Lesson 5: Service and Version Detection

Identify services and versions running on discovered ports

1 / 4

Introduction to Service Detection

Service detection goes beyond identifying open ports - it determines what services are running, their versions, and additional information that can be crucial for security assessments.

Why Service Detection Matters

Security Benefits:

• Vulnerability Assessment: Identify outdated versions
• Attack Surface: Understand exposed services
• Configuration Issues: Detect misconfigurations
• Compliance: Verify authorized services only
• Incident Response: Rapid service identification

Information Gathered:

• Service name and type
• Version numbers
• Operating system details
• Service-specific information
• Banner information

Basic vs Service Detection Comparison

Basic Port Scan:

nmap 192.168.1.100

80/tcp open http
443/tcp open https
22/tcp open ssh

With Service Detection:

nmap -sV 192.168.1.100

80/tcp open http Apache httpd 2.4.41
443/tcp open ssl/http Apache httpd 2.4.41
22/tcp open ssh OpenSSH 8.2p1