Rebex SFTP

SFTP and SCP client .NET library

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SSH core

SFTP is a file transfer protocol that runs over an SSH protocol session. The architecture of Rebex SFTP API reflects this - the Sftp object runs on top of SshSession object.

SshSession object represents an SSH connection and provides some useful additional capabilities not accessible through Sftp itself.

Running remote commands 

Remote command execution is a very useful feature provided by Sftp object's SSH core. To run a command at the server, use Sftp object's Session property:

// open an SSH session channel over a connected SFTP client
SshChannel channel = sftp.Session.OpenSession();

// execute the 'uname' command to get OS info
channel.RequestExec("uname -a");

// process the command response
var response = new StringBuilder();
var buffer = new byte[4096];
while (true)
{
    int n = channel.Receive(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
    if (n == 0)
    {
        channel.Close();
        break;
    }

    response.Append(Encoding.Default.GetString(buffer, 0, n));
}
Console.WriteLine("OS info: {0}", response);
' open an SSH session channel over a connected SFTP client
Dim channel As SshChannel = sftp.Session.OpenSession()

' execute the 'uname' command to get OS info
channel.RequestExec("uname -a")

' process the command response
Dim response = New StringBuilder()
Dim buffer(0 To 4095) As Byte
While True
    Dim n = channel.Receive(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)
    If n = 0 Then
        channel.Close()
        Exit While
    End If

    response.Append(Encoding.Default.GetString(buffer, 0, n))
End While
Console.WriteLine("OS info: {0}", response)

The code above is quite complicated. Fortunately, Rebex SSH Shell library not only makes it much easier, but adds terminal emulation support as well.

Tip: Rebex SFTP and Rebex SSH Shell libraries can be purchased together as Rebex SSH Pack bundle.
Tip: Want to host an SSH server in your app? Try Rebex File Server - an SSH/SFTP server library.

SSH session sharing 

Session sharing is another useful feature of the underlying SSH protocol. It's possible to share a single SSH connection between several instances of Sftp or Scp objects. When using Rebex SFTP with Rebex SSH Shell library, you can even transfer files and run SSH shell sessions over a single connection.

To create a shared session, connect and authenticate an SshSession object. Then, instead of calling Connect and Login for each Sftp or Scp object, use Bind to attach it to the shared SshSession.

The same SshSession object can be used to execute commands at the server as well

// establish the shared SSH connection
var session = new Rebex.Net.SshSession();
session.Connect(hostname);
// check session.Fingerprint here

// authenticate
session.Authenticate(username, password);

// bind an SFTP client to the SSH session
Sftp sftp = new Sftp();
sftp.Bind(session);

// bind an SCP client to the SSH session
Scp scp = new Scp();
scp.Bind(session);
' establish the shared SSH session
Dim session = New Rebex.Net.SshSession()
session.Connect(hostname)
' check session.Fingerprint here

' authenticate
session.Authenticate(username, password)

' bind an SFTP client to the SSH session
Dim sftp = New Sftp()
sftp.Bind(session)

' bind an SCP client to the SSH session
Dim scp = New Scp()
scp.Bind(session)

Changing password 

Some SSH servers make it possible to change user's password programmatically. This feature is accessible through SshSession object's ChangePassword method.

Please note that password can only be changed before the authentication has begun.

// connect to an SSH server but don't log in
var session = new SshSession();
session.Connect(hostname, port);

// try changing the password
SshPasswordChangeResult result
    = session.ChangePassword(username, password, newPassword);

// check the result
switch (result)
{
    case SshPasswordChangeResult.Success:
        // password changed;
        // now you are logged on using the new password
        break;
    case SshPasswordChangeResult.ChangedButNotAuthenticated:
        // password changed;
        // you should authenticate explicitly
        session.Authenticate(username, newPassword);
        break;
    case SshPasswordChangeResult.Failure:
        // password not changed
        throw new Exception("Password change failed.");
}
' connect to an SFTP server but don't log in
Dim session As New SshSession
session.Connect(hostname, port)

' try changing the password
Dim result = session.ChangePassword(username, password, newPassword)

' check the result
Select Case result
    Case SshPasswordChangeResult.Success
        ' password changed
        ' now you are logged on using the new password
    Case SshPasswordChangeResult.ChangedButNotAuthenticated
        ' password changed
        ' you should authenticate explicitly
        sftp.Session.Authenticate(username, newPassword)
    Case SshPasswordChangeResult.Failure
        ' password not changed
        Throw New Exception("Password change failed.")
End Select

Keep-alive packet (pinging SSH server) 

Some firewall/router devices have a habit of dropping connections that have been inactive for a certain amount of time (such as 30 minutes). To prevent this, the client can send a special ignore packet periodically to keep the connection alive.

