PolarProxy 2.0.2 Released
A few more handy features have been added to PolarProxy, our TLS inspection proxy. PolarProxy can now tunnel outgoing connections through SOCKS proxies and supports environment variables as an alternative to command-line arguments. PolarProxy also ships with a software bill of materials (SBOM), providing greater transparency into its dependencies.
SOCKS Proxy Client
PolarProxy has been able to accept incoming connections over SOCKS since version 0.9. With this release, PolarProxy can also send outgoing connections through another SOCKS proxy server. Both SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 are supported. This feature enables many use cases, including inspecting your own HTTPS requests before sending them through the Tor network.
The following command starts a SOCKS proxy on TCP port 1080 and forwards all traffic to a Tor SOCKS5 proxy listening on TCP port 9050. A copy of the traffic transmitted through the tunnel, including decrypted TLS traffic, is made available through a PCAP-over-IP service on TCP port 57012.
PolarProxy’s SOCKS client can also be used as a protocol converter. For example, incoming HTTP proxy and HAProxy connections can be converted into SOCKS proxy requests with the following command:
Simplified and Flexible Deployments
PolarProxy 2.0.2 enables users to supply configuration settings through environment variables as an alternative to command-line arguments. PolarProxy environment variables use uppercase names with the PP_ prefix. For example, the PP_SOCKS environment variable corresponds to the --socks command-line option.
Environment variables provide a clean separation between an application and its configuration. This is particularly useful when running PolarProxy with systemd, Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, Helm or other orchestration tools. They can simplify deployments and make ongoing configuration changes more flexible.
PolarProxy 2.0.2 also ships with a docker-compose.yml (musl builds only) or a systemd unit file (non-musl Linux builds), depending on which target the downloaded release is built for. These files simplify deployment. A docker container can, for example, be deployed by running:
# Modify polarproxy.env
docker compose up -d
A systemd service can be deployed with:
# Modify polarproxy.env
./install-polarproxy-service.sh
More Timeouts
PolarProxy 2.0.2 adds a new type of timeout that allows connections to be closed when the client or server has been idle for a specified period. Closing unused “dead” connections helps maintain a clean state and prevents zombie connections from lingering in PolarProxy or in clients connected through PolarProxy.
PolarProxy can now close connections based on timeouts at the following communication stages:
- TCP handshake: --timeout <seconds>
- TLS handshake: --tlstimeout <seconds>
- Idle client connection: --idletimeoutclient <seconds>
- Idle server connection: --idletimeoutserver <seconds>
The default timeout for TCP and TLS handshakes is 30 seconds, while the idle timeout is disabled by default.
SBOM: Software Bill of Materials
PolarProxy 2.0.2 includes a software bill of materials (SBOM), providing an overview of the components, libraries, and dependencies included in PolarProxy.
The SBOM supports software transparency and helps users assess their software supply chain. The file shipped with PolarProxy uses the SPDX format and is named polarproxy.spdx.json.
PolarProxy's SBOM can be integrated into your security and compliance workflows using standard vulnerability scanning tools. For more info about SBOMs, refer to NIST's Software Supply Chain Security Guidance.
Downloading and Installing PolarProxy
For more information on how to download and deploy PolarProxy in your environment, see the official PolarProxy product page.
Posted by Erik Hjelmvik on Tuesday, 08 September 2026 12:35:00 (UTC/GMT)
Tags: #PolarProxy #SOCKS #Tor
