RustDesk now supports true unattended remote access on Wayland

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

RustDesk’s new ability to provide unattended remote access on Linux Wayland desktops is welcomed as a fast, open-source alternative to tools like TeamViewer, AnyDesk, VNC, and RDP, especially for self-hosted setups and tech support. Commenters highlight strong performance and ease of use but raise concerns about password policies, cryptographic design, lack of encryption for direct LAN connections, and some closed or unlicensed components around the project. The feature also underscores ongoing friction in Wayland’s ecosystem, where basic capabilities like full remote control still require low-level DRM/KMS workarounds and compositor-specific extensions.

Overall sentiment

  • Many are enthusiastic about RustDesk as a TeamViewer/AnyDesk replacement that “just works,” is self-hostable, and avoids account/lock‑in.
  • Others are cautious or negative due to security doubts, high resource use on some systems, and Wayland/implementation concerns.

Use cases and comparisons

  • Main draw: unattended remote access to Linux desktops (including Wayland), tech support, and general remote GUI use.
  • Several note you can already do similar things with VNC, Xpra, RDP, Remmina-over-SSH, or SSH alone; RustDesk is seen as another option, not fundamentally new.
  • Compared with VNC:
    • Claimed advantages: better performance via video codecs, multi-monitor support, easier NAT traversal (no port forwarding/VPN needed).
    • Counterexamples: some report extremely high CPU usage and prefer TightVNC or TigerVNC in practice.
  • Compared with Sunshine/Moonlight and Steam Link:
    • RustDesk is viewed as easier and less “janky” outside local networks, but Sunshine is cited as a strong technical reference for Wayland/DRM capture.

Wayland and technical implementation

  • New feature: true unattended access on Wayland, solving a long‑standing pain point also seen by OBS and others.
  • Likely uses a privileged daemon with DRM/KMS framebuffer capture and uinput-style input injection, similar to Sunshine.
  • A dependency (libdrmtap) only provides screen capture; input is still compositor-specific, so full, universal Wayland support remains messy.
  • Some criticize Wayland’s design as making basic remote-desktop use cases far harder than on X11 or historical Windows (RDP/Terminal Services).

Security, passwords, and encryption

  • Password policy:
    • Some want passphrase-style (XKCD) passwords and dislike RustDesk’s complexity rules.
    • Others argue short word-based passphrases are easily crackable with consumer GPUs when stored with fast hashes (MD5/SHA-256).
    • Counterarguments stress entropy math, rate-limited online guessing, and benefits of longer passphrases; suggestion that a KDF like Argon2 would be better than SHA-256.
  • One commenter examined RustDesk’s code, claims a custom SHA‑256-based challenge scheme with unclear documentation and potential MITM risk, and recommends not using the software.
  • Encryption:
    • Normal RustDesk sessions via a server (including self-hosted) are reported as end‑to‑end encrypted using NaCl-based boxes.
    • Direct IP “local network” connections are not encrypted, are off by default, and officially considered a test feature; maintainers suggest using a VPN (WireGuard/Tailscale) instead.
    • Some consider lack of built-in direct-link encryption a serious omission; others say LAN+VPN is sufficient.

Open-source status and ecosystem

  • RustDesk is marketed as open source including the server.
  • Critics point out:
    • A required submodule without a license, and closed-source DLLs for some features, put it in a gray area between open source and source-available.
  • An alternative server implementation (BetterDesk) is mentioned:
    • Uses a single Go binary with an optional Node.js/Postgres web UI (SQLite default).
    • Some like the architecture; others criticize perceived overkill and the project’s AI-generated feel.

Missing features and smaller points

  • Desired features:
    • Self-hosted web client.
    • Microphone input passthrough (currently not working; one user relies on a separate hardware KVM-like device as a workaround).
    • Clear support for completely headless machines is asked but not answered.
  • Some nitpicks:
    • Menu/notification CSS issue.
    • Confusion around “encrypted when self-hosted” vs direct IP mode.
    • Mixed feelings about maintainers’ “we don’t plan to implement this, but PRs welcome” stance on LAN encryption.

Networking and “zero-trust” discussions

  • Several users pair RustDesk with Tailscale or WireGuard for encryption, access control, and to avoid exposing services to the public internet.
  • Others argue remote desktop tools should natively support secure transport (e.g., TLS/QUIC with proper authentication or TOFU) without relying on a VPN.
  • Broader ideas mentioned: OIDC/WebAuthn, SSH-key-based client auth, IPv6 + dynamic DNS, DHT-based address discovery (iroh/pkarr), and zero-trust frontends (Envoy, Authelia) for self‑hosted services.