- Patch VPN gateways quickly: they are a top initial access target.
- Use certificates or MFA rather than shared secrets.
- Investigate unexpected tunnels and proxies: they are also attacker tools.
Port 12009: Green Hills VPN
Port 12009 is assigned by IANA to ghvpn (Green Hills VPN).
12009
How ghvpn works
VPN, tunnels & proxiesTraffic is wrapped in a tunnel between the two ends, so the network in between only sees the tunnel.
- Transport
- UDP
- Exposure risk
- not rated depends on the program listening
- Encryption
- Unknownnot stated by the registry
- IANA status
- Assigned1 registered service
- Range
- Registered (1024-49151)
- Category
- VPN, tunnels & proxies
Is port 12009 dangerous?
We have no specific security note for port 12009. Its risk depends on the program actually listening on it. General advice for vpn, tunnels & proxies services:
IANA registry entries for port 12009
| Service | Port | Transport | Description | Reference | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ghvpn | 12009 | UDP | Green Hills VPN | - | 2012-02-07 |
| - | 12009 | - | Reserved | - | - |
// source: IANA service name and port number registry
Which program uses port 12009, and is it reachable?
Linux
sudo ss -ltnup 'sport = :12009' # process listening on 12009
sudo lsof -nP -i :12009macOS
sudo lsof -nP -i :12009
Windows (PowerShell)
Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 12009 -State Listen | Select LocalAddress, OwningProcess Get-NetUDPEndpoint -LocalPort 12009 netstat -ano | findstr :12009
From another machine
nmap -p 12009 -sV <host> sudo nmap -sU -p 12009 <host> nc -zv <host> 12009
Block it in the firewall
sudo ufw deny 12009/udp # Linux (ufw) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block 12009" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 12009 -Protocol UDP -Action Block # Windows
What is port 12009 used for?
Port 12009 is assigned by IANA to ghvpn (Green Hills VPN).
Is port 12009 TCP or UDP?
Port 12009 is registered for UDP.
Is it safe to open port 12009?
It depends on the program that listens on it. Open it only for a service you know and only to the networks that need it. Patch VPN gateways quickly: they are a top initial access target.
How do I check if port 12009 is open?
On Linux run "ss -ltnup 'sport = :12009'", on macOS "lsof -nP -i :12009", and on Windows "netstat -ano | findstr :12009" to see the local process. From another machine, "nmap -p 12009 <host>" shows whether it is reachable.