2 entries are registered on port 56. It is a well-known port (0–1023) — assignments here are IANA's, and a service found on one is usually the service that was assigned it.
services registered on this number
2 transports in use
entries encrypted on the wire
1 of 2 iana-registered
| port | service | proto | category | risk | views |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :56 | Route Access Protocol | TCPUDP | Network Services | caution | 9.9k |
| :56 | XNS Authentication | TCPUDP | Network Services | caution | 9.1k |
Route Access Protocol (RAP) is an early protocol primarily used for routing table maintenance and exchange within network infrastructures. It facilitates the distribution of routing information between routers, enabling dynamic network topology updates and helping routers adjust their forwarding decisions based on the latest route data.
port 56 as Route Access Protocol →Xerox Network Systems (XNS) Authentication was an early protocol suite designed primarily for local network communication and authentication within Xerox environments. It supported both TCP and UDP transport and served to verify identities between connected hosts, enabling access to services and secured exchanges of information inside the XNS ecosystem. While now largely obsolete, it influenced later developments in network protocols and authentication frameworks.
port 56 as XNS Authentication →The registry says what 56 is registered to. What is listening on it right now is decided by the host, and only the host can be asked. Each of these prints the process behind the socket.
ss -ltnp | grep ':56\b'lsof -nP -iTCP:56 -sTCP:LISTENnetstat -ano | findstr :56On Linux and Windows the process name comes back with the socket; on macOS lsof needs sudo to name a process that isn't yours. Match what it prints against the 2 entries above.
A port number is not a service. Anything may listen on 56 — what you actually met is decided by the host, not the registry. If a service is missing here, it belongs in the registry.
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