope you like it!

@lasse-lenting
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is there a way to change the title of a terminal window using twisted?

@MRLPYT
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MRLPYT commented Jan 11, 2022

Hey, can sb help me? I got this error everytime logged in to the server:

Server sided error:

--- <exception caught here> ---
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\connection.py", line 147, in ssh_CHANNEL_OPEN
    channel = self.getChannel(channelType, windowSize, maxPacket, packet)
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\connection.py", line 584, in getChannel
    chan = self.transport.avatar.lookupChannel(
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\avatar.py", line 32, in lookupChannel
    raise ConchError(OPEN_UNKNOWN_CHANNEL_TYPE, "unknown channel")
twisted.conch.error.ConchError: (3, 'unknown channel')

channel open failed
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\internet\tcp.py", line 252, in _dataReceived
    rval = self.protocol.dataReceived(data)
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\transport.py", line 721, in dataReceived
    self.dispatchMessage(messageNum, packet[1:])
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\transport.py", line 747, in dispatchMessage
    self.service.packetReceived(messageNum, payload)
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\service.py", line 49, in packetReceived
    return f(packet)
--- <exception caught here> ---
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\connection.py", line 147, in ssh_CHANNEL_OPEN
    channel = self.getChannel(channelType, windowSize, maxPacket, packet)
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\connection.py", line 584, in getChannel
    chan = self.transport.avatar.lookupChannel(
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\avatar.py", line 32, in lookupChannel
    raise ConchError(OPEN_UNKNOWN_CHANNEL_TYPE, "unknown channel")
twisted.conch.error.ConchError: (3, 'unknown channel')

Client sided error:

C:\Windows\System32>ssh admin@localhost -p 22222
admin@localhost's password:
channel 0: open failed: unknown channel type: unknown channel
Connection to localhost closed.

@ssn-2
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ssn-2 commented Jan 29, 2022

Please contact me on Telegram if you're interested in creating a C&C project in python. t.me/tcpsyn

@CDWimmer
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CDWimmer commented May 16, 2022

https://gist.github.com/michaellihs/d2070d7a6d3bb65be18c?permalink_comment_id=3803369#gistcomment-3803369

This was the last fix it needed!

edit: also got add .decode() to a couple of byte strings in certain places. line in a f.write() and the cmd in return getattr(...) of the getCommandFunc method.

another one:

    def do_echo(self, *args):
        self.terminal.write(" ".join([arg.decode() for arg in args]))
        self.terminal.nextLine()

@Zakgeki
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Zakgeki commented Aug 26, 2022

@MRLPYT

Hey, can sb help me? I got this error everytime logged in to the server:

Server sided error:

--- <exception caught here> ---
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\connection.py", line 147, in ssh_CHANNEL_OPEN
    channel = self.getChannel(channelType, windowSize, maxPacket, packet)
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\connection.py", line 584, in getChannel
    chan = self.transport.avatar.lookupChannel(
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\avatar.py", line 32, in lookupChannel
    raise ConchError(OPEN_UNKNOWN_CHANNEL_TYPE, "unknown channel")
twisted.conch.error.ConchError: (3, 'unknown channel')

channel open failed
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\internet\tcp.py", line 252, in _dataReceived
    rval = self.protocol.dataReceived(data)
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\transport.py", line 721, in dataReceived
    self.dispatchMessage(messageNum, packet[1:])
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\transport.py", line 747, in dispatchMessage
    self.service.packetReceived(messageNum, payload)
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\service.py", line 49, in packetReceived
    return f(packet)
--- <exception caught here> ---
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\connection.py", line 147, in ssh_CHANNEL_OPEN
    channel = self.getChannel(channelType, windowSize, maxPacket, packet)
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\ssh\connection.py", line 584, in getChannel
    chan = self.transport.avatar.lookupChannel(
  File "C:\Users\xnumb\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python310\site-packages\twisted\conch\avatar.py", line 32, in lookupChannel
    raise ConchError(OPEN_UNKNOWN_CHANNEL_TYPE, "unknown channel")
twisted.conch.error.ConchError: (3, 'unknown channel')

Client sided error:

C:\Windows\System32>ssh admin@localhost -p 22222
admin@localhost's password:
channel 0: open failed: unknown channel type: unknown channel
Connection to localhost closed.

I had to specify a byte string in the following function for the class SSHDemoAvatar to fix this bug. Sorry if it's a little late, but I hope it helps!

def __init__(self, username):
    avatar.ConchUser.__init__(self)
    self.username = username
    self.channelLookup.update({b'session': session.SSHSession})

edit: It looks like I missed it but @alexisespinosa mentioned this fix first.

