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Vyos Review

Depends

Should I use Vyos?

Not disclosed - vyos.io

· 1 month ago

Buy it if you have network-engineering skills and want a free, scriptable router/firewall OS for cloud or bare metal. Skip it if you need a GUI, plug-and-play setup, or vendor hand-holding.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources: G2, Trustpilot, PeerSpot, Reddit, vendor docs, NVD, and news.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Community

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
On-premise subscriptionNot published (contact sales)
Cloud subscriptionsMarketplace pricing (AWS, Azure)

Best for

  • Network engineers comfortable with CLI
  • Cloud and hypervisor routing (AWS, Azure, VMware)
  • Homelab builders
  • ISPs and MSPs building custom routers

Not for

  • Non-technical users wanting a plug-and-play Wi-Fi router
  • Teams without Linux or command-line skills
  • Buyers who need vendor-guaranteed, phone-support SLAs
  • Anyone unwilling to self-manage patching and upgrades

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Free tier is rolling release only; LTS builds and official support require paid subscriptions

high

Exposed instances with static SSH keys risk MITM until CVE-2025-30095 is patched

medium

Build tools were pulled from public repos, making self-built images harder

medium

Tiny vendor (~$1.2M projected revenue); long-term support depth is thinner than big-network vendors

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free, open-source network OS with routing, firewall, and VPN features
  • Runs on AWS, Azure, OpenStack, Hyper-V, and bare metal
  • 5/5 Trustpilot from 60 reviewers
  • Users report running it reliably in production datacenters
  • Juniper-like CLI appeals to engineers and is scriptable

Cons

  • CLI-only: no GUI, steep learning curve even for experienced users
  • Critical CVE-2025-30095: SSH key disclosure enables man-in-the-middle attacks
  • Stable-branch repos and LTS builds moved behind paid subscriptions
  • A sandbox escape vulnerability was reported in VyOS
  • 1.4.x is now in maintenance mode, forcing upgrade planning

Sources & method

- 10 sources - Active advisories: critical CVE-2025-30095 (SSH key disclosure/MITM) fixed in 1.4.5/1.5.1; a sandbox escape issue was also reported.

official x2review x4security x2news x2
  • CVE-2025-30095 — Dropbear SSH key disclosure, Critical cryptographic flaw exposing static SSH host keys, enabling man-in-the-middle attacks; NIST notes it is not unique to VyOS.
  • Sandbox escape issue, A sandbox escape vulnerability was discovered in VyOS per CVE tracking aggregation.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free core; undercuts priced router vendors
  • Ease of use: 2/5. CLI only; steep learning curve per users
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Full routing, firewall, VPN across clouds
  • Support quality: 3/5. Paid support portal exists; community forums active
  • Security posture: 3/5. Critical SSH CVE, but fast LTS patch releases
  • 5/5 Trustpilot 60 reviews
  • $0 Starting price 5 editions listed on G2
  • Yes Free tier Community rolling release
  • 2014 Founded Company formed to fund the project

Pricing

Community

Free

  • Rolling release images
  • No official support

On-premise subscription

Not disclosed

  • LTS builds
  • Support access
  • Education/nonprofit options noted

Cloud subscriptions

Marketplace pricing (AWS, Azure)

  • Universal Router images
  • Standard support tier
  • Private offers for high usage

Security

Active advisories: critical CVE-2025-30095 (SSH key disclosure/MITM) fixed in 1.4.5/1.5.1; a sandbox escape issue was also reported.

  • CVE-2025-30095 — Dropbear SSH key disclosureCritical cryptographic flaw exposing static SSH host keys, enabling man-in-the-middle attacks; NIST notes it is not unique to VyOS.⁸
  • Sandbox escape issueA sandbox escape vulnerability was discovered in VyOS per CVE tracking aggregation.

What users say

Users praise VyOS's reliability, performance, and value but consistently warn about its steep, CLI-only learning curve.

“VyOS as a CLI based router/firewall is amazing.”
Reddit, r/vyos
“VyOS is just Linux with a special CLI like Juniper”
Level1Techs forum
“I use VyOS as a high-performance networking solution”
VyOS reviews page

Alternatives

Compare Vyos with each alternative.

  • MikroTik RouterOS

    Affordable routers with broad protocol support

Companies that could

  • Arbor Networks Uses 6wind Turbo Router instead
Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources: G2, Trustpilot, PeerSpot, Reddit, vendor docs, NVD, and news.

Powerful free CLI router/firewall OS for engineers. Steep curve, paid LTS — not for plug-and-play buyers.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources: G2, Trustpilot, PeerSpot, Reddit, vendor docs, NVD, and news.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. VyOS Networks Reviews — Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  2. VyOS Reviews, Pricing & Features — G2g2.com
    review
  3. VyOS Platform Reviews — PeerSpotpeerspot.com
    review
  4. Anyone actually use VYOS in production? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  5. VyOS Universal Router for AWS — AWS Marketplaceaws.amazon.com
    official
  6. Get VyOS — release channelsvyos.net
    official
  7. VyOS License change — Redditreddit.com
    news
  8. CVE-2025-30095 — NIST NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  9. VyOS 1.5.1 and 1.4.5 LTS release announcementblog.vyos.io
    security
  10. VyOS Networks — Crunchbasecrunchbase.com
    news

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