sandstorm-io/sandstorm

Option to drop traffic from unrecognized hostnames

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#3620 opened on May 19, 2022

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enhancementgood first issuesecurity

Description

At present, if you navigate to my home IP address with the right port and protocol but without knowing my Sandstorm hostname, the error message Sandstorm offers for unrecognized hostnames appears, and helpfully tells you the Sandstorm server's actual URL.

This is useful for troubleshooting DNS issues. However, it also lets someone port scanning know not just that I run Sandstorm but what URL it is at, which may lead to more personal or identifying information.

The only legitimate users of my Sandstorm server would approach it by hostname, so there's really no good reason, troubleshooting aside, to offer that error page to someone navigating by IP. It's really just helping port scanners at some point.

I'm wondering if it would be possible to have a configuration option to drop traffic not using a valid hostname instead of displaying the error message.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javascriptnodejs
Domain
backendsecurity
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
basic understanding of web server configuration
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
45
Research direction
Investigate how Sandstorm currently handles hostname validation and error pages. Look at the server configuration files and the code that generates the error response when an unrecognized hostname is used. The issue suggests adding a configuration option to drop traffic instead of showing the error page. Check if there are any existing configuration options for similar behavior and where they are defined. The relevant code likely resides in the server side component, possibly in a file like 'server.js' or similar. Examine the linked repo for any existing PRs or discussions about this feature.