diff --git a/shared/build/proxy/proxy.go b/shared/build/proxy/proxy.go
index 55ef9a11..bad544ce 100644
--- a/shared/build/proxy/proxy.go
+++ b/shared/build/proxy/proxy.go
@@ -5,14 +5,22 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 )
 
-// bash header
-const header = "#!/bin/bash\n"
+// bash header plus an embedded perl script that can be used
+// as an alternative to socat to proxy tcp traffic.
+const header = `#!/bin/bash
+set +e
+echo 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 | base64 -d | gunzip > /tmp/socat && chmod +x /tmp/socat
+`
 
 // this command string will check if the socat utility
 // exists, and if it does, will proxy connections to
 // the external IP address.
 const command = "[ -x /usr/bin/socat ] && socat TCP-LISTEN:%s,fork TCP:%s:%s &\n"
 
+// alternative command that acts as a "polyfill" for socat
+// in the event that it isn't installed on the server
+const polyfill = "[ -x /tmp/socat ] && /tmp/socat TCP-LISTEN:%s,fork TCP:%s:%s &\n"
+
 // Proxy stores proxy configuration details mapping
 // a local port to an external IP address with the
 // same port number.
@@ -29,6 +37,7 @@ func (p Proxy) String() string {
 	buf.WriteString(header)
 	for port, ip := range p {
 		buf.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf(command, port, ip, port))
+		buf.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf(polyfill, port, ip, port))
 	}
 
 	return buf.String()
diff --git a/shared/build/proxy/proxy_test.go b/shared/build/proxy/proxy_test.go
index 5e3ab54a..4b431fe4 100644
--- a/shared/build/proxy/proxy_test.go
+++ b/shared/build/proxy/proxy_test.go
@@ -12,19 +12,18 @@ func TestProxy(t *testing.T) {
 	p.Set("8080", "172.1.4.5")
 	b := p.Bytes()
 
-	expected := `#!/bin/bash
-[ -x /usr/bin/socat ] && socat TCP-LISTEN:8080,fork TCP:172.1.4.5:8080 &
+	expected := header + `[ -x /usr/bin/socat ] && socat TCP-LISTEN:8080,fork TCP:172.1.4.5:8080 &
+[ -x /tmp/socat ] && /tmp/socat TCP-LISTEN:8080,fork TCP:172.1.4.5:8080 &
 `
 	if string(b) != expected {
-		t.Errorf("Invalid proxy \n%s", expected)
+		t.Errorf("AInvalid proxy \n%s", string(b))
 	}
 
 	// test creating a proxy script when there
 	// are no proxy addresses added to the map
 	p = Proxy{}
 	b = p.Bytes()
-	expected = "#!/bin/bash\n"
-	if string(b) != expected {
-		t.Errorf("Invalid proxy \n%s", expected)
+	if string(b) != header {
+		t.Errorf("Invalid empty proxy file. Expected\n%s", header)
 	}
 }