Remote-access Guide

freepbx firewall remote access

by Oren Roob Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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How do I get remote access to FreePBX?

If you need remote access to FreePBX better use a VPN. A simple way to get access even without VPN is tunneling port 80 through an SSH connection. This is completely secure as all traffic is encrypted on the SSH tunnel. On Linux this is just:

How can I protect my PBX from the public Internet?

Anytime you access your PBX using a remote extension, you are exposing your PBX to the public internet. If you can access your system from the internet, so can anyone else. Before you begin, you MUST IMPLEMENT several security measures. First, ensure that IPTables and Fail2Ban are installed and properly configured to protect Asterisk and FreePBX.

How do I set up remote PBX extensions?

The four key considerations in setting up remote extensions are: 1. Ensure that your PBX is as secure as it can possibly be 2. Configure Asterisk so that it knows which IP addresses are inside your network and which ones are on the public internet 3. Forward the required ports from your firewall to your PBX 4.

How do I forward my ports to FreePBX?

These ports must be forwarded to your FreePBX System using your router/firwall configuration. How to do this varies widely depending on the firewall or equipment that you are using. It is commonly referred to as Port Forwarding or maybe Destination NAT (DNAT).

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How to install SIP on FreePBX?

Open your browser and access the FreePBX GUI. Click on "Tools," and then "Asterisk SIP Settings.". If this module is not available on your installation of FreePBX, you can install it using the "Module Admin" module. Under NAT Settings, click "Auto Configure.".

How to change port 5060 on FreePBX?

If the field is left blank, the FreePBX should default to port 5060. Click "Submit Changes" at the bottom of the screen, and then click the orange "Apply Configuration Changes" bar at the top of the screen.

How to change RTP port?

To change the RTP Media Ports, you have to edit an Asterisk file from the command line. Open a command prompt on your machine (either by sitting in front of your machine or by using the FreePBX Java SSH module) and type the following: In the file, you'll see the options for the low and high ports used by Asterisk.

What is fail2ban firewall?

IPTables is a firewall and can be configured to only allow certain traffic into your PBX. Fail2Ban is a program that monitors your PBX logs and temporarily bans people who are attempting to guess the passwords.

What port is used for SIP?

Third, you may wish to consider changing the default SIP Signaling Port from 5060 to an alternative. Port 5060 is widely used for VOIP services, and there are a number of hacking programs in the wild that scan for computers that have port 5060 open, and then attempt hack into any available PBX. If these hacking attacks succeed in obtaining a valid user/extension number and password, the hacker can use your system to place calls at your expense. Even if they don't succeed in obtaining a valid password, they can interfere with legitimate users (or crash asterisk) and thus cause your PBX to become inoperative.

What is the port 10000?

In addition, Port 10000 is used for webmin (a tool that can be used to make substantial configuration changes on your machine using a web browser). If you have webmin on port 10000, either change webmin's default port to something else (such as 9001), or change the default RTP Media Ports from 10000-20000 to 10001-20000.

What happens if a PBX is hacked?

Even if they don't succeed in obtaining a valid password, they can interfere with legitimate users ( or crash asterisk) and thus cause your PBX to become inoperative.

What is FreePBX Wiki?

The FreePBX Wiki offers information on everything from installation to configuration and troubleshooting.

What is POMP support?

Support can be purchased à la carte or as a Peace of Mind package (POMP) that offers guaranteed service level agreements (SLAs). These POMPs include a standard amount of support time, dedicated support phone numbers, and remote assistance. Additional support time credits can be purchased in cost effective bundles.

Does FreePBX have DPMA?

FreePBX/PBXact has included DPMA in Endpoint Manager. However, DPMA version 3.6.1 is a new DPMA implementation that contains the updated SSL fix.

Does Sangoma offer free PBX training?

Want to get professionally trained and become certified in FreePBX? Sangoma offers offer world-class FreePBX training both online and in class from industry experts.

What do I get with a subscription?

With your subscription - you'll gain access to our exclusive IT community of thousands of IT pros. You'll also be able to connect with highly specified Experts to get personalized solutions to your troubleshooting & research questions. It’s like crowd-sourced consulting.

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Our certified Experts are CTOs, CISOs, and Technical Architects who answer questions, write articles, and produce videos on Experts Exchange. 99% of them have full time tech jobs - they volunteer their time to help other people in the technology industry learn and succeed.

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What is the default port range for FreePBX?

The port number range is 10000 to 20000 by default, it can be changed in FreePBX, menu Settings – Asterisk SIP Settings, field RTP Port Ranges. Reducing the wide default range to around 50 ports or so is a good precaution, other than that there is no real risk when forwarding these ports (UDP only) from your router.

When forwarding SSH port 22 to enable remote login, should you at least have a long and secure password?

When forwarding SSH port 22 to enable remote login you should at least have a long and secure password. Intruders will still try to break in by guessing your password. These breakin attempts can also be locked out with Fail2Ban, however a much more secure way is to completely disable password authentication and use public key authentication only. A short description can be found here. To completely disable password login edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config and set

What port is used for SIP calls?

If calls are failing frequently (especially inbound) or they are being dropped without any apparent reason after some time, forwarding the SIP port 5060 (both TCP and UDP) to your RPi can help. This is also necessary when remote extensions are desired. Port 5061 applies on top if Secure SIP is being used.

Is SIP port open to the public?

However, a considerable security risk is taken when opening the SIP port to the public. Intruders will try to gess your extension’s passwords with brute force, and in case they succeed the intruders will place expensive calls on your behalf. As you can imagine, this has to be avoided by all means!

Can an intruder guess your FreePBX password?

Intruders will not only try to guess your FreePBX admin password but they will also try to use eventually existing PHP security vulnerabilities to gain access to your FreePBX admin GUI. On top, the password is sent in clear text when you log in, so it can be spoofed on the network.

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