network-ports-reference

name	Network Ports Reference
description	The assistant provides comprehensive network port and protocol reference information for security assessments and penetration testing. Activate when users ask about "port numbers," "common ports," "service ports," "TCP/UDP ports," "what runs on port X," or "protocol identification."
version	1.0.0
tags	["networking","ports","protocols","reconnaissance","enumeration"]

Network Ports Reference

Purpose

Provide quick reference for TCP/UDP port numbers and their associated protocols during reconnaissance, enumeration, and security assessments. Enable rapid identification of services running on target systems and support port-based attack surface mapping.

Inputs/Prerequisites

• Target IP address or hostname for port scanning
• Network access to the target system
• Port scanning tools (nmap, masscan, netcat)
• Basic understanding of TCP/IP networking

Outputs/Deliverables

• Identified open ports and associated services
• Protocol-specific enumeration data
• Service version information
• Attack surface documentation
• Port-to-vulnerability mapping

Core Workflow

1. Identify Common Service Ports

Reference these critical ports during reconnaissance:

Port	Protocol	Service
20	TCP	FTP Data Transfer
21	TCP	FTP Control
22	TCP	SSH
23	TCP	Telnet
25	TCP	SMTP
53	TCP/UDP	DNS
67-68	UDP	DHCP
69	UDP	TFTP
80	TCP	HTTP
88	TCP	Kerberos
110	TCP	POP3
111	TCP/UDP	RPC Portmapper
119	TCP	NNTP
123	UDP	NTP
135	TCP	MS RPC
137-139	TCP/UDP	NetBIOS
143	TCP	IMAP
161-162	UDP	SNMP
389	TCP	LDAP
443	TCP	HTTPS
445	TCP	SMB/CIFS
465	TCP	SMTPS
500	UDP	IKE/IPSec
514	UDP	Syslog
587	TCP	SMTP Submission
636	TCP	LDAPS
993	TCP	IMAPS
995	TCP	POP3S
1433	TCP	MS SQL
1521	TCP	Oracle DB
2049	TCP	NFS
3306	TCP	MySQL
3389	TCP	RDP
5432	TCP

2. Perform Port Discovery

Scan for open ports on target systems:

# Quick TCP SYN scan of common ports
nmap -sS -T4 192.168.1.1

# Comprehensive port scan (all 65535 ports)
nmap -p- -sS -T4 192.168.1.1

# UDP port scan
nmap -sU -T4 --top-ports 100 192.168.1.1

# Service version detection
nmap -sV -sC 192.168.1.1

# Fast scan with masscan
masscan -p1-65535 192.168.1.0/24 --rate=1000

# Check specific port with netcat
nc -zv 192.168.1.1 22

3. Enumerate Services by Port

Perform targeted enumeration based on discovered ports:

# FTP (21) - Check anonymous access
ftp 192.168.1.1
nmap --script ftp-anon 192.168.1.1

# SSH (22) - Grab banner and check versions
ssh -v 192.168.1.1
nmap --script ssh-hostkey 192.168.1.1

# SMTP (25) - Enumerate users
nmap --script smtp-enum-users 192.168.1.1

# DNS (53) - Zone transfer
dig axfr @192.168.1.1 domain.com

# HTTP (80/443) - Web enumeration
nikto -h http://192.168.1.1
gobuster dir -u http://192.168.1.1 -w /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txt

# SMB (445) - Share enumeration
smbclient -L //192.168.1.1 -N
enum4linux -a 192.168.1.1

# SNMP (161) - Community string discovery
snmpwalk -c public -v1 192.168.1.1
onesixtyone 192.168.1.1 public

# LDAP (389) - Query directory
ldapsearch -x -h 192.168.1.1 -s base

# MySQL (3306) - Database enumeration
nmap --script mysql-enum 192.168.1.1

4. Map Attack Surface

Document findings for exploitation:

# Generate port scan report
nmap -sV -sC -oA scan_results 192.168.1.1

# Create service inventory
nmap -sV 192.168.1.1 -oG - | grep open

Quick Reference

High-Value Target Ports

Port	Why It Matters
21	Anonymous FTP access, file upload
22	SSH brute force, key-based auth bypass
23	Telnet cleartext credentials
25	Mail relay, user enumeration
53	DNS zone transfer, cache poisoning
80/443	Web vulnerabilities (SQLi, XSS, RCE)
135/445	SMB exploits (EternalBlue)
139	NetBIOS enumeration
161	SNMP default communities
389/636	LDAP injection, AD enumeration
1433/3306	Database access, SQL injection
3389	RDP brute force, BlueKeep
5985/5986	WinRM remote execution
6379	Redis unauthenticated access

Database Ports

Port	Database
1433	Microsoft SQL Server
1521	Oracle
3306	MySQL/MariaDB
5432	PostgreSQL
5984	CouchDB
6379	Redis
27017	MongoDB

Remote Access Ports

Port	Service
22	SSH
23	Telnet
3389	RDP
5900	VNC
5985/5986	WinRM

Constraints

• Always verify port assignments as services can run on non-standard ports
• Some ports are registered but rarely used in practice
• Firewalls may filter or redirect traffic
• NAT and port forwarding can obscure actual service locations
• Service banners can be spoofed for deception

Examples

Example 1: Quick Web Server Identification

# Scan common web ports
nmap -p 80,443,8080,8443 192.168.1.0/24

# Get HTTP headers
curl -I http://192.168.1.1

Example 2: Database Discovery

# Scan for common database ports
nmap -p 1433,1521,3306,5432,27017 192.168.1.0/24 -sV

# Test MySQL connection
mysql -h 192.168.1.1 -u root -p

Example 3: Full Port Audit

# Comprehensive scan with service detection
nmap -p- -sV -sC -A 192.168.1.1 -oA full_audit

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Ports appear filtered	Try different scan techniques (-sA, -sW)
Service detection fails	Use more aggressive version probing (-sV --version-all)
UDP scan too slow	Reduce port range or increase timing (-T5)
False positives	Verify with manual connection (nc, telnet)
Firewall blocking scans	Use fragmentation (-f) or decoys (-D)
Service on non-standard port	Always perform full port scans (-p-)