WHATPORT(1521) whatport.net WHATPORT(1521)
1521

Oracle Database listener (TNS)

The Oracle Net listener — the front door to an Oracle database, squatting on a registration for something else entirely.

TCP IANA registry

Description

Oracle's listener process accepts TNS (Transparent Network Substrate) connections on TCP 1521 by default; the database's PMON registers its services with the listener there, and every sqlplus, JDBC thin, and OCI client connects through it. IANA never assigned 1521 to Oracle — the registry still reads "ncube-lm", the nCube License Manager — Oracle simply took the port and the world followed. A TNS listener will answer a version query before you authenticate, and older ones would dump their whole service list to an unauthenticated lsnrctl status. On a scan it means a database server, an Oracle E-Business/PeopleSoft tier, or an appliance that embedded Oracle XE.

Exposed to the internet?

Do not expose

This is a database's authentication surface with the entire dataset behind it, and TNS has a long CVE history including listener poisoning — bind it to a private interface and reach it over a VPN or SSH tunnel.

Check it yourself

$ nmap -sV -p 1521 TARGET

See also

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