IPTABLES(8) IPTABLES(8)
NAME
iptables - administration tool for IPv4 packet filtering and NAT
SYNOPSIS
iptables [-t table] -[AD] chain rule-specification [options]
iptables [-t table] -I chain [rulenum] rule-specification [options]
iptables [-t table] -R chain rulenum rule-specification [options]
iptables [-t table] -D chain rulenum [options]
iptables [-t table] -[LFZ] [chain] [options]
iptables [-t table] -N chain
iptables [-t table] -X [chain]
iptables [-t table] -P chain target [options]
iptables [-t table] -E old-chain-name new-chain-name
DESCRIPTION
Iptables is used to set up, maintain, and inspect the tables of IP packet filter rules in
the Linux kernel. Several different tables may be defined. Each table contains a number
of built-in chains and may also contain user-defined chains.
Each chain is a list of rules which can match a set of packets. Each rule specifies what
to do with a packet that matches. This is called a 'target', which may be a jump to a
user-defined chain in the same table.
TARGETS
A firewall rule specifies criteria for a packet, and a target. If the packet does not
match, the next rule in the chain is the examined; if it does match, then the next rule is
specified by the value of the target, which can be the name of a user-defined chain or one
of the special values ACCEPT, DROP, QUEUE, or RETURN.
ACCEPT means to let the packet through. DROP means to drop the packet on the floor.
QUEUE means to pass the packet to userspace (if supported by the kernel). RETURN means
stop traversing this chain and resume at the next rule in the previous (calling) chain.
If the end of a built-in chain is reached or a rule in a built-in chain with target RETURN
is matched, the target specified by the chain policy determines the fate of the packet.
TABLES
There are currently three independent tables (which tables are present at any time depends
on the kernel configuration options and which modules are present).
-t, --table table
This option specifies the packet matching table which the command should operate
on. If the kernel is configured with automatic module loading, an attempt will be
made to load the appropriate module for that table if it is not already there.
The tables are as follows:
filter:
This is the default table (if no -t option is passed). It contains the built-
in chains INPUT (for packets coming into the box itself), FORWARD (for packets
being routed through the box), and OUTPUT (for locally-generated packets).
nat:
This table is consulted when a packet that creates a new connection is encoun-
tered. It consists of three built-ins: PREROUTING (for altering packets as
soon as they come in), OUTPUT (for altering locally-generated packets before
routing), and POSTROUTING (for altering packets as they are about to go out).
mangle:
This table is used for specialized packet alteration. Until kernel 2.4.17 it
had two built-in chains: PREROUTING (for altering incoming packets before rout-
ing) and OUTPUT (for altering locally-generated packets before routing). Since
kernel 2.4.18, three other built-in chains are also supported: INPUT (for pack-
ets coming into the box itself), FORWARD (for altering packets being routed
through the box), and POSTROUTING (for altering packets as they are about to go
out).
OPTIONS
The options that are recognized by iptables can be divided into several different groups.
COMMANDS
These options specify the specific action to perform. Only one of them can be specified
on the command line unless otherwise specified below. For all the long versions of the
command and option names, you need to use only enough letters to ensure that iptables can
differentiate it from all other options.
-A, --append chain rule-specification
Append one or more rules to the end of the selected chain. When the source and/or
destination names resolve to more than one address, a rule will be added for each
possible address combination.
-D, --delete chain rule-specification
-D, --delete chain rulenum
Delete one or more rules from the selected chain. There are two versions of this
command: the rule can be specified as a number in the chain (starting at 1 for the
first rule) or a rule to match.
-I, --insert chain [rulenum] rule-specification
Insert one or more rules in the selected chain as the given rule number. So, if
the rule number is 1, the rule or rules are inserted at the head of the chain.
This is also the default if no rule number is specified.
-R, --replace chain rulenum rule-specification
Replace a rule in the selected chain. If the source and/or destination names
resolve to multiple addresses, the command will fail. Rules are numbered starting
at 1.
-L, --list [chain]
List all rules in the selected chain. If no chain is selected, all chains are
listed. As every other iptables command, it applies to the specified table (filter
is the default), so NAT rules get listed by
iptables -t nat -n -L
Please note that it is often used with the -n option, in order to avoid long
reverse DNS lookups. It is legal to specify the -Z (zero) option as well, in which
case the chain(s) will be atomically listed and zeroed. The exact output is
affected by the other arguments given. The exact rules are suppressed until you use
iptables -L -v
-F, --flush [chain]
Flush the selected chain (all the chains in the table if none is given). This is
equivalent to deleting all the rules one by one.
