Port 6696Babel Routing Protocol

Babel routers exchange route updates over UDP 6696, usually on trusted local or mesh-network links.

transport: udp
in transit: cleartext
assignment: official
risk: 6/10
lookups: 0

Technical Details

what runs on :6696

Babel is a loop-avoiding distance-vector routing protocol for IPv4 and IPv6, specified in RFC 8966. It uses UDP port 6696 and sends packets as a header followed by length-delimited TLVs; there is no session handshake. Routers exchange messages such as Hello, IHU, and route updates, using multicast groups 224.0.0.111 (IPv4) and ff02::1:6 (IPv6) as well as unicast. The protocol is not encrypted by default; authentication is available through an optional security extension.

Security Information

exposure of :6696

risk score

6/ 10risk

treat as sensitive. widely scanned and regularly exploited when reachable — restrict it to known sources.

network services averages 2.6 across 1,745 ports — this one sits 3.4 above.

in transit

cleartext

credentials and payloads are readable by anyone on path

assignment

official

registered with iana for this service — scanners fingerprint it by number

reachable over

udp

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

security overview

Babel is a routing control-plane protocol, not a service intended for arbitrary internet clients. An attacker able to send accepted Babel packets on a routing link may try to influence route selection or inject routing information; authentication is optional and should be configured where links are not fully trusted. Restrict UDP 6696 to intended routing interfaces and peers rather than exposing it to the public internet.

Record

iana registry entry

port: :6696
service: Babel Routing Protocol
transport: UDP
encryption: cleartext
assignment: iana registered
risk: 6/10risk
category: Network Services
usage: This port is used by Babel routing daemons on routers and Linux systems to exchange routing information, often in mesh networks. It is normally encountered on local routing links rather than exposed as an internet-facing service.
lookups: 0rank 993
added: 2026-10-11
updated: 2026-10-11
references: IANA service name registry — port 6696
RFC 8966

Something wrong?

This record is maintained by the engineers who use port 6696. Every field on it is editable — change what's wrong, say how you know, and a reviewer publishes it, usually within a minute. Last touched 2026-10-11.

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edit this record →back to the registry

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risk mix of the 8 listed

caution100%

0 of 8 encrypted

Port :6696Babel Routing Protocol

Technical Details

Security Information

Related Ports

Port 6696Babel Routing Protocol