How to Check FTP Accounts on a CentOS System

Managing FTP accounts on a CentOS system involves inspecting the configuration files and user lists associated with your FTP server software. Common FTP servers on CentOS include vsftpd, proftpd, and pure-ftpd. Below are the steps to check user accounts for each of these servers.

1. vsftpd

vsftpd (Very Secure FTP Daemon) is a widely used FTP server for Unix-like systems.

Checking User Accounts

1. Local Users: If your FTP server is configured to allow local system users to log in, list these users by inspecting the /etc/passwd file:
   cat /etc/passwd
   

2. Virtual Users: If virtual users are configured, they might be defined in a separate file. Look for the user_config_dir in the vsftpd configuration to find this file:
   grep -i "user_config_dir" /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf
   

3. Anonymous Users: If anonymous FTP is enabled, you can verify this in the configuration file /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf by finding the following line:
   anonymous_enable=YES
   

Configuration Files

• Main configuration file:
  /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf
  

2. proftpd

proftpd is another popular FTP server.

Checking User Accounts

1. Local Users: Similar to vsftpd, check the local users in the /etc/passwd file:
   cat /etc/passwd
   

2. Virtual Users: Virtual users might be stored in a separate file or database. Look for AuthUserFile or similar directives in the proftpd configuration:
   grep -i "AuthUserFile" /etc/proftpd/proftpd.conf
   

Configuration Files

• Main configuration file:
  /etc/proftpd/proftpd.conf
  

3. pure-ftpd

pure-ftpd is a lightweight FTP server.

Checking User Accounts

1. Local Users: As with the other servers, check /etc/passwd for local users:
   cat /etc/passwd
   

2. Virtual Users: Virtual users for pure-ftpd might be managed using a separate file or database. Check the pure-ftpd configuration for details.

Configuration Files

• Main configuration file:
  /etc/pure-ftpd/pure-ftpd.conf
  

Additional Tips

• Service Management: To check if the FTP service is running, you can use:
  systemctl status vsftpd
  systemctl status proftpd
  systemctl status pure-ftpd
  

• User-Specific Configurations: FTP servers may have user-specific settings in separate directories, such as /etc/vsftpd/user_conf/ for vsftpd.
• Logs: Reviewing log files can also provide information about FTP accounts and activity:
  /var/log/vsftpd.log
  /var/log/proftpd/proftpd.log
  /var/log/pure-ftpd/pure-ftpd.log
  

By examining these files and configurations, you can gather all necessary information about the FTP accounts configured on your CentOS system.