-Z, --zero [chain]
Zero the packet and byte counters in all chains. It is legal to specify the -L,
--list (list) option as well, to see the counters immediately before they are
cleared. (See above.)
-N, --new-chain chain
Create a new user-defined chain by the given name. There must be no target of that
name already.
-X, --delete-chain [chain]
Delete the optional user-defined chain specified. There must be no references to
the chain. If there are, you must delete or replace the referring rules before the
chain can be deleted. If no argument is given, it will attempt to delete every
non-builtin chain in the table.
-P, --policy chain target
Set the policy for the chain to the given target. See the section TARGETS for the
legal targets. Only built-in (non-user-defined) chains can have policies, and
neither built-in nor user-defined chains can be policy targets.
-E, --rename-chain old-chain new-chain
Rename the user specified chain to the user supplied name. This is cosmetic, and
has no effect on the structure of the table.
-h Help. Give a (currently very brief) description of the command syntax.
PARAMETERS
The following parameters make up a rule specification (as used in the add, delete, insert,
replace and append commands).
-p, --protocol [!] protocol
The protocol of the rule or of the packet to check. The specified protocol can be
one of tcp, udp, icmp, or all, or it can be a numeric value, representing one of
these protocols or a different one. A protocol name from /etc/protocols is also
allowed. A "!" argument before the protocol inverts the test. The number zero is
equivalent to all. Protocol all will match with all protocols and is taken as
default when this option is omitted.
-s, --source [!] address[/mask]
Source specification. Address can be either a network name, a hostname (please
note that specifying any name to be resolved with a remote query such as DNS is a
really bad idea), a network IP address (with /mask), or a plain IP address. The
mask can be either a network mask or a plain number, specifying the number of 1's
at the left side of the network mask. Thus, a mask of 24 is equivalent to
255.255.255.0. A "!" argument before the address specification inverts the sense
of the address. The flag --src is an alias for this option.
-d, --destination [!] address[/mask]
Destination specification. See the description of the -s (source) flag for a
detailed description of the syntax. The flag --dst is an alias for this option.
-j, --jump target
This specifies the target of the rule; i.e., what to do if the packet matches it.
The target can be a user-defined chain (other than the one this rule is in), one of
the special builtin targets which decide the fate of the packet immediately, or an
extension (see EXTENSIONS below). If this option is omitted in a rule, then match-
ing the rule will have no effect on the packet's fate, but the counters on the rule
will be incremented.
-i, --in-interface [!] name
Name of an interface via which a packet was received (only for packets entering the
INPUT, FORWARD and PREROUTING chains). When the "!" argument is used before the
interface name, the sense is inverted. If the interface name ends in a "+", then
any interface which begins with this name will match. If this option is omitted,
any interface name will match.
-o, --out-interface [!] name
Name of an interface via which a packet is going to be sent (for packets entering
the FORWARD, OUTPUT and POSTROUTING chains). When the "!" argument is used before
the interface name, the sense is inverted. If the interface name ends in a "+",
then any interface which begins with this name will match. If this option is omit-
ted, any interface name will match.
[!] -f, --fragment
This means that the rule only refers to second and further fragments of fragmented
packets. Since there is no way to tell the source or destination ports of such a
packet (or ICMP type), such a packet will not match any rules which specify them.
When the "!" argument precedes the "-f" flag, the rule will only match head frag-
ments, or unfragmented packets.
-c, --set-counters PKTS BYTES
This enables the administrator to initialize the packet and byte counters of a rule
(during INSERT, APPEND, REPLACE operations).
OTHER OPTIONS
The following additional options can be specified:
-v, --verbose
Verbose output. This option makes the list command show the interface name, the
rule options (if any), and the TOS masks. The packet and byte counters are also
listed, with the suffix 'K', 'M' or 'G' for 1000, 1,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 mul-
tipliers respectively (but see the -x flag to change this). For appending, inser-
tion, deletion and replacement, this causes detailed information on the rule or
rules to be printed.
-n, --numeric
Numeric output. IP addresses and port numbers will be printed in numeric format.
By default, the program will try to display them as host names, network names, or
services (whenever applicable).
-x, --exact
Expand numbers. Display the exact value of the packet and byte counters, instead
of only the rounded number in K's (multiples of 1000) M's (multiples of 1000K) or
G's (multiples of 1000M). This option is only relevant for the -L command.
--line-numbers
When listing rules, add line numbers to the beginning of each rule, corresponding
to that rule's position in the chain.
--modprobe=command
When adding or inserting rules into a chain, use command to load any necessary mod-
ules (targets, match extensions, etc).
