Check Open Ports

Check a device you own or are authorized to test for responding network ports

On this page

Port scanning checks which network ports on an authorized device respond to connection attempts, so you can inventory services on your own network. Connect GhostESP to the same network and identify the device with LAN discovery. Only scan devices you own or have permission to test; see Legal and ethical rules.

Scanning ports

  1. Open Menu → Wi-Fi → Network while GhostESP is connected and choose Scan Open Ports, then review the responding ports.

From the CLI, run scanports <ip> to check a specific device’s TCP and common UDP ports. Add all to check all ports, or a range such as 20-1024 to limit the scan. Run scanports local to scan every host on the local subnet (takes no arguments; uses the async sweep). Run scanssh <ip> to check whether SSH responds on a device, or scanssh with no argument to scan the local subnet. Run scanarp monitor [seconds] to watch the network for new hosts while you scan.

What a port scan does
1 Resolve the target, or reuse a prior scan`scanports <ip>`, `local` for the subnet, or an ARP sweep first
2 Send TCP connection attemptsCommon ports by default, `all`, or a `start-end` range
3 Send UDP probes to common services`scanports <ip>` also checks common UDP ports
4 List the ports that respond`scanssh <ip>` checks SSH specifically

A missing result does not prove a service is absent; firewalls and network policy can block scans.

GhostESP lists the ports that respond. A missing result does not prove that a service is absent; firewalls and network policy can block scans.

Troubleshooting

  • No ports respond: Confirm the IP address, network connection, and whether the device has a firewall.
  • The wrong device is scanned: Run LAN discovery again and verify the IP address before retrying.
  • The scan is slow: Limit the port range to the services you need to inspect.