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ClaudSkills / Security / network-security

Ssh Exposure Audit

Category: Security  ·  Sub-category: network-security  ·  Last updated:
type:audit
Audit and harden SSH exposure on a host — especially an internet-facing VPS — and build a check that would have caught it. Covers the sshd first-obtained-wins drop-in trap (a 99- file silently loses to 50-cloud-init.conf, and reading sshd_config lies about effective state), proving it is safe to disable password auth before doing it, scoping :22 to a Tailscale interface behind a deadman revert, and why an external port probe beats a config read as a monitoring check. Trigger phrases include "PermitRootLogin", "PasswordAuthentication no", "root login refused", "ROOT LOGIN REFUSED FROM", "sshd -T", "sshd_config.d", "50-cloud-init.conf", "ufw allow 22 anywhere", "scope ssh to tailscale0", "fail2ban sshd jail", "is ssh open to the internet", "harden ssh vps", "ssh exposure check", "lock myself out ssh", "deadman revert firewall".
Security AStatic scan found no risk patternsHow grading works ›

From the source SKILL.md

Built 2026-09-11 after hermes (a Vultr VPS holding a live agent's API credentials) was found accepting root login with a password from the entire internet, open for 11 days. It was found by accident, while adding an unrelated account. Its sibling dfw — same role, same provider — was hardened. The asymmetry was drift, not a decision.

What this skill does

Ssh Exposure Audit is a community-contributed Claude Code skill in the network-security sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/ssh-exposure-audit/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

Who uses this skill

The Ssh Exposure Audit Claude Code skill is built for security engineers, penetration testers, DevSecOps practitioners, and development teams hardening codebases and infrastructure. It's part of ClaudSkills (also referred to as Claude Skills or Claude Code Skills) — the open community-curated registry of 211,000+ SKILL.md files for Anthropic's Claude Code agent and the wider Claude ecosystem (Claude API, Claude Agent SDK).

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/ssh-exposure-audit
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/ssh-exposure-audit/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/ssh-exposure-audit/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ssh-exposure-audit/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/ssh-exposure-audit/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\ssh-exposure-audit\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

Telegram

📱 Install from your phone or desktop Telegram

Open @claudskills_bot on Telegram, tap Open Desktop App, and the desktop app installs this skill for you. Or share the bot link with a colleague — they get the same one-tap install. Learn more →

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

Pro

For the full experience including quality scoring and one-click install features for each skill — upgrade to Pro.

See pricing → Download desktop app

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Ssh Exposure Audit Claude Code skill?
Install via the ClaudSkills desktop app (one click) or copy SKILL.md from the source repository to ~/.claude/skills/ssh-exposure-audit/SKILL.md and restart Claude Code. Both flows are detailed at claudskills.com/install/.
What does the Ssh Exposure Audit skill do?
Audit and harden SSH exposure on a host — especially an internet-facing VPS — and build a check that would have caught it. Covers the sshd first-obtained-wins drop-in trap (a 99- file silently loses to 50-cloud-init.conf, and reading sshd_config lies about effective state), proving it is safe to disable password auth before doing it, scoping :22 to a Tailscale interface behind a deadman revert, and why an external port probe beats a config read as a monitoring check. Trigger phrases include "PermitRootLogin", "PasswordAuthentication no", "root login refused", "ROOT LOGIN REFUSED FROM", "sshd -T", "sshd_config.d", "50-cloud-init.conf", "ufw allow 22 anywhere", "scope ssh to tailscale0", "fail2ban sshd jail", "is ssh open to the internet", "harden ssh vps", "ssh exposure check", "lock myself out ssh", "deadman revert firewall".
Is this skill free to install?
Yes. ClaudSkills is an open registry — every skill keeps its source repository's license, and manual install via copy is free. ClaudSkills Pro ($9/mo, $79/yr, or $149 one-time) adds one-click install via the desktop app and a multi-signal Quality Score.
When should I use the Ssh Exposure Audit skill?
Use Ssh Exposure Audit when your Claude Code task falls under the Security category — specifically in the network security area. Claude Code auto-discovers installed skills and invokes the right one based on the task description, so you can also ask Claude directly (e.g. "use Ssh Exposure Audit" or describe the task and let Claude pick). Browse related skills at /category/security/.
What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Ssh Exposure Audit skill fit in?
A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Ssh Exposure Audit is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the Security category. Learn more at /learn/what-is-a-claude-skill/.

Attribution & license

Cite this skill

If you reference this skill in a blog post, paper, or documentation, you can cite it as:

APA
jackson2w. (2026). Ssh Exposure Audit [Claude Code skill]. ClaudSkills. https://claudskills.com/skills/ssh-exposure-audit/
BibTeX
@misc{ssh-exposure-audit-2026,
  author    = {jackson2w},
  title     = {Ssh Exposure Audit [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/ssh-exposure-audit/}
}

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Security scan

Grade A · scanned 2026-10-25 — free static scan against the OWASP Agentic Skills Top 10.

The scan flagged 1 of 10 categories (network), including lower-severity patterns. Patterns shown inside code fences are weighted as examples rather than instructions — read the grading methodology for what this does and does not guarantee.

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More Security skills

Browse all Security skills in the ClaudSkills registry, or explore these other picks from the same category:

Browse all Security skills → Top 100 skills
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