Port 56Route Access Protocol
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..
- transport
- tcp · udp
- in transit
- cleartext
- assignment
- unofficial
- risk
- 4/10
- lookups
- 9,884
2 transports registered
payload readable on path
used by convention
caution
rank 480 of 993 · top 48%
1 other service is registered on port 56. compare all 2 →
Technical Details
what runs on :56Route Access Protocol (RAP) was designed as a network control protocol that assists routers in exchanging routing information dynamically. It facilitates communication between routing devices, allowing them to share and synchronize their routing tables. RAP supports both connection-oriented (TCP) and connectionless (UDP) transport, offering flexibility in implementation depending on network requirements.
This protocol typically transmits data describing reachable networks, route metrics, and path information. Such updates allow routers to adapt to network topology changes, including the addition or removal of network devices or links. By automating the route update process, RAP helps reduce administrative overhead and ensures routing decisions remain efficient and effective.
While useful historically, RAP is largely considered obsolete today. More modern, scalable, and secure routing protocols — such as OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), IS-IS (Intermediate System to Intermediate System), and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) — have superseded RAP in nearly all production environments.
Security Information
exposure of :56risk 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 associated with RAP include:
- Lack of authentication and encryption, making routing updates susceptible to tampering or interception
- Susceptibility to route injection attacks, leading to routing loops or blackholing of traffic
- Exposure to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks by flooding routing requests or updates.
Mitigations often focus on:
- Implementing strict access controls and filtering which devices can connect on port 56
- Using secure, modern routing protocols that support authentication/encryption to replace RAP
- Isolating routing infrastructure from untrusted networks, e.g., leveraging VPNs or management VLANs
- Monitoring and logging routing updates and traffic on this port to identify anomalies.
Related Ports
the 8 most looked-up other ports in network services — 604 ports carry that label.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :9080 | Groove RPC | TCPUDP | Web Services | caution | 70.8k |
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| :5938 | TeamViewer | TCPUDP | Remote Access | caution | 65.0k |
| :8291 | Winbox MikroTik Admin | TCP | Security | caution | 62.9k |
| :3233 | WhiskerControl Protocol | TCPUDP | Network Services | caution | 61.9k |
| :3268 | Microsoft Global Catalog (GC) | TCPUDP | Security | caution | 54.6k |
| :135 | Microsoft EPMAP | TCPUDP | Security | caution | 51.9k |
| :3128 | Tatsoft Default HTTP Proxy | TCP | Web Services | caution | 46.8k |
risk mix of the 8 listed
- caution100%
0 of 8 encrypted