MATCH EXTENSIONS
iptables can use extended packet matching modules. These are loaded in two ways: implic-
itly, when -p or --protocol is specified, or with the -m or --match options, followed by
the matching module name; after these, various extra command line options become avail-
able, depending on the specific module. You can specify multiple extended match modules
in one line, and you can use the -h or --help options after the module has been specified
to receive help specific to that module.
The following are included in the base package, and most of these can be preceded by a !
to invert the sense of the match.
addrtype
This module matches packets based on their address type. Address types are used within
the kernel networking stack and categorize addresses into various groups. The exact defi-
nition of that group depends on the specific layer three protocol.
The following address types are possible:
UNSPEC an unspecified address (i.e. 0.0.0.0) UNICAST an unicast address LOCAL a local
address BROADCAST a broadcast address ANYCAST an anycast packet MULTICAST a multi-
cast address BLACKHOLE a blackhole address UNREACHABLE an unreachable address PRO-
HIBIT a prohibited address THROW FIXME NAT FIXME XRESOLVE FIXME
--src-type type
Matches if the source address is of given type
--dst-type type
Matches if the destination address is of given type
ah
This module matches the SPIs in AH header of IPSec packets.
--ahspi [!] spi[:spi]
childlevel
This is an experimental module. It matches on whether the packet is part of a master con-
nection or one of its children (or grandchildren, etc). For instance, most packets are
level 0. FTP data transfer is level 1.
--childlevel [!] level
condition
This matches if a specific /proc filename is '0' or '1'.
--condition [!] filename
Match on boolean value stored in /proc/net/ipt_condition/filename file
connmark
This module matches the netfilter mark field associated with a connection (which can be
set using the CONNMARK target below).
--mark value[/mask]
Matches packets in connections with the given mark value (if a mask is specified,
this is logically ANDed with the mark before the comparison).
connrate
This module matches the current transfer rate in a connection.
--connrate [!] [from]:[to]
Match against the current connection transfer rate being within 'from' and 'to'
bytes per second. When the "!" argument is used before the range, the sense of the
match is inverted.
conntrack
This module, when combined with connection tracking, allows access to more connection
tracking information than the "state" match. (this module is present only if iptables was
compiled under a kernel supporting this feature)
--ctstate state
Where state is a comma separated list of the connection states to match. Possible
states are INVALID meaning that the packet is associated with no known connection,
ESTABLISHED meaning that the packet is associated with a connection which has seen
packets in both directions, NEW meaning that the packet has started a new connec-
tion, or otherwise associated with a connection which has not seen packets in both
directions, and RELATED meaning that the packet is starting a new connection, but
is associated with an existing connection, such as an FTP data transfer, or an ICMP
error. SNAT A virtual state, matching if the original source address differs from
the reply destination. DNAT A virtual state, matching if the original destination
differs from the reply source.
--ctproto proto
Protocol to match (by number or name)
--ctorigsrc [!] address[/mask]
Match against original source address
--ctorigdst [!] address[/mask]
Match against original destination address
--ctreplsrc [!] address[/mask]
Match against reply source address
--ctrepldst [!] address[/mask]
Match against reply destination address
--ctstatus [NONE|EXPECTED|SEEN_REPLY|ASSURED][,...]
Match against internal conntrack states
--ctexpire time[:time]
Match remaining lifetime in seconds against given value or range of values (inclu-
sive)
dscp
This module matches the 6 bit DSCP field within the TOS field in the IP header. DSCP has
superseded TOS within the IETF.
--dscp value
Match against a numeric (decimal or hex) value [0-32].
--dscp-class DiffServ Class
Match the DiffServ class. This value may be any of the BE, EF, AFxx or CSx classes.
It will then be converted into it's according numeric value.
dstlimit
This module allows you to limit the packet per second (pps) rate on a per destination IP
or per destination port base. As opposed to the 'limit' match, every destination ip /
destination port has it's own limit.
--dstlimit avg
Maximum average match rate (packets per second unless followed by /sec /minute
/hour /day postfixes).
--dstlimit-mode mode
The limiting hashmode. Is the specified limit per dstip, dstip-dstport tuple,
srcip-dstip tuple, or per srcipdstip-dstport tuple.
--dstlimit-name name
Name for /proc/net/ipt_dstlimit/* file entry
[--dstlimit-burst burst]
Number of packets to match in a burst. Default: 5
[--dstlimit-htable-size size]
Number of buckets in the hashtable
[--dstlimit-htable-max max]
Maximum number of entries in the hashtable
[--dstlimit-htable-gcinterval interval]
Interval between garbage collection runs of the hashtable (in miliseconds).
Default is 1000 (1 second).
