Port 2105Zephyr Notification Service (hm-serv)

Port 2105 is utilized for the Zephyr Notification Service, specifically for Project Athena, facilitating communication with the host manager service (hm-serv). Although port 2102 is the preferred port for such communication, port 2105 might be encountered in certain configurations or legacy setups to support messaging and notification delivery within academic or research environments originally developed at MIT..

transport
tcp · udp

2 transports registered

in transit
cleartext

payload readable on path

assignment
unofficial

used by convention

risk
4/10

caution

lookups
18,958

rank 138 of 993 · top 14%

2 other services are registered on port 2105. compare all 3

Technical Details

what runs on :2105

The Zephyr Notification Service was developed under MIT's Project Athena to provide an efficient real-time messaging system for distributed computing environments. It enables users to send and receive instant notifications across a network, integrating tightly with Unix systems. The architecture leverages a combination of client libraries and server daemons to manage messaging sessions and delivery.

Port 2105 is historically associated with connections to hm-serv, the host manager component responsible for certain administrative functions within Zephyr. Despite 2102 being the standard official port, 2105 has been used in some instances or as a fallback, mainly during development or specialized implementations where separate communication channels were beneficial.

Data on port 2105 may be transmitted over TCP and UDP, offering flexibility between reliable and fast delivery modes. UDP is typically favored for notification delivery due to its low latency, while TCP might be used for establishing persistent administrative connections or ensuring more reliable message transmissions.

Security Information

exposure of :2105

risk score

4/ 10caution

worth attention. how exposed you are depends on configuration — don't leave it reachable from the internet without a reason.

network services averages 3.9 across 604 ports — this one sits 0.1 above.

in transit

cleartext

credentials and payloads are readable by anyone on path

assignment

unofficial

used by convention, not registered — what answers here varies by deployment

reachable over

tcp · udp

udp is connectionless — source addresses are trivially spoofed and it is a reflection favourite

security overview

Common Vulnerabilities:

  • Lack of encryption in the native Zephyr protocol, making message contents susceptible to interception and snooping.
  • Potential for spoofed messages or unauthorized access if authentication is not enforced.
  • Denial-of-service attacks exploiting the service's openness on port 2105 through message flooding or malformed packets.

Mitigations:

  • Restrict exposure of port 2105 to trusted subnets or internal academic networks via firewalls.
  • Implement access controls and enforce authentication wherever possible.
  • Employ network monitoring to detect anomalous traffic patterns or abuse.
  • Consider using encrypted tunnels such as SSH or VPN to protect data if Zephyr cannot be replaced or upgraded.

the 8 most looked-up other ports in network services — 604 ports carry that label.

risk mix of the 8 listed

  • caution100%

0 of 8 encrypted