Installing vsftpd using text file for virtual users
vsftpd is a secure, fast and stable FTP server. In this tutorial we'll install the server and make it check in a flat text file for virtual users allowed to login.
1. Install required packages
apt-get install vsftpd libpam-pwdfile
2. Configure vsftpd (pico /etc/vsftpd.conf)
Edit these variables in the config file and leave everything else with the default value.
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
local_umask=022
nopriv_user=vsftpd
virtual_use_local_privs=YES
guest_enable=YES
user_sub_token=$USER
local_root=/var/www/$USER
chroot_local_user=YES
hide_ids=YES
guest_username=vsftpd
Set the local_root to the parent directory where the user's home directories are located
3. Configure PAM to check the passwd file for users (pico /etc/pam.d/vsftpd)
auth required pam_pwdfile.so pwdfile /etc/ftpd.passwd
account required pam_permit.so
Make sure you remove everything else from the file
4. Create the passwd file containing the users
htpasswd -c /etc/ftpd.passwd user1
You can later add additional users to the file like this:
htpasswd /etc/ftpd.passwd user2
5. Create a local user that’s used by the virtual users to authenticate
useradd --home /home/vsftpd --gid nogroup -m --shell /bin/false vsftpd
6. Restart vsftpd
/etc/init.d/vsftpd restart
7. Create user's home directory since vsftpd doesn't do it automatically
mkdir /var/www/user1
chown vsftpd:nogroup /var/www/user1
January 2nd, 2010 - 23:20
Hi.
NICE howto!
How do I create a symbolic link to an other virtual users files?
October 24th, 2010 - 04:30
Thanks – this description worked for me when others failed (e.g.:
http://howto.gumph.org/content/setup-virtual-users-and-directories-in-vsftpd/
)
August 1st, 2011 - 12:15
Amazing tutorial! Very simple, clear, and best of all, ACCURATE.
I have been trying different tutorials for hours now, and all of them were missing critical steps, such as setting up a local user, or setting permissions for the var/www/user1 folder.
I didn’t think it would be so hard to remember all the steps and put them in a tutorial…. But apparently it is very difficult!
Thank you, thank you, and thank you! You are one in a million!