[--dstlimit-htable-expire time
After which time are idle entries expired from hashtable (in miliseconds)? Default
is 10000 (10 seconds).
ecn
This allows you to match the ECN bits of the IPv4 and TCP header. ECN is the Explicit
Congestion Notification mechanism as specified in RFC3168
--ecn-tcp-cwr
This matches if the TCP ECN CWR (Congestion Window Received) bit is set.
--ecn-tcp-ece
This matches if the TCP ECN ECE (ECN Echo) bit is set.
--ecn-ip-ect num
This matches a particular IPv4 ECT (ECN-Capable Transport). You have to specify a
number between '0' and '3'.
esp
This module matches the SPIs in ESP header of IPSec packets.
--espspi [!] spi[:spi]
fuzzy
This module matches a rate limit based on a fuzzy logic controller [FLC]
--lower-limit number"
Specifies the lower limit (in packets per second).
--upper-limit number
Specifies the upper limit (in packets per second).
helper
This module matches packets related to a specific conntrack-helper.
--helper string
Matches packets related to the specified conntrack-helper.
string can be "ftp" for packets related to a ftp-session on default port. For
other ports append -portnr to the value, ie. "ftp-2121".
Same rules apply for other conntrack-helpers.
icmp
This extension is loaded if '--protocol icmp' is specified. It provides the following
option:
--icmp-type [!] typename
This allows specification of the ICMP type, which can be a numeric ICMP type, or
one of the ICMP type names shown by the command
iptables -p icmp -h
iprange
This matches on a given arbitrary range of IPv4 addresses
[!]--src-range ip-ip
Match source IP in the specified range.
[!]--dst-range ip-ip
Match destination IP in the specified range.
length
This module matches the length of a packet against a specific value or range of values.
--length length[:length]
limit
This module matches at a limited rate using a token bucket filter. A rule using this
extension will match until this limit is reached (unless the '!' flag is used). It can be
used in combination with the LOG target to give limited logging, for example.
--limit rate
Maximum average matching rate: specified as a number, with an optional '/second',
'/minute', '/hour', or '/day' suffix; the default is 3/hour.
--limit-burst number
Maximum initial number of packets to match: this number gets recharged by one every
time the limit specified above is not reached, up to this number; the default is 5.
mac
--mac-source [!] address
Match source MAC address. It must be of the form XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX. Note that
this only makes sense for packets coming from an Ethernet device and entering the
PREROUTING, FORWARD or INPUT chains.
mark
This module matches the netfilter mark field associated with a packet (which can be set
using the MARK target below).
--mark value[/mask]
Matches packets with the given unsigned mark value (if a mask is specified, this is
logically ANDed with the mask before the comparison).
mport
This module matches a set of source or destination ports. Up to 15 ports can be speci-
fied. It can only be used in conjunction with -p tcp or -p udp.
--source-ports port[,port[,port...]]
Match if the source port is one of the given ports. The flag --sports is a conve-
nient alias for this option.
--destination-ports port[,port[,port...]]
Match if the destination port is one of the given ports. The flag --dports is a
convenient alias for this option.
--ports port[,port[,port...]]
Match if the both the source and destination ports are equal to each other and to
one of the given ports.
multiport
This module matches a set of source or destination ports. Up to 15 ports can be speci-
fied. It can only be used in conjunction with -p tcp or -p udp.
--source-ports port[,port[,port...]]
Match if the source port is one of the given ports. The flag --sports is a conve-
nient alias for this option.
--destination-ports port[,port[,port...]]
Match if the destination port is one of the given ports. The flag --dports is a
convenient alias for this option.
--ports port[,port[,port...]]
Match if the both the source and destination ports are equal to each other and to
one of the given ports.
nth
This module matches every 'n'th packet
--every value
Match every 'value' packet
[--counter num]
Use internal counter number 'num'. Default is '0'.
[--start num]
Initialize the counter at the number 'num' insetad of '0'. Most between '0' and
'value'-1.
[--packet num]
Match on 'num' packet. Most be between '0' and 'value'-1.
owner
This module attempts to match various characteristics of the packet creator, for locally-
generated packets. It is only valid in the OUTPUT chain, and even this some packets (such
as ICMP ping responses) may have no owner, and hence never match.
--uid-owner userid
Matches if the packet was created by a process with the given effective user id.
--gid-owner groupid
Matches if the packet was created by a process with the given effective group id.
--pid-owner processid
Matches if the packet was created by a process with the given process id.
--sid-owner sessionid
Matches if the packet was created by a process in the given session group.
--cmd-owner name
Matches if the packet was created by a process with the given command name. (this
option is present only if iptables was compiled under a kernel supporting this fea-
ture)
physdev
This module matches on the bridge port input and output devices enslaved to a bridge
device. This module is a part of the infrastructure that enables a transparent bridging IP
firewall and is only useful for kernel versions above version 2.5.44.
