diff --git a/lib/multiplexer/singleplexer.go b/lib/multiplexer/singleplexer.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..4efd07b344059
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/multiplexer/singleplexer.go
@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+// Teleport
+// Copyright (C) 2023  Gravitational, Inc.
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package multiplexer
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"context"
+	"net"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/gravitational/trace"
+	"github.com/jonboulle/clockwork"
+
+	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/defaults"
+	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/utils"
+)
+
+type connectionLimiter interface {
+	AcquireConnection(string) error
+	ReleaseConnection(string)
+}
+
+func RunSingleplexer[B ~string | ~[]byte](ctx context.Context,
+	listener net.Listener,
+	handleConn func(net.Conn),
+	earlyData B,
+	getCA CertAuthorityGetter, clusterName string,
+	limiter connectionLimiter,
+) {
+	listenCtx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
+	defer cancel()
+	go func() {
+		// unblock the Accept by closing the listener when the context is done
+		<-listenCtx.Done()
+		_ = listener.Close()
+	}()
+
+	for {
+		c, err := listener.Accept()
+		if err == nil {
+			go handleSingleplexedConn(ctx, c, handleConn, earlyData, getCA, clusterName, limiter)
+			continue
+		}
+		if listenCtx.Err() != nil || utils.IsUseOfClosedNetworkError(err) {
+			break
+		}
+		backoff := 5 * time.Second
+		if tErr, ok := err.(interface{ Temporary() bool }); ok && tErr.Temporary() {
+			backoff = 100 * time.Millisecond
+		}
+		select {
+		case <-listenCtx.Done():
+			break
+		case <-time.After(backoff):
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func handleSingleplexedConn[B ~string | ~[]byte](ctx context.Context,
+	c net.Conn,
+	handleConn func(net.Conn),
+	earlyData B,
+	getCA CertAuthorityGetter, clusterName string,
+	limiter connectionLimiter,
+) {
+	defer func() {
+		if c != nil {
+			c.Close()
+		}
+	}()
+
+	// copied from [multiplexer.Mux.Serve()]
+	if t, ok := c.(*net.TCPConn); ok {
+		_ = t.SetKeepAlive(true)
+		_ = t.SetKeepAlivePeriod(3 * time.Minute)
+	}
+
+	_ = c.SetDeadline(time.Now().Add(defaults.ReadHeadersTimeout))
+
+	// XXX: this makes the same assumption regarding the availability of a small
+	// write buffer that [ssh.NewServerConn] makes. It's not great as it limits
+	// the use of synchronous connections like [net.Pipe], but doing it in
+	// parallel makes the code quite a bit more complicated.
+	if len(earlyData) > 0 {
+		if _, err := c.Write([]byte(earlyData)); err != nil {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
+	reader := bufio.NewReader(c)
+	isProxyV2, err := readerHasPrefix(reader, ProxyV2Prefix)
+	if err != nil {
+		// errors on Peek(), almost surely I/O
+		return
+	}
+
+	var remoteAddr net.Addr
+	var limiterToken string
+
+	if isProxyV2 {
+		proxyline, err := ReadProxyLineV2(reader)
+		if err != nil {
+			// mostly I/O errors
+			return
+		}
+		if proxyline == nil {
+			// we shouldn't honor LOCAL proxylines
+			return
+		}
+		if err := proxyline.VerifySignature(ctx,
+			getCA, clusterName,
+			clockwork.NewRealClock(),
+		); err != nil {
+			// bad signature
+			return
+		}
+		remoteAddr = &proxyline.Source
+		limiterToken = proxyline.Source.IP.String()
+	} else if r := c.RemoteAddr(); r != nil {
+		limiterToken = r.String()
+		if host, _, err := utils.SplitHostPort(c.RemoteAddr().String()); err == nil {
+			limiterToken = host
+		}
+	}
+
+	if limiter != nil {
+		if err := limiter.AcquireConnection(limiterToken); err != nil {
+			return
+		}
+		defer limiter.ReleaseConnection(limiterToken)
+	}
+
+	_ = c.SetDeadline(time.Time{})
+
+	wrapped := &singleplexedConn{
+		Conn:       c,
+		remoteAddr: remoteAddr,
+		reader:     reader,
+		skip:       len(earlyData),
+	}
+
+	// handing the connection over, disable the defer
+	c = nil
+
+	handleConn(wrapped)
+}
+
+type singleplexedConn struct {
+	net.Conn
+
+	remoteAddr net.Addr
+
+	readMu sync.Mutex
+	reader *bufio.Reader
+
+	writeMu sync.Mutex
+	skip    int
+}
+
+// Close implements [io.Closer] and [net.Conn].
+func (c *singleplexedConn) Close() error {
+	err := trace.Wrap(c.Conn.Close())
+
+	c.readMu.Lock()
+	defer c.readMu.Unlock()
+	_, _ = c.reader.Discard(c.reader.Buffered())
+
+	return err
+}
+
+// Read implements [io.Reader] and [net.Conn].
+func (c *singleplexedConn) Read(b []byte) (int, error) {
+	c.readMu.Lock()
+	defer c.readMu.Unlock()
+
+	return c.reader.Read(b)
+}
+
+// Write implements [io.Writer] and [net.Conn].
+func (c *singleplexedConn) Write(b []byte) (int, error) {
+	c.writeMu.Lock()
+	if c.skip < 1 {
+		c.writeMu.Unlock()
+		return c.Conn.Write(b)
+	}
+	defer c.writeMu.Unlock()
+
+	if len(b) <= c.skip {
+		// check if the connection is open and not past the write deadline
+		_, err := c.Conn.Write(nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			return 0, trace.Wrap(err)
+		}
+		c.skip -= len(b)
+		return len(b), nil
+	}
+
+	b = b[c.skip:]
+	n, err := c.Conn.Write(b)
+	if n > 0 {
+		n += c.skip
+		c.skip = 0
+	}
+	return n, trace.Wrap(err)
+}
+
+// RemoteAddr implements [net.Conn].
+func (c *singleplexedConn) RemoteAddr() net.Addr {
+	if c.remoteAddr != nil {
+		return c.remoteAddr
+	}
+	return c.Conn.RemoteAddr()
+}
+
+func readerHasPrefix[B ~[]byte | ~string](r *bufio.Reader, prefix B) (bool, error) {
+	for i, b := range []byte(prefix) {
+		buf, err := r.Peek(i + 1)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, trace.Wrap(err)
+		}
+		if buf[i] != b {
+			return false, nil
+		}
+	}
+	return true, nil
+}
diff --git a/lib/multiplexer/wrappers.go b/lib/multiplexer/wrappers.go
index 26f508fa5fce6..633ee242b4973 100644
--- a/lib/multiplexer/wrappers.go
+++ b/lib/multiplexer/wrappers.go
@@ -118,6 +118,13 @@ func newListener(parent context.Context, addr net.Addr) *Listener {
 	}
 }
 
