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Dropbear

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Dropbear's own site

Plans

PlanBilled and limitsPrice
DropbearOpen source SSH server and client distributed under a MIT-style licenseFree

As matt.ucc.asn.au lists them, read 5 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Facts from Dropbear's own pages

Algorithm defaults
The changelog says SHA-1 algorithms are disabled by default and post-quantum key exchange was added in release 2025.87. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 4 Oct 2026
Build options
Features can be disabled when compiling to save space, and the server, client, key generator, and key converter can be compiled into one binary. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Footprint
With uClibc on x86 and minimal options selected, Dropbear can compile to a 110 kB statically linked binary. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 4 Oct 2026
Forwarding
The server implements X11 forwarding and authentication-agent forwarding for OpenSSH clients. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Intended use
The maker says Dropbear is particularly useful for embedded Linux or other Unix systems, such as wireless routers. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
License
Dropbear is open-source software distributed under an MIT-style license. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 4 Oct 2026
Maker location
The Dropbear website says it is hosted by The University Computer Club in Perth, Australia. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Memory footprint
With uClibc on x86 and only minimal options selected, Dropbear can compile to a 110kB statically linked binary. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Multi-hop
Its multi-hop mode uses SSH TCP forwarding to tunnel through multiple SSH hosts in a single command. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Operation
Dropbear can run from inetd or as a standalone service. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 4 Oct 2026
Platforms
The maker lists Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, IRIX, Tru64, AIX, HPUX, and Cygwin among supported or tested platforms. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Public key authentication
Dropbear is compatible with OpenSSH ~/.ssh/authorized_keys public key authentication. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Purpose
Dropbear is a relatively small SSH server and client. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Release
The official site lists version 2026.94, dated 23 July 2026, as the latest release. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 4 Oct 2026
Run modes
Dropbear can run from inetd or standalone. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Security update
The changelog says release 2026.93 fixed a use-after-free in X11 forwarding that could cause memory corruption for authenticated users when forwarding was enabled; X11 forwarding is not built by default. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026
Security updates
The changelog records a 2026.93 fix for a possible memory-corruption issue in X11 forwarding affecting authenticated users when that feature is enabled; X11 forwarding is not built by default. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 4 Oct 2026
Support
The maker offers a low-volume mailing list for release notifications and general discussion. · matt.ucc.asn.au, 5 Oct 2026

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