--physdev-in name
Name of a bridge port via which a packet is received (only for packets entering the
INPUT, FORWARD and PREROUTING chains). If the interface name ends in a "+", then
any interface which begins with this name will match. If the packet didn't arrive
through a bridge device, this packet won't match this option, unless '!' is used.
--physdev-out name
Name of a bridge port via which a packet is going to be sent (for packets entering
the FORWARD, OUTPUT and POSTROUTING chains). If the interface name ends in a "+",
then any interface which begins with this name will match. Note that in the nat and
mangle OUTPUT chains one cannot match on the bridge output port, however one can in
the filter OUTPUT chain. If the packet won't leave by a bridge device or it is yet
unknown what the output device will be, then the packet won't match this option,
unless
--physdev-is-in
Matches if the packet has entered through a bridge interface.
--physdev-is-out
Matches if the packet will leave through a bridge interface.
--physdev-is-bridged
Matches if the packet is being bridged and therefore is not being routed. This is
only useful in the FORWARD and POSTROUTING chains.
pkttype
This module matches the link-layer packet type.
--pkt-type [unicast|broadcast|multicast]
random
This module randomly matches a certain percentage of all packets.
--average percent
Matches the given percentage. If omitted, a probability of 50% is set.
realm
This matches the routing realm. Routing realms are used in complex routing setups involv-
ing dynamic routing protocols like BGP.
--realm [!]value[/mask]
Matches a given realm number (and optionally mask).
state
This module, when combined with connection tracking, allows access to the connection
tracking state for this packet.
--state state
Where state is a comma separated list of the connection states to match. Possible
states are INVALID meaning that the packet could not be identified for some reason
which includes running out of memory and ICMP errors which don't correspond to any
known connection, ESTABLISHED meaning that the packet is associated with a connec-
tion which has seen packets in both directions, NEW meaning that the packet has
started a new connection, or otherwise associated with a connection which has not
seen packets in both directions, and RELATED meaning that the packet is starting a
new connection, but is associated with an existing connection, such as an FTP data
transfer, or an ICMP error.
tcp
These extensions are loaded if '--protocol tcp' is specified. It provides the following
options:
--source-port [!] port[:port]
Source port or port range specification. This can either be a service name or a
port number. An inclusive range can also be specified, using the format port:port.
If the first port is omitted, "0" is assumed; if the last is omitted, "65535" is
assumed. If the second port greater then the first they will be swapped. The flag
--sport is a convenient alias for this option.
--destination-port [!] port[:port]
Destination port or port range specification. The flag --dport is a convenient
alias for this option.
--tcp-flags [!] mask comp
Match when the TCP flags are as specified. The first argument is the flags which
we should examine, written as a comma-separated list, and the second argument is a
comma-separated list of flags which must be set. Flags are: SYN ACK FIN RST URG
PSH ALL NONE. Hence the command
iptables -A FORWARD -p tcp --tcp-flags SYN,ACK,FIN,RST SYN
will only match packets with the SYN flag set, and the ACK, FIN and RST flags
unset.
[!] --syn
Only match TCP packets with the SYN bit set and the ACK and RST bits cleared. Such
packets are used to request TCP connection initiation; for example, blocking such
packets coming in an interface will prevent incoming TCP connections, but outgoing
TCP connections will be unaffected. It is equivalent to --tcp-flags SYN,RST,ACK
SYN. If the "!" flag precedes the "--syn", the sense of the option is inverted.
--tcp-option [!] number
Match if TCP option set.
--mss value[:value]
Match TCP SYN or SYN/ACK packets with the specified MSS value (or range), which
control the maximum packet size for that connection.
tcpmss
This matches the TCP MSS (maximum segment size) field of the TCP header. You can only use
this on TCP SYN or SYN/ACK packets, since the MSS is only negotiated during the TCP hand-
shake at connection startup time.
[!] --mss value[:value]"
Match a given TCP MSS value or range.
time
This matches if the packet arrival time/date is within a given range. All options are fac-
ultative.
--timestart value
Match only if it is after 'value' (Inclusive, format: HH:MM ; default 00:00).
--timestop value
Match only if it is before 'value' (Inclusive, format: HH:MM ; default 23:59).
--days listofdays
Match only if today is one of the given days. (format: Mon,Tue,Wed,Thu,Fri,Sat,Sun
; default everyday)
--datestart date
Match only if it is after 'date' (Inclusive, format: YYYY[:MM[:DD[:hh[:mm[:ss]]]]]
; h,m,s start from 0 ; default to 1970)
--datestop date
Match only if it is before 'date' (Inclusive, format: YYYY[:MM[:DD[:hh[:mm[:ss]]]]]
; h,m,s start from 0 ; default to 2037)
tos
This module matches the 8 bits of Type of Service field in the IP header (ie. including
the precedence bits).
