ProFTPD - Hardened FTPS Server for AWS EC2

This is a repackaged open source software product wherein additional charges apply for cloudimg support services.

## Why This Image Instead of a Manual Install or Managed Service

A bare ProFTPD package requires hours of manual TLS hardening, chroot configuration, passive-mode tuning, and credential management before it is production-ready. Many competing AMIs ship with documented default credentials that automated scanners target within minutes of launch. Managed file transfer services offer convenience but remove the control you need over storage, networking, and user backends.

This cloudimg image eliminates those trade-offs. You get a fully hardened, production-grade FTPS server accepting encrypted transfers within minutes of launch - with no known default credential, no plaintext access, and full control over your EC2 instance and attached storage.

## Use-Case Scenario: Nightly Batch File Exchange

A logistics team needs to receive daily shipment manifests from external carriers over a secure channel. Each carrier connects with its own FTPS credentials, uploads files into a chrooted directory visible only to that carrier, and an automated process on the instance moves completed files to an S3 bucket for downstream processing. The defined passive port range and masquerade address let the server sit behind a NAT gateway while carriers connect from fixed IP ranges scoped in the Security Group. Setup takes minutes rather than a multi-day project.

## How It Works

ProFTPD is fully installed and running as a systemd service (proftpd.service). On the first boot of every instance, a one-shot service:

• Creates a unique FTP user with a strong random password
• Generates a unique self-signed TLS certificate for that specific instance
• Sets the passive-mode masquerade address to the instance address
• Writes the user, password, and host to a root-owned credentials file

No two instances share a credential and no default login is ever baked into the image.

## Security Posture

• Mandatory TLS: Explicit TLS is required on both the control channel and the data channel. Plaintext FTP login is refused outright, so usernames, passwords, and file contents are always encrypted in transit.
• No anonymous access: Only members of a dedicated login group may authenticate.
• Chroot isolation: Every user is jailed to its own home directory and cannot browse the rest of the server.
• No known bootstrap credential: The stock package ships no usable login. Credentials are generated uniquely per instance at first boot.

## Network and Deployment on AWS

The server listens on the standard FTP control port 21 and uses a defined passive data port range (40000-40009). Open these ports in your EC2 Security Group and scope inbound rules to your client addresses. Place the instance in a private subnet for additional isolation and attach EBS volumes as storage needs grow.

Retrieve the generated FTP user, password, and host from the root-owned credentials file, then connect with any FTPS-capable client - curl, lftp, FileZilla, or WinSCP - using explicit TLS.

## Extending the Server

The entire configuration lives in readable text under /etc/proftpd with a cloudimg hardening drop-in. There is no web console and no database. You can extend the server with:

• Virtual users backed by LDAP or SQL
• Per-user and per-group quotas
• Bandwidth controls
• Additional TLS certificates from your own CA

## Guided Setup and Next Steps

After purchase, cloudimg engineers can walk you through virtual users, directory layout, quotas, LDAP or SQL backends, firewall design, and TLS certificate management. Contact our 24/7 support team to schedule a guided setup session.

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