Infinite Servers

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 11:41:27 +0000

Introduction

Infinite Servers is a self-hosted server fleet monitor built around a single design constraint: the agent must run completely unprivileged. Each monitored host installs a PHP script that runs as nobody, reads /proc, and pushes status every 15 seconds to a central dashboard. No root access, no persistent daemon with elevated privileges, no external database server.

This design was motivated by the security risks that plague popular alternatives. Tools like Nezha require agents to run as root, which creates a severe blast-radius problem: if the dashboard is compromised, an attacker can push arbitrary commands to every connected host with full system privileges. Two recent CVEs illustrate just how real this risk is:

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Infinite Servers

Introduction