UFW and Firewalld

In the Army, we had “Simplified Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs).” UFW and Firewalld are the SSOPs for host-based firewalls in Linux.

Description

  • UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall): The standard firewall configuration tool for Ubuntu and its derivatives. It’s designed to be… uncomplicated!
  • Firewalld: The standard firewall daemon for RHEL/CentOS/Fedora systems. It’s more dynamic and supports network “zones.”

Knowledge Check

  • Have you enabled the service?
  • Are you using zones (Firewalld) or basic rules (UFW)?

Common Pitfalls

  • Default Policy: Be careful when setting the default policy to “Deny.” Ensure you’ve allowed SSH first!
  • Stateful Connections: Ensure your firewall is tracking connection states correctly.