TCP Port 512 – exec

About TCP Port 512

Port 512 carries the IANA assignment for exec. The IANA description reads: ‘remote process execution; authentication performed using passwords and UNIX login names’. This port appears in 3 IDS rules and does not have notable malware activity indicators in our data.

IDS Rule References

3 IDS / security rules reference TCP port 512. Treat that number as context, not a danger score. Many detection rules are written against groups of ports rather than one service, web ports especially, so common web alternate ports inherit large counts while genuinely sensitive services can show few rules or none. Presence in IDS rules does not mean traffic on this port is malicious.

Rule categories (top 2): attempted-admin (2), unsuccessful-user (1).

Sample rule descriptions for TCP port 512:

• INDICATOR-COMPROMISE rexec username too long response
• PROTOCOL-SERVICES rexec username overflow attempt
• PROTOCOL-SERVICES rexec password overflow attempt

Data Sources

This information is compiled from: IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry and Snort Community Rules (GPLv2).