sftp fails: “client_loop: send disconnect: Broken pipe”; log shows: “forced close”

ssh openssh sftp openssl

5,601

okay. i've tracked it down to meraki threat protection, intrusion prevention.

in case the IPS rule SSH_EVENT_RESPOVERFLOW is whitelisted, the error is gone for me.

nevertheless, i feel that whitelising the IPS rule is not the proper solution. the IPS rule should detect the intrusion in a better way to prevent false positives.

5,601

Author by

nikiwaibel

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

nikiwaibel over 1 year

sftp transfers fail in about 1/5 times and report client_loop: send disconnect: Broken pipe in my case. the sshd log shows: forced close instead of closed and files may be smaller then expected. in about (again) 1/5 times (in case the sftp fails with above message) the file is ok, which probably means the connection broke just after the file transfer.

server1: OpenSSH_8.0p1, OpenSSL 1.1.1c FIPS 28 May 2019 (CentOS 8.2.2004)
server2: OpenSSH_8.3p1, OpenSSL 1.1.1g FIPS 21 Apr 2020 (Fedora 32)
client1: OpenSSH_8.3p1, OpenSSL 1.1.1g FIPS 21 Apr 2020 (Fedora 32)
client2: OpenSSH_6.6.1p1, OpenSSL 1.0.1e-fips 11 Feb 2013 (RHEL/CentOS 7.2)

command (sthg like): f=file.pdf echo -e "-ls -l $f\nput $f\nls -l $f" | sftp -b- [email protected]:/upload (long version below)

the following seems irrelevant (although reported and sometimes given as "solution", elsewhere):

option ChrootDirectory on the server side (sshd)
home directory persissions on the server side
option -oIPQoS=throughput on the server and/or client
MTU size on the server network interface (i tried 1200 and 1500)
traffic shaping / QoS settings on the firewall/gateway on the server side
TCP MSS setting via iptables/firewalld

BUT, in case BOTH options

-B1500
-oCiphers=aes128-cbc

are used, the error rate is much lower. a -B1000 OR -oCiphers=aes256-cbc OR -oCiphers=aes128-ctr rises the error level.

best results i get using -oCiphers=aes128-cbc -oBatchMode=yes -oCompression=no -oIPQoS=throughput -oRequestTTY=no -B1500:

4 errors in 1216 transmissions (0.33% bad) of a 109kbyte file
10 errors in 2695 transmissions (0.37% bad) of a 6.81mbyte file

the same (or similar?) thing happens when trying to sftp/scp sthg to a vmware host. "Broken pipe" is reported almost immediatelly after the "put" command. it turns out that just the option -B helps. in my case -B265 gave a stable result. -B266 worked once, then always (i did not try that often) "Broken pipe". i was actually transmitting an OS image to the local datastore.

server: OpenSSH_7.9p1, OpenSSL 1.0.2r-fips 26 Feb 2019 (ESXi 6.7?)
client: OpenSSH_7.4p1, OpenSSL 1.0.2k-fips 26 Jan 2017 (Fedora 25)

maybe someone can figure out what's going on here. it feels like some issue with openssl, maybe in combination with openssh - not necessarily related to sftp itself.

i am actually using

dd if=/dev/urandom of=x.rand bs=1021 count=6999
n=1; f=x.rand; while true; do
    echo "=== $n ==="
    date
    echo -e "-ls -l $f\nput $f\nls -l $f" \
         | sftp -b- -oPort=22 -B1500 -oCiphers=aes128-cbc -oBatchMode=yes -oCompression=no -oIPQoS=throughput -oRequestTTY=no [email protected]:/upload
    n=`expr $n + 1`
    sleep 0.1
done 2>&1 | tee output_x_rand.log

to test this.

sshd_config:

Match User user
    ForceCommand internal-sftp -m 640 -e -P remove,mkdir,rmdir,symlink,posix-rename,hardlink,readlink,setstat,fsetstat,lsetstat,statvfs,fstatvfs -l INFO
    PasswordAuthentication no
    GSSAPIAuthentication no
    HostbasedAuthentication no
    KbdInteractiveAuthentication no
    KerberosAuthentication no
    PubkeyAuthentication yes
    ChrootDirectory /var/transfer/incoming
    PermitTunnel no
    AllowAgentForwarding no
    AllowTcpForwarding no
    X11Forwarding no

this is what happens (strace) on the server, in case the connection breaks:

    168224 read(5, 0x7fff0f71e350, 16384)   = -1 ECONNRESET (Connection reset by peer)
    168224 getpid()                         = 168224
    168224 getuid()                         = 1000
    168224 write(9, "\0\0\0{|", 5)          = 5
    168211 <... poll resumed>)              = 1 ([{fd=12, revents=POLLIN}])
    168224 write(9, "\0\0\0fSHA256:fc:5f:4c:91:1a:75:eb:"..., 122 <unfinished ...>
    168211 read(12,  <unfinished ...>
    168224 <... write resumed>)             = 122
    168211 <... read resumed>"\0\0\0{", 4)  = 4
    168224 getuid( <unfinished ...>
    168211 read(12,  <unfinished ...>
    168224 <... getuid resumed>)            = 1000
    168211 <... read resumed>"|\0\0\0fSHA256:fc:5f:4c:91:1a:75:eb"..., 123) = 123
    168224 getpid( <unfinished ...>
    168211 socket(AF_NETLINK, SOCK_RAW, NETLINK_AUDIT <unfinished ...>
    168224 <... getpid resumed>)            = 168224
    168211 <... socket resumed>)            = 9
    168224 write(9, "\0\0\0\25z", 5 <unfinished ...>
    168211 fcntl(9, F_SETFD, FD_CLOEXEC <unfinished ...>
    168224 <... write resumed>)             = 5
    168211 <... fcntl resumed>)             = 0
    168224 write(9, "\0\0\0\2\0\0\0\0\0\2\221 \0\0\0\0\0\0\3\350", 20 <unfinished ...>
    168211 ioctl(0, TCGETS <unfinished ...>
    168224 <... write resumed>)             = 20
    168211 <... ioctl resumed>, 0x7fff0f71fbe0) = -1 ENOTTY (Inappropriate ioctl for device)
    168224 read(9,  <unfinished ...>
    168211 ioctl(1, TCGETS, 0x7fff0f71fbe0) = -1 ENOTTY (Inappropriate ioctl for device)
    168211 ioctl(2, TCGETS, 0x7fff0f71fbe0) = -1 ENOTTY (Inappropriate ioctl for device)
    168211 sendto(9, {{len=244, type=0x964 /* NLMSG_??? */, flags=NLM_F_REQUEST|NLM_F_ACK, seq=15, pid=0}, "\x6f\x70\x3d\x64\x65\x73\x74\x72\x6f\x79\x20\x6b\x69\x6e\x64\x3d\x73\x65\x72\x76\x65\x72\x20\x66\x70\x3d\x53\x48\x41\x32\x35\x36"...}, 244, 0, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=0, nl_groups=00000000}, 12) = 244
    168211 poll([{fd=9, events=POLLIN}], 1, 500) = 1 ([{fd=9, revents=POLLIN}])
    168211 recvfrom(9, {{len=36, type=NLMSG_ERROR, flags=NLM_F_CAPPED, seq=15, pid=168211}, {error=0, msg={len=244, type=0x964 /* AUDIT_??? */, flags=NLM_F_REQUEST|NLM_F_ACK, seq=15, pid=0}}}, 8988, MSG_PEEK|MSG_DONTWAIT, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=0, nl_groups=00000000}, [12]) = 36
    168211 recvfrom(9, {{len=36, type=NLMSG_ERROR, flags=NLM_F_CAPPED, seq=15, pid=168211}, {error=0, msg={len=244, type=0x964 /* AUDIT_??? */, flags=NLM_F_REQUEST|NLM_F_ACK, seq=15, pid=0}}}, 8988, MSG_DONTWAIT, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=0, nl_groups=00000000}, [12]) = 36
    168211 close(9)                         = 0
    168211 poll([{fd=12, events=POLLIN}], 1, -1) = 1 ([{fd=12, revents=POLLIN}])
