Whonix-Gateway Security Hardening

Whonix ®

Download

Windows Linux Mac VirtualBox KVM Qubes USB ISO (coming soon) More options Source Code

About

Overview Features Whonix vs VPNs Why Open Source? Project Activities Contributors Mission & Vision

Docs

Documentation FAQ Troubleshooting

Community

Forums Contribute

Support

Self Support First Policy Search Engines, Docs and AI Support (Limited) Reporting Bugs Contact (Restricted)

Tools Upload file Special pages Recent changes Print Version Page meta What links here Related changes Page information

Page Read Edit History Move Protection Unwatch Watch Delete Purge

User Preferences Watchlist Contributions Logout Create account Login

Donate

Optional Whonix-Gateway Security Hardening for advanced users.

Introduction

Whonix comes with many security features . Whonix is Kicksecure^™ hardened by default and also provides extensive Documentation including a System Hardening Checklist. The more you know, the safer you can be.

Tip: Disabling Control Port Filter Proxy (onion-grater) can improve security by decreasing the attack surface, while sacrificing usability.

Note that if onion-grater is disabled, users will no longer receive helpful Whonix notifications when Tor is not fully bootstrapped, since the whonixcheck and sdwdate tools rely upon it.

How-to: Disable Control Port Filter Proxy

Whonix-Gateway

Deactivate onion-grater in Firewall

1. Modify Whonix-Gateway^™ User Firewall Settings.

Note: If no changes have yet been made to Whonix Firewall Settings, then the Whonix User Firewall Settings File /usr/local/etc/whonix_firewall.d/50_user.conf appears empty (because it does not exist). This is expected.

If using Qubes-Whonix^™, complete these steps.
In Whonix-Gateway App Qube. Make sure folder /usr/local/etc/whonix_firewall.d exists.

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/whonix_firewall.d

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q") → Whonix-Gateway App Qube (commonly called sys-whonix) → Whonix User Firewall Settings

If using a graphical Whonix-Gateway, complete these steps.

Start Menu → Applications → Settings → User Firewall Settings

If using a terminal-only Whonix-Gateway, complete these steps.

In Whonix-Gateway, open the whonix_firewall configuration file in an editor.

sudoedit /usr/local/etc/whonix_firewall.d/50_user.conf

For more help, press on Expand on the right.

Note: This is for informational purposes only! Do not edit /etc/whonix_firewall.d/30_whonix_gateway_default.conf.

Note: The Whonix Global Firewall Settings File /etc/whonix_firewall.d/30_whonix_gateway_default.conf contains default settings and explanatory comments about their purpose. By default, the file is opened read-only and is not meant to be directly edited. Below, it is recommended to open the file without root rights. The file contains an explanatory comment on how to change firewall settings.

## Please use "/etc/whonix_firewall.d/50_user.conf" for your custom configuration,
## which will override the defaults found here. When {{project_name_short}} is updated, this
## file may be overwritten.

See also Whonix modular flexible .d style configuration folders.

To view the file, follow these instructions.

If using Qubes-Whonix, complete these steps.

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q") → Template: whonix-gateway-17 → Whonix Global Firewall Settings

If using a graphical Whonix-Gateway, complete these steps.

Start Menu → Applications → Settings → Global Firewall Settings

If using a terminal-only Whonix-Gateway, complete these steps.

In Whonix-Gateway, open the whonix_firewall configuration file in an editor. nano /etc/whonix_firewall.d/30_whonix_gateway_default.conf

2. Add the following content.

CONTROL_PORT_FILTER_PROXY_ENABLE=0

3. Save the file.

4. Reload Whonix-Gateway^™ Firewall.

If you are using Qubes-Whonix^™, complete the following steps.

Qubes App Launcher (blue/grey "Q") → Whonix-Gateway ProxyVM (commonly named sys-whonix) → Reload Whonix Firewall

If you are using a graphical Whonix-Gateway, complete the following steps.