To send such packet, use SshSession.KeepAlive method. For a sample code to send the packet periodically, check out this forum post.

Tunneling TCP protocols through SSH 

SSH can be used as a transport layer for various TCP communication protocols such as FTP, HTTP, SCP, SMTP, IMAP, POP3 or Telnet. Most Rebex communication libraries support tunneling through SSH. In other words, it's possible to use an SSH server as a proxy server.

// establish the shared SSH connection
var session = new SshSession();
session.Connect(hostname);
session.Authenticate(username, password);

// use SSH session as proxy to establish FTP connection
var ftp = new Ftp();
ftp.SetSocketFactory(session.ToSocketFactory());
ftp.Connect(sftpHostname);
ftp.Login(sftpUsername, sftpPassword);
// use Ftp object to upload or download files, etc.

// use SSH session as proxy to establish IMAP connection
var imap = new Imap();
imap.SetSocketFactory(session.ToSocketFactory());
imap.Connect(imapHostname);
imap.Login(imapUsername, imapPassword);
// use Imap object to download mail messages, etc.

// use it with any Rebex library in the same way
// (Ssh, Sftp, Ftp, Scp, Smtp, Imap, Pop3, Telnet, WebClient objects)
' establish the shared SSH connection
Dim session = New Rebex.Net.SshSession()
session.Connect(hostname)
session.Authenticate(username, password)

' use SSH session as proxy to establish FTP connection
Dim ftp = New Ftp()
ftp.SetSocketFactory(session.ToSocketFactory())
ftp.Connect(sftpHostname)
ftp.Login(sftpUsername, sftpPassword)
' use Ftp object to upload or download files ...

' use SSH session as proxy to establish IMAP connection
Dim imap = New Imap()
imap.SetSocketFactory(session.ToSocketFactory())
imap.Connect(imapHostname)
imap.Login(imapUsername, imapPassword)
' use Imap object to download mails ...

' use it with any Rebex library in the same way
' (Ssh, Sftp, Ftp, Scp, Smtp, Imap, Pop3, Telnet objects)

Key re-exchange 

SSH recommends changing encryption/decryption keys after each gigabyte of transmitted data or after each hour of connection time (whichever comes sooner). To achieve this, the client or server can initiate a key re-exchange process. This involves a public key operation that requires a fair amount of processing power; it is not initiated by Rebex SFTP automatically. To start a key re-exchange, simply call SshSession.Negotiate method.

Usually, however, it's the server that initiates the re-exchange. Rebex SFTP handles it transparently and there is no need to explicitly enable this feature.

SSH ciphers 

Rebex SFTP's SSH core supports a number of security algorithms. Use Sftp.Settings.SshParameters property to specify all kinds of SSH ciphers:

Key Exchange Ciphers

Use SshParameters.KeyExchangeAlgorithms property to enable/disable whole categories of key exchange ciphers. If you need more control over key exchange ciphers, use SshParameters.SetKeyExchangeAlgorithms(...) method to specify supported ciphers in order of preference. The following table lists supported key exchange ciphers:


Disabled by default.
Disabled by default.
Cipher ID Key length Description Note
diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256 Negotiated Diffie Hellman with group exchange and SHA-256 hash Available on all* platforms.
diffie-hellman-group16-sha512 4096 bits Diffie Hellman with Oakley Group 16 and SHA-512 hash Available on all* platforms.
diffie-hellman-group15-sha512 3072 bits Diffie Hellman with Oakley Group 15 and SHA-512 hash Available on all* platforms.
diffie-hellman-group14-sha256 2048 bits Diffie Hellman with Oakley Group 14 and SHA-256 hash Available on all* platforms.
diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha1 Negotiated Diffie Hellman with group exchange and SHA-1 hash Available on all* platforms.
diffie-hellman-group14-sha1 2048 bits Diffie Hellman with Oakley Group 14 and SHA-1 hash Available on all* platforms.
diffie-hellman-group1-sha1 1024 bits Diffie Hellman with Oakley Group 2 and SHA-1 hash Available on all platforms. Insecure. Disabled by default.
ecdh-sha2-nistp256 256 bits Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman with NIST P-256 curve and SHA-256 hash Available on Windows 10/11, Windows Server 2016/2019/2022 and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
ecdh-sha2-nistp384 384 bits Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman with NIST P-384 curve and SHA-384 hash Available on Windows 10/11, Windows Server 2016/2019/2022 and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
ecdh-sha2-nistp521 521 bits Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman with NIST P-521 curve and SHA-512 hash Available on Windows 10/11, Windows Server 2016/2019/2022 and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
ecdh-sha2-1.3.132.0.10 256 bits Elliptic Curve Diffie Hellman with secp256k1 curve and SHA-256 hash Available on Windows 10/11 and Windows Server 2016/2019/2022.
Disabled by default.
curve25519-sha256
(curve25519-sha256@libssh.org)
256 bits Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman on Curve25519 with SHA-256 hash Available on Windows 10/11 and Windows Server 2016/2019/2022. External plugin needed for other platforms.