    168211 read(12, "\0\0\0\25", 4)         = 4
    168211 read(12, "z\0\0\0\2\0\0\0\0\0\2\221 \0\0\0\0\0\0\3\350", 21) = 21
    168211 getsockname(5, {sa_family=AF_INET, sin_port=htons(22), sin_addr=inet_addr("172.17.17.2")}, [128->16]) = 0
    168211 socket(AF_NETLINK, SOCK_RAW, NETLINK_AUDIT) = 9
    168211 fcntl(9, F_SETFD, FD_CLOEXEC)    = 0
    168211 ioctl(0, TCGETS, 0x7fff0f71fbb0) = -1 ENOTTY (Inappropriate ioctl for device)
    168211 ioctl(1, TCGETS, 0x7fff0f71fbb0) = -1 ENOTTY (Inappropriate ioctl for device)
    168211 ioctl(2, TCGETS, 0x7fff0f71fbb0) = -1 ENOTTY (Inappropriate ioctl for device)
    168211 sendto(9, {{len=196, type=0x964 /* NLMSG_??? */, flags=NLM_F_REQUEST|NLM_F_ACK, seq=16, pid=0}, "\x6f\x70\x3d\x64\x65\x73\x74\x72\x6f\x79\x20\x6b\x69\x6e\x64\x3d\x73\x65\x73\x73\x69\x6f\x6e\x20\x66\x70\x3d\x3f\x20\x64\x69\x72"...}, 196, 0, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=0, nl_groups=00000000}, 12) = 196
    168211 poll([{fd=9, events=POLLIN}], 1, 500) = 1 ([{fd=9, revents=POLLIN}])
    168211 recvfrom(9, {{len=36, type=NLMSG_ERROR, flags=NLM_F_CAPPED, seq=16, pid=168211}, {error=0, msg={len=196, type=0x964 /* AUDIT_??? */, flags=NLM_F_REQUEST|NLM_F_ACK, seq=16, pid=0}}}, 8988, MSG_PEEK|MSG_DONTWAIT, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=0, nl_groups=00000000}, [12]) = 36
    168211 recvfrom(9, {{len=36, type=NLMSG_ERROR, flags=NLM_F_CAPPED, seq=16, pid=168211}, {error=0, msg={len=196, type=0x964 /* AUDIT_??? */, flags=NLM_F_REQUEST|NLM_F_ACK, seq=16, pid=0}}}, 8988, MSG_DONTWAIT, {sa_family=AF_NETLINK, nl_pid=0, nl_groups=00000000}, [12]) = 36
    168211 close(9)                         = 0
    168211 write(12, "\0\0\0\1{", 5 <unfinished ...>
    168224 <... read resumed>"\0\0\0\1", 4) = 4
    168211 <... write resumed>)             = 5
    168224 read(9,  <unfinished ...>
    168211 poll([{fd=12, events=POLLIN}], 1, -1 <unfinished ...>
    168224 <... read resumed>"{", 1)        = 1
    168224 exit_group(255)                  = ?
    168225 <... select resumed>)            = 1 (in [0])
    168224 +++ exited with 255 +++
    168225 read(0,  <unfinished ...>
    168211 <... poll resumed>)              = ? ERESTART_RESTARTBLOCK (Interrupted by signal)
    168225 <... read resumed>"", 16384)     = 0
    168211 --- SIGCHLD {si_signo=SIGCHLD, si_code=CLD_EXITED, si_pid=168224, si_uid=1000, si_status=255, si_utime=0, si_stime=1} ---
    168225 write(2, "forced close \"/upload/xx.rand\" b"..., 60 <unfinished ...>
    168211 restart_syscall(<... resuming interrupted poll ...> <unfinished ...>
    168225 <... write resumed>)             = -1 EPIPE (Broken pipe)
    168225 --- SIGPIPE {si_signo=SIGPIPE, si_code=SI_USER, si_pid=168225, si_uid=1000} ---
    168225 +++ killed by SIGPIPE +++

