I have a bash script that acts as the default shell for a user loging in trough ssh. It provides a menu with several options one of wich is sending a file using netcat. The netcat of the embedded linux I'm using lacks the -w option, so if the user closes the ssh connection without ever sending the file, the netcat command waits forever. I need to know if the user abruptly closes the connection so the script can kill the netcat command and exit gracefully. Things I've tried so far: Trapping the SIGHUP: it is not issued. The only signal issued i could find is SIGCONT, but I don't think it's reliable and portable. Playing with the -t option of the read command to detect a closed stdin: this would work if not for a silly bug in the embedded read command (only times out on the first invocation)