@onlyquestionmark
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onlyquestionmark commented Sep 15, 2022

Hey.
It seems like there is no supported changing of window size.
builtins.AttributeError: 'SSHDemoAvatar' object has no attribute 'windowChanged'
This error appeared when i tried to resize my putty client on linux.
The login and entering command works fine thanks to @Zakgeki 's result.

This is my code:

from twisted.conch.interfaces import IConchUser, ISession
from twisted.conch.ssh import factory, keys, session
from twisted.conch.insults import insults
from twisted.cred import portal, checkers
from twisted.internet import reactor
from zope.interface import implementer


class SSHDemoProtocol(recvline.HistoricRecvLine):
    def __init__(self, user):
       self.user = user
 
    def connectionMade(self):
        recvline.HistoricRecvLine.connectionMade(self)
        self.terminal.write("Welcome to my test SSH server.")
        self.terminal.nextLine()
        self.do_help()
        self.showPrompt()
 
    def showPrompt(self):
        self.terminal.write(f'$ ')
 
    def getCommandFunc(self, cmd):
        return getattr(self, 'do_' + cmd, None)
 
    def lineReceived(self, line):
        line = line.strip()
        if line:
            print(line)
            f = open('logfile.log', 'w')
            f.write(line + '\n')
            f.close
            cmdAndArgs = line.split()
            cmd = cmdAndArgs[0]
            args = cmdAndArgs[1:]
            func = self.getCommandFunc(cmd)
            if func:
                try:
                    func(*args)
                except Exception as e:
                    self.terminal.write("Error: %s" % e)
                    self.terminal.nextLine()
            else:
                self.terminal.write("No such command.")
                self.terminal.nextLine()
        self.showPrompt()
 
    def do_help(self):
        publicMethods = filter(
            lambda funcname: funcname.startswith('do_'), dir(self))
        commands = [cmd.replace('do_', '', 1) for cmd in publicMethods]
        self.terminal.write("Commands: " + " ".join(commands))
        self.terminal.nextLine()
 
    def do_echo(self, *args):
        self.terminal.write(" ".join(args))
        self.terminal.nextLine()
 
    def do_whoami(self):
        self.terminal.write(self.user.username)
        self.terminal.nextLine()
 
    def do_quit(self):
        self.terminal.write("Thanks for playing!")
        self.terminal.nextLine()
        self.terminal.loseConnection()
 
    def do_clear(self):
        self.terminal.reset()
@implementer(ISession)
class SSHDemoAvatar(avatar.ConchUser):
     
    def __init__(self, username):
        avatar.ConchUser.__init__(self)
        self.username = username
        self.channelLookup.update({b'session': session.SSHSession})
 
 
    def openShell(self, protocol):
        serverProtocol = insults.ServerProtocol(SSHDemoProtocol, self)
        serverProtocol.makeConnection(protocol)
        protocol.makeConnection(session.wrapProtocol(serverProtocol))
 
 
    def getPty(self, terminal, windowSize, attrs):
        return None
 
 
    def execCommand(self, protocol, cmd):
        raise NotImplementedError()
 
 
    def closed(self):
        pass
 
@implementer(portal.IRealm)
class SSHDemoRealm(object):
     
    def requestAvatar(self, avatarId, mind, *interfaces):
        if IConchUser in interfaces:
            return interfaces[0], SSHDemoAvatar(avatarId), lambda: None
        else:
            raise NotImplementedError("No supported interfaces found.")

def getRSAKeys():
    with open(r'id_rsa', "rb") as privateBlobFile:
        privateBlob = privateBlobFile.read()
        privateKey = keys.Key.fromString(data=privateBlob)

    with open(r'id_rsa.pub', "rb") as publicBlobFile:
        publicBlob = publicBlobFile.read()
        publicKey = keys.Key.fromString(data=publicBlob)

    return publicKey, privateKey
 
if __name__ == "__main__":
    sshFactory = factory.SSHFactory()
    sshFactory.portal = portal.Portal(SSHDemoRealm())
 
users = {'admin': b'aaa', 'guest': b'bbb'}
sshFactory.portal.registerChecker(
    checkers.InMemoryUsernamePasswordDatabaseDontUse(**users))
pubKey, privKey = getRSAKeys()
sshFactory.publicKeys = {b'ssh-rsa': pubKey}
sshFactory.privateKeys = {b'ssh-rsa': privKey}
reactor.listenTCP(22222, sshFactory)
reactor.run()```

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