this is what happens (strace) on the client, in case the connection breaks:

48403 select(7, [3 4], [3], NULL, {tv_sec=59, tv_usec=0}) = 1 (in [4], left {tv_sec=58, tv_usec=999997})
48403 read(4, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 16384) = 16384
48403 mmap(NULL, 2019328, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f00c3731000
48403 munmap(0x7f00c391e000, 2002944)   = 0
48403 select(7, [3 4], [3], NULL, {tv_sec=59, tv_usec=0}) = 1 (in [4], left {tv_sec=58, tv_usec=999997})
48403 read(4, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 16384) = 16384
48402 <... writev resumed>)             = 32797
48403 mmap(NULL, 2035712, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0 <unfinished ...>
48402 read(3,  <unfinished ...>
48403 <... mmap resumed>)               = 0x7f00c3afb000
48402 <... read resumed>"\0\0\0\30", 4) = 4
48402 read(3, "e\0\0\0\f\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\7Success\0\0\0\0", 24) = 24
48402 read(4, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 32768) = 32768
48402 writev(3, [{iov_base="\0\0\200\31", iov_len=4}, {iov_base="\6\0\0\0M\0\0\0\4\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0#\0\0\0\0\200\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., iov_len=32793}], 2) = 32797
48402 read(3,  <unfinished ...>
48403 munmap(0x7f00c3731000, 2019328)   = 0
48403 select(7, [3 4], [3], NULL, {tv_sec=59, tv_usec=0}) = 1 (in [4], left {tv_sec=58, tv_usec=999997})
48403 read(4, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 16384) = 16384
48403 mmap(NULL, 2052096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f00c3906000
48403 munmap(0x7f00c3afb000, 2035712)   = 0
48403 select(7, [3 4], [3], NULL, {tv_sec=59, tv_usec=0}) = 1 (in [4], left {tv_sec=58, tv_usec=999997})
48403 read(4, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 16384) = 16384
48403 mmap(NULL, 2068480, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f00c370d000
48403 munmap(0x7f00c3906000, 2052096)   = 0
48403 select(7, [3 4], [3], NULL, {tv_sec=59, tv_usec=0}) = 1 (in [4], left {tv_sec=58, tv_usec=999997})
48403 read(4, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 16384) = 16384
48403 mmap(NULL, 2084864, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f00c3aef000
48403 munmap(0x7f00c370d000, 2068480)   = 0
48403 select(7, [3 4], [3], NULL, {tv_sec=59, tv_usec=0}) = 1 (in [4], left {tv_sec=58, tv_usec=999997})
48403 read(4, "\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 16384) = 16384
48403 mmap(NULL, 2101248, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f00c38ee000
48403 munmap(0x7f00c3aef000, 2084864)   = 0
48403 select(7, [3], [3], NULL, {tv_sec=59, tv_usec=0}) = 2 (in [3], out [3], left {tv_sec=58, tv_usec=981048})
48403 read(3, 0x7ffc9bb9c500, 8192)     = -1 ECONNRESET (Connection reset by peer)
48403 rt_sigaction(SIGWINCH, {sa_handler=SIG_DFL, sa_mask=~[RTMIN RT_1], sa_flags=SA_RESTORER|SA_RESTART, sa_restorer=0x7f00c3f83ab0}, {sa_handler=0x55ff7bcc73f0, sa_mask=~[KILL STOP RTMIN RT_1], sa_flags=SA_RESTORER|SA_RESTART, sa_restorer=0x7f00c3f83ab0}, 8) = 0
48403 getpid()                          = 48403
48403 write(3, "\364\3301X\302Y\34\361\310:\323\275\315!Hy\334;\312\201\231\273\217\17h\363)&\207bD7"..., 154924) = -1 EPIPE (Broken pipe)
48403 --- SIGPIPE {si_signo=SIGPIPE, si_code=SI_USER, si_pid=48403, si_uid=1000} ---
48403 write(2, "client_loop: send disconnect: Br"..., 43) = 43
48403 exit_group(255)                   = ?
48402 <... read resumed>0x5611a3af2810, 4) = -1 ECONNRESET (Connection reset by peer)
48403 +++ exited with 255 +++
48402 --- SIGCHLD {si_signo=SIGCHLD, si_code=CLD_EXITED, si_pid=48403, si_uid=1000, si_status=255, si_utime=15, si_stime=24} ---
48402 wait4(48403, NULL, WNOHANG, NULL) = 48403
48402 write(2, "\rConnection closed.  \n", 22) = 22
48402 rt_sigreturn({mask=[]})           = -1 ECONNRESET (Connection reset by peer)
48402 write(2, "Connection closed\r\n", 19) = 19
48402 exit_group(255)                   = ?
48402 +++ exited with 255 +++