gsshpass

gsshpass Network Automation

This utility is a powerful tool for network automation, enabling remote command execution over SSH on network devices. It's built in Go and provides a flexible and efficient way to manage network configurations and operations.

Features

• Windows Support: Should work on any platform Go compiles on, including windows
• SSH-Based Command Execution: Connect to devices using SSH and execute commands remotely.
• Interactive Shell Support: Option to invoke an interactive shell on the remote device for complex command sequences.
• Customizable SSH Configuration: Supports setting various SSH parameters like ciphers, key exchanges, and host key algorithms.
• Prompt Recognition: Ability to recognize custom prompts in interactive sessions, useful for script automation in varied environments.
• Timeout Handling: Configurable command execution timeout to handle unresponsive sessions. The timeout error message now includes the count of prompts seen to assist in debugging and script tuning.
• Single/Multiple Command Execution: Ability to run multiple commands in a sequence, either in a shell session or single individual SSH commands without a shell.
• Intercommand Delay: Set a delay between the execution of commands to accommodate slower responding devices.
• Command File Input: Option to use a command file instead of command-line input for executing a sequence of commands, providing an alternative for complex automation tasks.

CLI Arguments

• -h: SSH Host in the format ip:port. Example: 192.168.1.1:22.
• -u: SSH Username for authentication.
• -p: SSH Password for authentication.
• -c: Commands to run, separated by commas. Example: show running-config,show ip interface brief.
• --invoke-shell: Boolean flag to invoke shell before running the command. Useful for interactive commands.
• --prompt: Custom prompt to look for in interactive shell mode. Useful to identify when to send the next command.
• --prompt-count: Number of times the custom prompt is matched before concluding command execution in shell mode.
• -t: Timeout duration in seconds for command execution. Helps prevent hanging sessions.
• --ciphers: Comma-separated list of SSH ciphers. Example: aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr.
• --kex: Comma-separated list of SSH key exchange algorithms.
• --hostkeyalgos: Comma-separated list of SSH host key algorithms.
• --intercommand-delay: Delay in seconds between each command. Default is 1 second.
• --command-file: File path for a file containing a list of commands to be executed.

Usage

Compile the utility and run it using the appropriate flags. For example:

./gsshpass -h 192.168.1.1:22 -u admin -p password -c "term len 0,show version,show interfaces" --invoke-shell --prompt "Router#" --prompt-count 3 -t 30

This command connects to a router at 192.168.1.1 on port 22, logs in with username admin and password password, then executes show version and show interfaces in an interactive shell session, waiting for the custom prompt Router# three times before concluding each command, with a timeout of 30 seconds.

For a sequence of commands with delays, you might use:

./gsshpass -h "192.168.1.1:22" -u "cisco" -p "cisco" -c "configure terminal,interface GigabitEthernet0/1,description Link to Router,,," --invoke-shell --prompt "#" --prompt-count 2 --intercommand-delay 2

This command configures an interface description on a Cisco device, with a 2-second delay between each command, and expects to see the "#" prompt twice before concluding the session.

Alternatively, to use a command file:

./gsshpass -h "192.168.1.1:22" -u "cisco" -p "cisco" --command-file "router_commands.txt"

Here is an example command text file:

configure terminal
banner motd #
ASCII Art:
TCP Header:
0                   1                   2                   3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|          Source Port          |        Destination Port       |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|                        Sequence Number                        |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|                     Acknowledgment Number                     |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Offset|  Res. |     Flags     |             Window            |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|            Checksum           |         Urgent Pointer        |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|                    Options                    |    Padding    |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Terms of Use:
Unauthorized access is prohibited. Usage is subject to security testing and monitoring. Misuse is subject to criminal prosecution.
#

This will execute a series of commands listed in router_commands.txt on the Cisco device.

Building from Source

Ensure you have Go installed and run:

go build -o gsshpass.exe

This will compile the source code into an executable named gsshpass.exe.

via go get

go get github.com/scottpeterman/gsshpass@v0.1.0-beta.1

Error Reporting

In case of a timeout due to an insufficient number of prompts, the error message will now include the actual count of prompts seen. This aids in adjusting the --prompt-count for subsequent executions.