--tos tos
The argument is either a standard name, (use
iptables -m tos -h
to see the list), or a numeric value to match.
ttl
This module matches the time to live field in the IP header.
--ttl-eq ttl
Matches the given TTL value.
--ttl-gt ttl
Matches if TTL is greater than the given TTL value.
--ttl-lt ttl
Matches if TTL is less than the given TTL value.
udp
These extensions are loaded if '--protocol udp' is specified. It provides the following
options:
--source-port [!] port[:port]
Source port or port range specification. See the description of the --source-port
option of the TCP extension for details.
--destination-port [!] port[:port]
Destination port or port range specification. See the description of the --desti-
nation-port option of the TCP extension for details.
unclean
This module takes no options, but attempts to match packets which seem malformed or
unusual. This is regarded as experimental.
TARGET EXTENSIONS
iptables can use extended target modules: the following are included in the standard dis-
tribution.
BALANCE
This allows you to DNAT connections in a round-robin way over a given range of destination
addresses.
--to-destination ipaddr-ipaddr
Address range to round-robin over.
CLASSIFY
This module allows you to set the skb->priority value (and thus classify the packet into a
specific CBQ class).
--set-class MAJOR:MINOR
Set the major and minor class value.
CLUSTERIP
This module allows you to configure a simple cluster of nodes that share a certain IP and
MAC address without an explicit load balancer in front of them. Connections are stati-
cally distributed between the nodes in this cluster.
--new Create a new ClusterIP. You always have to set this on the first rule for a given
ClusterIP.
--hashmode mode
Specify the hashing mode. Has to be one of sourceip, sourceip-sourceport, sour-
ceip-sourceport-destport
--clustermac mac
Specify the ClusterIP MAC address. Has to be a link-layer multicast address
--total-nodes num
Number of total nodes within this cluster.
--local-node num
Local node number within this cluster.
--hash-init rnd
Specify the random seed used for hash initialization.
CONNMARK
This module sets the netfilter mark value associated with a connection
--set-mark mark[/mask]
Set connection mark. If a mask is specified then only those bits set in the mask is
modified.
--save-mark [--mask mask]
Copy the netfilter packet mark value to the connection mark. If a mask is specified
then only those bits are copied.
--restore-mark [--mask mask]
Copy the connection mark value to the packet. If a mask is specified then only
those bits are copied. This is only valid in the mangle table.
DNAT
This target is only valid in the nat table, in the PREROUTING and OUTPUT chains, and user-
defined chains which are only called from those chains. It specifies that the destination
address of the packet should be modified (and all future packets in this connection will
also be mangled), and rules should cease being examined. It takes one type of option:
--to-destination ipaddr[-ipaddr][:port-port]
which can specify a single new destination IP address, an inclusive range of IP
addresses, and optionally, a port range (which is only valid if the rule also spec-
ifies -p tcp or -p udp). If no port range is specified, then the destination port
will never be modified.
You can add several --to-destination options. If you specify more than one desti-
nation address, either via an address range or multiple --to-destination options, a
simple round-robin (one after another in cycle) load balancing takes place between
these adresses.
DSCP
This target allows to alter the value of the DSCP bits within the TOS header of the IPv4
packet. As this manipulates a packet, it can only be used in the mangle table.
--set-dscp value
Set the DSCP field to a numerical value (can be decimal or hex)
--set-dscp-class class
Set the DSCP field to a DiffServ class.
ECN
This target allows to selectively work around known ECN blackholes. It can only be used
in the mangle table.
--ecn-tcp-remove
Remove all ECN bits from the TCP header. Of course, it can only be used in con-
junction with -p tcp.
LOG
Turn on kernel logging of matching packets. When this option is set for a rule, the Linux
kernel will print some information on all matching packets (like most IP header fields)
via the kernel log (where it can be read with dmesg or syslogd(8)). This is a "non-termi-
nating target", i.e. rule traversal continues at the next rule. So if you want to LOG the
packets you refuse, use two separate rules with the same matching criteria, first using
target LOG then DROP (or REJECT).
--log-level level
Level of logging (numeric or see syslog.conf(5)).
--log-prefix prefix
Prefix log messages with the specified prefix; up to 29 letters long, and useful
for distinguishing messages in the logs.
--log-tcp-sequence
Log TCP sequence numbers. This is a security risk if the log is readable by users.
--log-tcp-options
Log options from the TCP packet header.
