View source for Stunnel configuration example using Telnet


==Introduction==
This article provides a guide on how to configure stunnel and use telnet protocol for devices to interact with each other securely. These configurations can be implemented on RUT9xx and RUTX series.

* First you want to make sure that you have '''ADVANCED mode''' enabled. This will allow you to choose from a larger variety of settings.


[[File:Networking rutx manual webui basic advanced mode.gif | border]]


Stunnel is an open-source proxy service that adds TLS encryption to clients and Servers already existing on a VPN network. TLS encryption provided by Stunnel can be used as an additional layer of encryption for data sent by OpenVPN. This procedure increases the security of the established connection and provides higher chances of passing a Deep packet inspection (DPI) check.

Telnet is an application protocol used on the internet or LAN to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communication using virtual terminal connection like Putty. However, due to serious security concerns of using Telnet over an open network, SSH became favorable.
 
This article provides an extensive configuration example with details on how to create a tunnel connection using stunnel instances and then connect them using telnet protocol, with the data encrypted



==Configuration Overview and Prerequisites==

Before we begin, let’s overview the configuration that we are attempting to achieve and the prerequisites that will make it possible.
Prerequisites:
* One RUTxxx router of any type with public IP.
* Atleast one end device to configure the router
* Wireshark in your end device
* Stunnel application installation in your laptop: [https://www.stunnel.org/downloads.html stunnel Download]

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As mentioned earlier, here, in this configuration since telnet does not provide security, we are going to develop a Stunnel in between the router and the client, and then connect them using telnet protocol, so that there is encryption provided to the data. For this we will use Wireshark to capture the packets and verify if the data has been encrypted or not.


==Router Configuration==
Firstly, enable local telnet access at port 23, Go to '''System → Administration → Access Control'''

[[File:Networking Rut955 WebUI system-access control telnet v1.bmp|border]]

Then, navigate to '''Services → VPN → Stunnel''', and configure the router,
* Enable Stunnel global settings,

[[File:Networking Rut955 WebUI VPN stunnel settings v1.bmp|border]]

* Add new instance, give any new configuration name,

[[File:Networking Rut955 WebUI VPN stunnel instance v1.bmp|border]]

* You will be directed to stunnel configuration,
  Do following configuration:
  Enable Stunnel
  Operating mode           : Server
  Listen IP                : 0.0.0.0
  Listen Port              : 2030
  Connect IP'S             : 127.0.0.1:23
  TLS Cipher               : Secure
  Insert Certificate File  : server.cert.pem and server.key.pem

[[File:Networking Rut955 WebUI VPN stunnel config v1.bmp|border]]

Note: You can download the certificate file from '''System → administration → Certificates'''.

https://wiki.teltonika-networks.com/wikibase/index.php?title=RUT955_Administration&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop#Certificates 
                                
* Then, navigate to the menu '''Network → Firewall → Traffic Rules''' and add new instance or edit telnet instance.

[[File:Networking Rut955 WebUI Firewall traffic rules v1.bmp|border]]

You will be navigated to the configuration page, enable it and ''save and apply'' the rule.



==Stunnel Configuration==

'''For Windows:'''
Download Stunnel from https://www.stunnel.org/downloads.html.
Choose the latest win64 installer.exe and install.

[[File:Networking Rut955 manual VPN stunnel install v1.png|border]]

* Install only Stunnel.exe deamon, you can skip openssl.exe.
Once the application is installed, open stunnel, go to configuration and select edit configuration. Remove all the content and paste as below:

; Example TLS client mode services
[my-stunnel-conf]
Client = yes
Accept = 127.0.0.1:23
Connect =84.15.X.X:2030 
Cert = ca-cert1.pem

Connect IP depends on your configuration and write them accordingly. Here in this example, it is as above.

* Navigate to C:\Program files (x86)\Stunnel\config and create new file ca-cert1.pem.
* Copy and paste client.cert.pem and client.key.pem to it and save the file. ('''Note:''' Download the client certificate from your Web-UI, '''System → Administration → certificate''')
* For example:

[[File:Networking Rut955 manual stunnel clientcert v1.png|border]]

Once saved, go back to stunnel > configuration, and reload configuration.

[[File:Networking Rut955 manual stunnelconfig v1.bmp|border]]

If everything is working as expected, you should be able to see the log as above with successful configuration. Now you can try to telnet router.

'''For Linux:'''

Similarly, for Linux machines follow the below commands.

'''Step 1: update and upgrade Ubuntu'''

Using these commands update your Ubuntu's package list and also upgrade the existing packages to the latest version:
* apt-get update
*apt-get upgrade

'''Step 2: Install Stunnel'''

Install Stunnel package using the code below:
* apt-get install stunnel4 -y

'''Step 3: Configure Stunnel'''

Stunnel configures itself using a file named '''stunnel.conf''' which by default is located in '''/etc/stunnel'''.
Create a '''stunnel.conf''' file in the /etc/stunnel directory.
* nano /etc/stunnel.stunnel.conf 

Next, specify a service for use with stunnel. Here, it will work as client so file should look like this:

* 
  client = yes
  [squid]
  accept = 127.0.0.1:23
  connect = 84.15.X.X:2030
  cert = /etc/stunnel/stunnel.pem

[[File:Networking Rut955 manual stunnel config ubuntu v1.bmp|border]]

'''Step 4: Create certificates'''
Stunnel uses SSL certificate to secure its connections, which you can easily create using the commands:

*openssl genrsa -out key.pem 2048
*openssl req -new -x509 -key key.pem -out cert.pem -days 1095

and then create file stunnel.pem
* nano /etc/stunnel/stunnel.pem

copy the certificates to stunnel.pem file:
* cat key.pem cert.pem >> /etc/stunnel/stunnel.pem

[[File:Networking Rut955 manual stunnel certificates ubuntu v1.bmp|border]]

'''Step 5: Restart stunnel''' 

restart the stunnel configuration using the command:
* /etc/init.d/stunnel4 restart 


[[File:Networking Rut955 manual stunnel restart ubuntu v1.bmp|border]]


==Testing Results==

'''For Windows:'''

* Use Putty and telnet it to local host 127.0.0.1:23 as in the image below.

[[File:Networking Rut955 manual stunnel testing putty v1.bmp|border]]

You will be directed to:

[[File:Networking Rut955 stunnel testing cli v1.png|border]]

'''For Linux:'''

* After restart, type command:
telnet 127.0.0.1, and the results should look like this:

[[File:Networking Rut955 manual stunnel telnet ubuntu v1.bmp|border]]

'''Wireshark Testing:'''

*Install Wireshark, and run. Using this packet capture, you will be able to make sure that the traffic is encrypted now.

[[File:Networking Rut955 stunnel testing wireshark v1.bmp|border]]

==External Links==

* https://www.stunnel.org/downloads.html
* https://wiki.teltonika-networks.com/wikibase/index.php?title=RUT955_Administration&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop#Certificates
* https://www.wireshark.org/download.html
* https://www.putty.org/