Please take this discussion to this post: https://lemmy.ml/post/28376589
Main content
Selfhosting is always a dilemma in terms of security for a lot of reasons. Nevertheless, I have one simple goal: selfhost a Jellyfin instance in the most secure way possible. I don’t plan to access it anywhere but home.
TL;DR
I want the highest degree of security possible, but my hard limits are:
- No custom DNS
- Always-on VPN
- No self-signed certificates (unless there is no risk of MITM)
- No external server
Full explanation
I want to be able to access it from multiple devices, so it can’t be a local-only instance.
I have a Raspberry Pi 5 that I want to host it on. That means I will not be hosting it on an external server, and I will only be able to run something light like securecore rather than something heavy like Qubes OS. Eventually I would like to use GrapheneOS to host it, once Android’s virtual machine management app becomes more stable.
It’s still crazy to me that 2TB microSDXC cards are a real thing.
I would like to avoid subscription costs such as the cost of buying a domain or the cost of paying for a VPN, however I prioritize security over cost. It is truly annoying that Jellyfin clients seldom support self-signed certificates, meaning the only way to get proper E2EE is by buying a domain and using a certificate authority. I wouldn’t want to use a self-signed certificate anyways, due to the risk of MITM attacks. I am a penetration tester, so I have tested attacks by injecting malicious certificates before. It is possible to add self-signed certificates as trusted certificates for each system, but I haven’t been able to get that to work since it seems clients don’t trust them anyways.
Buying a domain also runs many privacy risks, since it’s difficult to buy domains without handing over personal information. I do not want to change my DNS, since that risks browser fingerprinting if it differs from the VPN provider. I always use a VPN (currently ProtonVPN) for my devices.
If I pay for ProtonVPN (or other providers) it is possible to allow LAN connections, which would help significantly, but the issue of self-signed certificates still lingers.
With that said, it seems my options are very limited.
Hi. I am a software engineer with a background in IT security. My girlfriend is a literal network security engineer.
I showed her this thread and she said: don’t bother, just use http on your local network.
Anyways, I am going to disengage from this thread now. Skepticism against things one doesn’t fully understand can be healthy, but this is an insane mix of paranoia and naïveté.
You are not a target; the things you are afraid of will never happen; and if they did, they would not have the consequences you think they would.
Your router will NOT magically expose your traffic to the internet (what would that even mean?? Like, if it spontaneously started port forwarding to your Jellyfin server (how? By just randomly guessing the port and IP???), someone would still need to actively request that traffic, AND know your login credentials, AND CARE).
Your ISP does not give a shit about you owning or streaming copyrighted material over your local network. It has no stake in that.
Graphene is not an ultimate arbiter of IT security, but the reason it “distrusts networks” is because you take your phone with you, constantly moving into actual untrusted networks (i.e. ones you do not own).
Hosting Jellyfin on Graphene will not make it more secure, whatsoever.
If every device is assumed compromised, and compromising devices with knowledge that you watch media is a threat in your model, then even putting an SD card with media in your phone and clicking play is dangerous. Which is stupid.
If you actually assume your router is malicious, then please assume that when you initially downloaded your VPN client, it was also compromised and your VPN is not trustworthy.
The way I see it, you have two options:
- educate yourself on network security to the point of being able to trust your network setup; or
- forget about hosting anything
I’m interested in you and your girlfriend’s thoughts on my new post about this issue.
P.S. She’s a keeper. Marry her already!
Hi again. Sorry for being so rude yesterday. Your new post actually clears the situation up a lot.
We might have an idea for you, will comment on the new post.
Your post is very confusing. You want to use it only locally (on your home), but it can’t be a local-only instance.
You want to e2ee everything, but fail to mention why. There is no reason to do that on your own network.
I do not know why you want to use a VPN and what you want to do with it. Where do you want to connect to?
What is the attack vector you’re worried about? Are there malicious entities on your network?
You want to use it only locally (on your home), but it can’t be a local-only instance.
By “local-only” I meant on-device
You want to e2ee everything, but fail to mention why.
Privacy and security.
There is no reason to do that on your own network.
Networks are not a trusted party in any capacity.
I do not know why you want to use a VPN and what you want to do with it. Where do you want to connect to?
A VPN such as ProtonVPN or Mullvad VPN are used to displace trust from your ISP into your VPN provider and obscure your IP address while web browsing (among other benefits that I don’t utilize).
What is the attack vector you’re worried about? Are there malicious entities on your network?
These are good questions but not ones I can answer briefly.
My short answer: you’re overthinking it way too hard and I think sticking that microSD-Card into the device you want to watch on is your best bet.
You’re chasing ghosts.