--log-ip-options
Log options from the IP packet header.
MARK
This is used to set the netfilter mark value associated with the packet. It is only valid
in the mangle table. It can for example be used in conjunction with iproute2.
--set-mark mark
MASQUERADE
This target is only valid in the nat table, in the POSTROUTING chain. It should only be
used with dynamically assigned IP (dialup) connections: if you have a static IP address,
you should use the SNAT target. Masquerading is equivalent to specifying a mapping to the
IP address of the interface the packet is going out, but also has the effect that connec-
tions are forgotten when the interface goes down. This is the correct behavior when the
next dialup is unlikely to have the same interface address (and hence any established con-
nections are lost anyway). It takes one option:
--to-ports port[-port]
This specifies a range of source ports to use, overriding the default SNAT source
port-selection heuristics (see above). This is only valid if the rule also speci-
fies -p tcp or -p udp.
MIRROR
This is an experimental demonstration target which inverts the source and destination
fields in the IP header and retransmits the packet. It is only valid in the INPUT, FOR-
WARD and PREROUTING chains, and user-defined chains which are only called from those
chains. Note that the outgoing packets are NOT seen by any packet filtering chains, con-
nection tracking or NAT, to avoid loops and other problems.
NETMAP
This target allows you to statically map a whole network of addresses onto another network
of addresses. It can only be used from rules in the nat table.
--to address[/mask]
Network address to map to. The resulting address will be constructed in the fol-
lowing way: All 'one' bits in the mask are filled in from the new 'address'. All
bits that are zero in the mask are filled in from the original address.
NOTRACK
This target disables connection tracking for all packets matching that rule.
It can only be used in the
raw table.
REDIRECT
This target is only valid in the nat table, in the PREROUTING and OUTPUT chains, and user-
defined chains which are only called from those chains. It alters the destination IP
address to send the packet to the machine itself (locally-generated packets are mapped to
the 127.0.0.1 address). It takes one option:
--to-ports port[-port]
This specifies a destination port or range of ports to use: without this, the des-
tination port is never altered. This is only valid if the rule also specifies -p
tcp or -p udp.
REJECT
This is used to send back an error packet in response to the matched packet: otherwise it
is equivalent to DROP so it is a terminating TARGET, ending rule traversal. This target
is only valid in the INPUT, FORWARD and OUTPUT chains, and user-defined chains which are
only called from those chains. The following option controls the nature of the error
packet returned:
--reject-with type
The type given can be
icmp-net-unreachable
icmp-host-unreachable
icmp-port-unreachable
icmp-proto-unreachable
icmp-net-prohibited
icmp-host-prohibited or
icmp-admin-prohibited (*)
which return the appropriate ICMP error message (port-unreachable is the default).
The option tcp-reset can be used on rules which only match the TCP protocol: this
causes a TCP RST packet to be sent back. This is mainly useful for blocking ident
(113/tcp) probes which frequently occur when sending mail to broken mail hosts
(which won't accept your mail otherwise).
(*) Using icmp-admin-prohibited with kernels that do not support it will result in a plain
DROP instead of REJECT
ROUTE
This is used to explicitly override the core network stack's routing decision. mangle ta-
ble.
--oif ifname
Route the packet through 'ifname' network interface
--iif ifname
Change the packet's incoming interface to 'ifname'
--gw IP_address
Route the packet via this gateway
--continue
Behave like a non-terminating target and continue traversing the rules. Not valid
in combination with '--iif'
SNAT
This target is only valid in the nat table, in the POSTROUTING chain. It specifies that
the source address of the packet should be modified (and all future packets in this con-
nection will also be mangled), and rules should cease being examined. It takes one type
of option:
--to-source ipaddr[-ipaddr][:port-port]
which can specify a single new source IP address, an inclusive range of IP
addresses, and optionally, a port range (which is only valid if the rule also spec-
ifies -p tcp or -p udp). If no port range is specified, then source ports below
512 will be mapped to other ports below 512: those between 512 and 1023 inclusive
will be mapped to ports below 1024, and other ports will be mapped to 1024 or
above. Where possible, no port alteration will occur.
You can add several --to-source options. If you specify more than one source
address, either via an address range or multiple --to-source options, a simple
round-robin (one after another in cycle) takes place between these adresses.
TCPMSS
This target allows to alter the MSS value of TCP SYN packets, to control the maximum size
for that connection (usually limiting it to your outgoing interface's MTU minus 40). Of
course, it can only be used in conjunction with -p tcp.
This target is used to overcome criminally braindead ISPs or servers which block ICMP
Fragmentation Needed packets. The symptoms of this problem are that everything works fine
from your Linux firewall/router, but machines behind it can never exchange large packets:
1) Web browsers connect, then hang with no data received.