Start Menu → Applications → System → Reload Whonix Firewall

If you are using a terminal-only Whonix-Gateway, run. sudo whonix_firewall

Deactivate onion-grater

1. Stop onion-grater.

sudo service onion-grater stop

2. Disable autostart of onion-grater.

sudo systemctl mask onion-grater

3. Reboot.

4. Check if onion-grater is still running or disabled.

ps aux | grep onion-grater

If output similar to the following appears, then disabling did not work.

onion-g+   911  3.2  1.9  66444 20644 ?        Ss   12:21   0:00 /usr/bin/python3 -u /usr/lib/onion-grater --debug --listen-interface eth1

Deactivate whonixcheck onion-grater Running Test

1. Open file /etc/systemcheck.d/50_user.conf in an editor with root rights.

Non-Qubes-Whonix^™

This box uses sudoedit for better security.

sudoedit /etc/systemcheck.d/50_user.conf

Qubes-Whonix^™

NOTES:

• When using Qubes-Whonix, this needs to be done inside the Template.

sudoedit /etc/systemcheck.d/50_user.conf

• After applying this change, shutdown the Template.
• All App Qubes based on the Template need to be restarted if they were already running.
• This is a general procedure required for Qubes and unspecific to Qubes-Whonix^™.

Others and Alternatives

• This is just an example. Other tools could achieve the same goal.
• If this example does not work for you or if you are not using Whonix, please refer to this link.

sudoedit /etc/systemcheck.d/50_user.conf

2. Add the following content.

systemcheck_skip_functions+=" check_control_port_filter_running "

3. Save the file.

Whonix-Workstation^™

Deactivate whonixcheck Tor Bootstrap Test

Because it relies on onion-grater.

1. Open file /etc/systemcheck.d/50_user.conf in an editor with root rights.

Non-Qubes-Whonix^™

This box uses sudoedit for better security.

sudoedit /etc/systemcheck.d/50_user.conf

Qubes-Whonix^™

NOTES:

• When using Qubes-Whonix, this needs to be done inside the Template.

sudoedit /etc/systemcheck.d/50_user.conf

• After applying this change, shutdown the Template.
• All App Qubes based on the Template need to be restarted if they were already running.
• This is a general procedure required for Qubes and unspecific to Qubes-Whonix^™.

Others and Alternatives

• This is just an example. Other tools could achieve the same goal.
• If this example does not work for you or if you are not using Whonix, please refer to this link.

sudoedit /etc/systemcheck.d/50_user.conf

2. Add the following content.

systemcheck_skip_functions+=" check_tor_bootstrap "

3. Save the file.

Deactivate sdwdate Connectivity Test

Whonix-Workstation only.

1. Open file /usr/lib/helper-scripts/te_pe_tb_check in an editor with root rights.

Non-Qubes-Whonix^™

This box uses sudoedit for better security.

sudoedit /usr/lib/helper-scripts/te_pe_tb_check

Qubes-Whonix^™

NOTES:

• When using Qubes-Whonix, this needs to be done inside the Template.

sudoedit /usr/lib/helper-scripts/te_pe_tb_check

• After applying this change, shutdown the Template.
• All App Qubes based on the Template need to be restarted if they were already running.
• This is a general procedure required for Qubes and unspecific to Qubes-Whonix^™.

Others and Alternatives

• This is just an example. Other tools could achieve the same goal.
• If this example does not work for you or if you are not using Whonix, please refer to this link.

sudoedit /usr/lib/helper-scripts/te_pe_tb_check

2. Replace the existing content with the following text.

#!/bin/bash exit 0

3. Save the file.

4. Restart sdwdate.

sudo systemctl restart sdwdate

The procedure is complete.

Be aware that this setting will not persist after any upgrade of sdwdate, nor is sdwdate currently configurable.

Tor Browser Updater

In order to update Tor Browser using Tor Browser Updater by Whonix developers while onion-grater is disabled, complete the following step.

update-torbrowser --no-tor-con-check

Or create a file /etc/torbrowser.d/50_user.conf with the following content.

TB_NO_TOR_CON_CHECK="1"

Static VirtualBox IP

Instead of using DHCP to obtain the internal IP address for the Whonix-Workstation eth0 NAT adapter, a static IP can be used instead. This might marginally improve security because the DHCP package can then be removed.

Open /etc/network/interfaces.d/30_non-qubes-whonix on GitHub and read the comments. Then, comment out DHCP and comment in Static VirtualBox IP.

Footnotes

Whonix The most watertight privacy operating system in the world.

Dark mode

Follow us on social media

Supported by Power Up Privacy

Whonix is proudly supported until 2025 by Power Up Privacy, a privacy advocacy group that seeks to supercharge privacy projects with resources so they can complete their mission of making our world a better place. (Strictly subject to our sponsorship policy.)

At Whonix we value freedom and trust, supporting Open Source and Freedom Software

By using this website, you acknowledge you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these agreements: Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, E-Sign Consent, DMCA, Imprint 2012- 2024 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LP

Your support makes
all the difference!

We believe security software like Whonix needs to remain open source and independent. Would you help sustain and grow the project? Learn more about our 12 year success story and maybe DONATE!