+// NewListener returns an artificial [net.Listener] that pretends to be
+// listening the given address and that receives connections through its
+// HandleConnection method.
+func NewListener(parent context.Context, addr net.Addr) *Listener {
+	return newListener(parent, addr)
+}
+
 // Listener is a listener that receives
 // connections from multiplexer based on the connection type
 type Listener struct {
diff --git a/lib/service/service.go b/lib/service/service.go
index c37a25bfcde58..897e068cb1bbe 100644
--- a/lib/service/service.go
+++ b/lib/service/service.go
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/srv/ingress"
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/srv/regular"
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/srv/transport/transportv1"
+	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/sshutils"
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/system"
 	usagereporter "github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/usagereporter/teleport"
 	"github.com/gravitational/teleport/lib/utils"
@@ -2664,27 +2665,18 @@ func (process *TeleportProcess) initSSH() error {
 
 			log.Infof("Service %s:%s is starting on %v %v.", teleport.Version, teleport.Gitref, cfg.SSH.Addr.Addr, process.Config.CachePolicy)
 
-			// Use multiplexer to leverage support for signed PROXY protocol headers.
-			mux, err := multiplexer.New(multiplexer.Config{
-				Context:             process.ExitContext(),
-				PROXYProtocolMode:   multiplexer.PROXYProtocolOff,
-				Listener:            listener,
-				ID:                  teleport.Component(teleport.ComponentNode, process.id),
-				CertAuthorityGetter: authClient.GetCertAuthority,
-				LocalClusterName:    conn.ServerIdentity.ClusterName,
-			})
-			if err != nil {
-				return trace.Wrap(err)
-			}
+			wrapper := multiplexer.NewListener(process.ExitContext(), listener.Addr())
+			defer wrapper.Close()
 
-			go func() {
-				if err := mux.Serve(); err != nil && !utils.IsOKNetworkError(err) {
-					mux.Entry.WithError(err).Error("node ssh multiplexer terminated unexpectedly")
-				}
-			}()
-			defer mux.Close()
+			go multiplexer.RunSingleplexer(process.ExitContext(),
+				listener,
+				func(c net.Conn) { wrapper.HandleConnection(process.ExitContext(), c) },
+				sshutils.SSHVersionPrefix+"\r\n",
+				authClient.GetCertAuthority, conn.ServerIdentity.ClusterName,
+				limiter,
+			)
 
-			go s.Serve(limiter.WrapListener(mux.SSH()))
+			go s.Serve(wrapper)
 		} else {
 			// Start the SSH server. This kicks off updating labels and starting the
 			// heartbeat.