2) Small mail works fine, but large emails hang.
3) ssh works fine, but scp hangs after initial handshaking.
Workaround: activate this option and add a rule to your firewall configuration like:
iptables -A FORWARD -p tcp --tcp-flags SYN,RST SYN \
-j TCPMSS --clamp-mss-to-pmtu
--set-mss value
Explicitly set MSS option to specified value.
--clamp-mss-to-pmtu
Automatically clamp MSS value to (path_MTU - 40).
These options are mutually exclusive.
TOS
This is used to set the 8-bit Type of Service field in the IP header. It is only valid in
the mangle table.
--set-tos tos
You can use a numeric TOS values, or use
iptables -j TOS -h
to see the list of valid TOS names.
TRACE
This target has no options. It just turns on packet tracing for all packets that match
this rule.
TTL
This is used to modify the IPv4 TTL header field. The TTL field determines how many hops
(routers) a packet can traverse until it's time to live is exceeded.
Setting or incrementing the TTL field can potentially be very dangerous,
so it should be avoided at any cost.
Don't ever set or increment the value on packets that leave your local network!
mangle table.
--ttl-set value
Set the TTL value to 'value'.
--ttl-dec value
Decrement the TTL value 'value' times.
--ttl-inc value
Increment the TTL value 'value' times.
ULOG
This target provides userspace logging of matching packets. When this target is set for a
rule, the Linux kernel will multicast this packet through a netlink socket. One or more
userspace processes may then subscribe to various multicast groups and receive the pack-
ets. Like LOG, this is a "non-terminating target", i.e. rule traversal continues at the
next rule.
--ulog-nlgroup nlgroup
This specifies the netlink group (1-32) to which the packet is sent. Default value
is 1.
--ulog-prefix prefix
Prefix log messages with the specified prefix; up to 32 characters long, and useful
for distinguishing messages in the logs.
--ulog-cprange size
Number of bytes to be copied to userspace. A value of 0 always copies the entire
packet, regardless of its size. Default is 0.
--ulog-qthreshold size
Number of packet to queue inside kernel. Setting this value to, e.g. 10 accumu-
lates ten packets inside the kernel and transmits them as one netlink multipart
message to userspace. Default is 1 (for backwards compatibility).
DIAGNOSTICS
Various error messages are printed to standard error. The exit code is 0 for correct
functioning. Errors which appear to be caused by invalid or abused command line parame-
ters cause an exit code of 2, and other errors cause an exit code of 1.
BUGS
Bugs? What's this? ;-) Well... the counters are not reliable on sparc64.
COMPATIBILITY WITH IPCHAINS
This iptables is very similar to ipchains by Rusty Russell. The main difference is that
the chains INPUT and OUTPUT are only traversed for packets coming into the local host and
originating from the local host respectively. Hence every packet only passes through one
of the three chains (except loopback traffic, which involves both INPUT and OUTPUT
chains); previously a forwarded packet would pass through all three.
The other main difference is that -i refers to the input interface; -o refers to the out-
put interface, and both are available for packets entering the FORWARD chain.
iptables is a pure packet filter when using the default 'filter' table, with optional
extension modules. This should simplify much of the previous confusion over the combina-
tion of IP masquerading and packet filtering seen previously. So the following options
are handled differently:
-j MASQ
-M -S
-M -L
There are several other changes in iptables.
SEE ALSO
iptables-save(8), iptables-restore(8), ip6tables(8), ip6tables-save(8), ip6tables-
restore(8).
The packet-filtering-HOWTO details iptables usage for packet filtering, the NAT-HOWTO
details NAT, the netfilter-extensions-HOWTO details the extensions that are not in the
standard distribution, and the netfilter-hacking-HOWTO details the netfilter internals.
See http://www.netfilter.org/.
AUTHORS
Rusty Russell wrote iptables, in early consultation with Michael Neuling.
Marc Boucher made Rusty abandon ipnatctl by lobbying for a generic packet selection frame-
work in iptables, then wrote the mangle table, the owner match, the mark stuff, and ran
around doing cool stuff everywhere.
James Morris wrote the TOS target, and tos match.
Jozsef Kadlecsik wrote the REJECT target.
Harald Welte wrote the ULOG target, TTL, DSCP, ECN matches and targets.
The Netfilter Core Team is: Marc Boucher, Martin Josefsson, Jozsef Kadlecsik, Patrick
McHardy, James Morris, Harald Welte and Rusty Russell.
Man page written by Herve Eychenne <>.
Mar 09, 2002 IPTABLES(8)
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