This article covers some useful CSF SSH Command Line Commands in a “cheat sheet” format.
| Command | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| csf -s | Start the firewall rules | root@server[~]#csf -s |
| csf -f | Flush/Stop firewall rules (note: lfd may restart csf) | root@server[~]#csf -f |
| csf -r | Restart the firewall rules | root@server[~]#csf -r |
| csf -a [IP.add.re.ss] [comment] | Allow an IP and add to /etc/csf/csf.allow | root@server[~]#csf -a 187.33.3.3 Home IP Address |
| csf -tr [IP.add.re.ss] | Remove an IP from the temporary IP ban or allow list. | root@server[~]#csf -tr 66.192.23.1 |
| csf -tf | Flush all IPs from the temporary IP entries | root@server[~]#csf -tf |
| csf -d [IP.add.re.ss] [comment] | Deny an IP and add to /etc/csf/csf.deny | root@server[~]#csf -d 66.192.23.1 Blocked This Guy |
| csf -dr [IP.add.re.ss] | Unblock an IP and remove from /etc/csf/csf.deny | root@server[~]#csf -dr 66.192.23.1 |
| csf -df | Remove and unblock all entries in /etc/csf/csf.deny | root@server[~]#csf -df |
| csf -g [IP.add.re.ss] | Search the iptables and ip6tables rules for a match (e.g. IP, CIDR, Port Number) | root@server[~]#csf -g 66.192.23.1 |
| csf -t | Displays the current list of temporary allow and deny IP entries with their TTL and comment | root@server[~]#csf -t |
Whitelisting an IP Address
In order to prevent specific IP from being blocked, even for a temporary deny, you need to list their IP address in the files csf.ignore and csf.allow. The first step is to enable IGNORE_ALLOW in csf.conf. The value for IGNORE_ALLOW will appear as “0”, you will need to adjust it to “1” and restart csf and lfd.
This will allow lfd to reference csf.ignore. If you add an IP address to csf.ignore, the IP address will no longer be checked by lfd and failed login attempts will not trigger temporary denies.