Host Key Algorithms

Use SshParameters.HostKeyAlgorithms property to enable/disable whole categories of host key algorithms. If you need more control over host key algorithms, use SshParameters.SetHostKeyAlgorithms(...) method to specify supported algorithms in order of preference. The following table lists supported host key algorithms:

Algorithm ID Description Note
rsa-sha2-256 RSA with SHA-256 hash Available on all platforms.
rsa-sha2-512 RSA with SHA-512 hash Available on all platforms.
ssh-dss NIST Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) with SHA-1 hash Available on all platforms.
ssh-rsa RSA with SHA-1 hash Available on all platforms.
ssh-rsa-sha256@ssh.com RSA with SHA-256 hash Available on all platforms.
x509v3-rsa2048-sha256 X.509 certificate with RSA (2048-bit or larger key) and SHA-256 hash Available on all platforms.
x509v3-sign-rsa-sha256@ssh.com X.509 certificate with RSA and SHA-256 hash Available on all platforms.
x509v3-sign-rsa X.509 certificate with RSA and SHA-1 hash Available on all platforms.
x509v3-sign-dss X.509 certificate with DSA and SHA-1 hash Available on all platforms.
ssh-ed25519 Ed25519, an Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm (EdDSA) Available on all platforms.
ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) on NIST P-256 curve with SHA-256 hash Available on Windows** and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
ecdsa-sha2-nistp384 Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) on NIST P-384 curve with SHA-384 hash Available on Windows** and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
Disabled by default.
ecdsa-sha2-nistp521 Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) on NIST P-521 curve with SHA-512 hash Available on Windows** and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
Disabled by default.
ecdsa-sha2-1.3.132.0.10 Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) on secp256k1 curve with SHA-256 hash Available on Windows 10/11 and Windows Server 2016/2019/2022.
Disabled by default.
x509v3-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 X.509 certificate with Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) on NIST P-256 curve with SHA-256 hash Available on Windows** and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
x509v3-ecdsa-sha2-nistp384 X.509 certificate with Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) on NIST P-384 curve with SHA-384 hash Available on Windows** and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
Disabled by default.
x509v3-ecdsa-sha2-nistp521 X.509 certificate with Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) on NIST P-521 curve with SHA-512 hash Available on Windows** and on Linux with .NET Core 2.1 or later. External plugin needed for other platforms.
Disabled by default.

Encryption Ciphers

Use SshParameters.EncryptionAlgorithms and SshParameters.EncryptionModes properties to enable/disable whole categories of encryption ciphers. If you need more control over encryption ciphers, use SshParameters.SetEncryptionAlgorithms(...) method to specify supported ciphers in order of preference. The following table lists supported encryption ciphers:

Cipher ID Description Note
aes256-gcm@openssh.com AES in GCM mode with 256-bit key
aes128-gcm@openssh.com AES in GCM mode with 128-bit key
chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com ChaCha20/Poly1305 AEAD cipher with 256-bit key
aes256-ctr AES in CTR mode with 256-bit key
aes192-ctr AES in CTR mode with 192-bit key
aes128-ctr AES in CTR mode with 128-bit key
aes256-cbc AES in CBC mode with 256-bit key
aes192-cbc AES in CBC mode with 192-bit key
aes128-cbc AES in CBC mode with 128-bit key
3des-ctr TripleDES in CTR mode
3des-cbc TripleDES in CBC mode
twofish256-ctr Twofish in CTR mode with 256-bit key
twofish192-ctr Twofish in CTR mode with 192-bit key
twofish128-ctr Twofish in CTR mode with 128-bit key
twofish256-cbc Twofish in CBC mode with 256-bit key
twofish192-cbc Twofish in CBC mode with 192-bit key
twofish128-cbc Twofish in CBC mode with 128-bit key
twofish-cbc Twofish in CBC mode with 256-bit key
blowfish-ctr Twofish in CTR mode with 256-bit key Disabled by default.
blowfish-cbc Blowfish in CBC mode with 128-bit key Disabled by default.
arcfour256 ArcFour (RC4) stream cipher (with discard step) with 256-bit key Disabled by default.
arcfour128 ArcFour (RC4) stream cipher (with discard step) with 128-bit key Disabled by default.
arcfour ArcFour (RC4) stream cipher with 128-bit key Disabled by default.

MAC Ciphers

Use SshParameters.MacAlgorithms property to enable/disable whole categories of message authentication code (MAC) ciphers. If you need more control over MAC ciphers, use SshParameters.SetMacAlgorithms(...) method to specify supported ciphers in order of preference. The following table lists supported MAC ciphers:

Cipher ID Description Note
hmac-sha2-256-etm@openssh.com SHA-256 (ETM mode)
hmac-sha2-256 SHA-256
hmac-sha2-512-etm@openssh.com SHA-512 (ETM mode)
hmac-sha2-512 SHA-512
hmac-sha1 SHA-1
hmac-md5 MD5 Disabled by default.
hmac-sha1-96 SHA-1 (trimmed to 96 bits) Disabled by default.
hmac-md5-96 MD5 (trimmed to 96 bits) Disabled by default.

* Might be very slow on legacy Windows CE platforms

** Windows 7 SP1 and higher, or Windows Embedded Compact 2013

Server ciphers information 

To retrieve lists of SSH ciphers supported by your SFTP/SSH server, connect to it and inspect the Sftp.SshSession.ServerInfo property:

var sftp = new Sftp();
sftp.Connect("test.rebex.net");

SshServerInfo serverInfo = sftp.Session.ServerInfo;

Console.WriteLine("Key exchange algorithms: " + string.Join(", ", serverInfo.KeyExchangeAlgorithms));
Console.WriteLine("Host key algorithms: " + string.Join(", ", serverInfo.ServerHostKeyAlgorithms));

Console.WriteLine("MAC algorithms (server -> client): " + string.Join(", ", serverInfo.MacAlgorithmsServerToClient));
Console.WriteLine("MAC algorithms (client -> server): " + string.Join(", ", serverInfo.MacAlgorithmsClientToServer));

Console.WriteLine("Encryption algorithms (server -> client): " + string.Join(", ", serverInfo.EncryptionAlgorithmsServerToClient));
Console.WriteLine("Encryption algorithms (client -> server): " + string.Join(", ", serverInfo.EncryptionAlgorithmsClientToServer));

Console.WriteLine("Compression algorithms (server -> client): " + string.Join(", ", serverInfo.CompressionAlgorithmsServerToClient));
Console.WriteLine("Compression algorithms (client -> server): " + string.Join(", ", serverInfo.CompressionAlgorithmsClientToServer));
Dim sftp As New Sftp()
sftp.Connect("test.rebex.net")

Dim serverInfo As SshServerInfo = sftp.Session.ServerInfo

Console.WriteLine("Key exchange algorithms: " + String.Join(", ", serverInfo.KeyExchangeAlgorithms))
Console.WriteLine("Host key algorithms: " + String.Join(", ", serverInfo.ServerHostKeyAlgorithms))

Console.WriteLine("MAC algorithms (server -> client): " + String.Join(", ", serverInfo.MacAlgorithmsServerToClient))
Console.WriteLine("MAC algorithms (client -> server): " + String.Join(", ", serverInfo.MacAlgorithmsClientToServer))

Console.WriteLine("Encryption algorithms (server -> client): " + String.Join(", ", serverInfo.EncryptionAlgorithmsServerToClient))
Console.WriteLine("Encryption algorithms (client -> server): " + String.Join(", ", serverInfo.EncryptionAlgorithmsClientToServer))

Console.WriteLine("Compression algorithms (server -> client): " + String.Join(", ", serverInfo.CompressionAlgorithmsServerToClient))
Console.WriteLine("Compression algorithms (client -> server): " + String.Join(", ", serverInfo.CompressionAlgorithmsClientToServer))

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