How to configureiptables to allow only specific hosts to connect to ssh service

An alternative to TCP wrappers (although you can use both at the same time) is limiting SSH access with iptables. Here’s a simple example of how you can allow only a specific host to connect to your SSH service:

~# iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -m state --state NEW --source 193.180.177.13 --dport 22 -j ACCEPT

And make sure no one else has access to SSH service:

~# iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j DROP

Save your new rules and you’re all done.

SSH time-lock tricks

You can also use different iptables parameters to limit connections to the SSH service for specific time periods. You can use the /second, /minute, /hour, or /day switch in any of the following examples.

In the first example, if a user enters the wrong password, access to the SSH service is blocked for one minute, and the user gets only one login try per minute from that moment on:

~# iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -m state --syn --state NEW --dport 22 -m limit --limit 1/minute --limit-burst 1 -j ACCEPT
~# iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -m state --syn --state NEW --dport 22 -j DROP

In a second example, iptables are set to allow only host 193.180.177.13 to connect to the SSH service. After three failed login tries, iptables allows the host only one login try per minute:

~# iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -s 193.180.177.13 -m state --syn --state NEW --dport 22 -m limit --limit 1/minute --limit-burst 1 -j ACCEPT
~# iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -s 193.180.177.13 -m state --syn --state NEW --dport 22 -j DROP

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