Port Forward With IPTables
This article will walk through setting up a simple port forward using iptables.
I found very few resources for setting up a port forward with a device with a persistent Wireguard connection, so this is a simple way to set that up.
Script: #
This simple script can be used to initiate the port forward in iptables:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
tcpPorts=(32400)
udpPorts=(1900)
gatewayInternalAddress=192.168.0.1
clientAddress=192.168.0.50
externalInterface="eth0"
internalInterface="eth1"
iptables -P FORWARD DROP
for port in "${tcpPorts[@]}"
do
iptables -A FORWARD -i ${externalInterface} -o ${internalInterface} -p tcp --syn --dport ${port} -m conntrack --ctstate NEW -j ACCEPT -w
iptables -A FORWARD -i ${externalInterface} -o ${internalInterface} -m conntrack --ctstate ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT -w
iptables -A FORWARD -i ${internalInterface} -o ${externalInterface} -m conntrack --ctstate ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT -w
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -i ${externalInterface} -p tcp --dport ${port} -j DNAT --to-destination ${clientAddress} -w
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ${internalInterface} -p tcp --dport ${port} -d ${clientAddress} -j SNAT --to-source ${gatewayInternalAddress} -w
done
for port in "${udpPorts[@]}"
do
iptables -A FORWARD -i ${externalInterface} -o ${internalInterface} -p udp --dport ${port} -m conntrack --ctstate NEW -j ACCEPT -w
iptables -A FORWARD -i ${externalInterface} -o ${internalInterface} -m conntrack --ctstate ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT -w
iptables -A FORWARD -i ${internalInterface} -o ${externalInterface} -m conntrack --ctstate ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT -w
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -i ${externalInterface} -p udp --dport ${port} -j DNAT --to-destination ${clientAddress} -w
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ${internalInterface} -p udp --dport ${port} -d ${clientAddress} -j SNAT --to-source ${gatewayInternalAddress} -w
done
Modify the variables as needed. I won’t explain each of the variables as they should be self-explanatory.
As an example, you could place the script in /opt/scripts/expose-7070.sh and make it executable:
sudo chmod +x /opt/scripts/expose-7070.sh
Systemd Service: #
To ensure the script runs on boot, a systemd service can be used to execute the script (assuming you placed the script in /opt/scripts/expose-7070.sh):
[Unit]
Description=Port forward port 7070
[Service]
ExecStart=/opt/scripts/expose-7070.sh
User=root
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Place the above into /etc/systemd/system/expose-7070.service and run the following command to ensure the service runs on every boot and also runs now:
sudo systemctl enable --now expose-7070.service
That should run the script on each boot and should have loaded the rules now.