Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    WAN interface has ports 22 and 53 open

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    14 Posts 4 Posters 468 Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • J
      jmb01
      last edited by

      I should have added that this is a Netgate 1100 and the version on pfSense is 24.03-RELEASE (arm64) built on Thu Aug 22 3:32:00 NZST 2024 FreeBSD 15.0-CURRENT

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • E
        elvisimprsntr @jmb01
        last edited by elvisimprsntr

        @jmb01

        Port 22 is for SSH
        Port 53 is for DNS

        pfSense doesn't open those by default. Are you sure it is pfSense? Some ISP modems have ports open for remote access/configuration, which might be what you are seeing.

        Run test here. Shields Up!

        Example, ATT upgraded me to a Pace 5268, which had port 22 open. I sent it back and reinstalled my old NVG599

        J B 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • J
          jmb01 @elvisimprsntr
          last edited by

          @elvisimprsntr The WAN interface does obtain its IP address from my ISPs device but would that open ports 22 and 53?

          E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • E
            elvisimprsntr @jmb01
            last edited by elvisimprsntr

            @jmb01

            What scan method did you run to determine ports 22 and 53 are open. If you run an nmap scan from the LAN side, it will see ports 22 and 53 open, which is normal if you enabled SSH access and are running a DNS resolver/forwarder in pfSense

            As suggested, run the GRC Shields Up scan, which will scan for external open ports.

            https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • J
              jmb01
              last edited by

              My pfSense firewall is behind a cable modem/"firewall" supplied by my ISP which is only open on the ports I opened. But I would still like to know why my pfSense has opened ports 22 and 53 on the WAN interface. I could explicitly block them, but I am interested as to why they are open and if it is something I have caused,

              E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • J
                jmb01
                last edited by

                I determined this by running nmap against the external IP address
                sudo nmap -P0 192.168.1.192
                [sudo] password for jmb01:
                Starting Nmap 7.80 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2024-09-15 19:20 NZST
                Nmap scan report for pfSense.hub (192.168.1.192)
                Host is up (0.00069s latency).
                Not shown: 996 filtered ports
                PORT STATE SERVICE
                22/tcp open ssh
                25/tcp open smtp
                53/tcp open domain
                443/tcp open https

                Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 4.75 seconds

                E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • E
                  elvisimprsntr @jmb01
                  last edited by

                  @jmb01

                  Again, what method did you use to determine ports 22 and 53 are open?

                  Run the GRC Shields Up!

                  I can't help you otherwise.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • J
                    jmb01
                    last edited by

                    If I run the same nmap against the internal address it tells me ports 22, 53, and 443 are open, which what I expect

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • J
                      jmb01
                      last edited by

                      Unfortunately GRC Shields Up! only "sees" the ISP provided modem/firewall

                      E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • E
                        elvisimprsntr @jmb01
                        last edited by

                        @jmb01 said in WAN interface has ports 22 and 53 open:

                        I determined this by running nmap against the external IP address
                        sudo nmap -P0 192.168.1.192
                        [sudo] password for jmb01:
                        Starting Nmap 7.80 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2024-09-15 19:20 NZST
                        Nmap scan report for pfSense.hub (192.168.1.192)
                        Host is up (0.00069s latency).
                        Not shown: 996 filtered ports
                        PORT STATE SERVICE
                        22/tcp open ssh
                        25/tcp open smtp
                        53/tcp open domain
                        443/tcp open https

                        Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 4.75 seconds

                        That is because you are running nmap from the LAN side, which will see all the open ports on the LAN side.

                        Use the GRC Shields Up!

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • E
                          elvisimprsntr @jmb01
                          last edited by

                          @jmb01 said in WAN interface has ports 22 and 53 open:

                          Unfortunately GRC Shields Up! only "sees" the ISP provided modem/firewall

                          That is what it is designed to do.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by

                            Or run nmap from a device connected to the ISP router so it's on the pfSense WAN subnet.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • B
                              banalo @elvisimprsntr
                              last edited by

                              @elvisimprsntr said in WAN interface has ports 22 and 53 open:

                              ATT upgraded me to a Pace 5268, which had port 22 open. I sent it back and reinstalled my old NVG599

                              Christ.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • First post
                                Last post
                              Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.