As of vsftpd version 2.0.0, SSL / TLS support is provided.

The SSL / TLS support provides the ability to encrypt FTP logins and subsequent
commands, as well as the data transfers themselves. The encyption will, for
example, stop the stealing of sensitive passwords via network snooping.

By default, SSL support is disabled both at compile time and at runtime.
Before considering enabling / using SSL support, there are some security
considerations:

- Only enable SSL if absolutely necessary. Enabling SSL will allow attackers
to make use of any security problems in the OpenSSL libraries. Note that
the OpenSSL libraries are a large quantity of code and have had the occasional
security problem in the past.
For example, your server might use virtual users to control access to
non-sensitive download content. In this case, the passwords might not be
worth securing with SSL.

- After enabling SSL, consider restricting access to an SSL enabled server
where feasible. For example, only the internal network might need access.


In order to enable and use SSL support, you need the following:

- vsftpd built with OpenSSL support. This is a decision your vsftpd packager
made, or if you are building vsftpd yourself, edit "builddefs.h" and change the
"#undef VSF_BUILD_SSL" to "#define VSF_BUILD_SSL".
- "ssl_enable=YES" in your vsftpd.conf.
- A SSL certificate. By default, an RSA certificate is looked for at the
location /usr/share/ssl/certs/vsftpd.pem. To get an RSA certificate, either
buy one from a certificate authority, or you can create your own self-signed
certificate. If you have OpenSSL installed, you may find a "Makefile" in
your shared certificates directory, e.g. /usr/share/ssl/certs. In that case,
go to that directory and type e.g. "make vsftpd.pem". Then answer the
questions you are asked. Alternatively, read the man page for "openssl".
- Also be aware of the following SSL related parameters. Read the vsftpd.conf.5
manual page to learn about them: allow_anon_ssl, force_local_logins_ssl,
force_local_data_ssl, ssl_sslv2, ssl_sslv3, ssl_tlsv1, rsa_cert_file,
dsa_cert_file, ssl_ciphers.