# WHATPORT(17988)

## NAME

port 17988 — HPE iLO Virtual Media — The default Virtual Media port on HPE iLO baseboard management controllers — a reliable way to spot a ProLiant's management processor.

Protocol: TCP  
IANA registry

## DESCRIPTION

HPE's Integrated Lights-Out management processor exposes Virtual Media on TCP 17988 by default, alongside KVMIP on 17990 and HTTPS on 443; the linked Redfish emulator's NetworkProtocol mockup carries the same VirtualMedia port. Administrators have long scanned for 17988 to inventory iLOs on a subnet. The port is unassigned at IANA — the number is HPE's convention, changeable in the iLO settings.

## EXPOSURE

**Do not expose.** A BMC is a second computer with full control of the first: virtual media can boot arbitrary images. iLO belongs on an isolated management network, and an internet-reachable 17988 is a finding, not a configuration.

## CHECK

```sh
nc -vz -w 3 TARGET 17988
```

## SEE ALSO

- source — [HPE iLO Redfish emulator — NetworkProtocol mockup (VirtualMedia port 17988)](https://github.com/HewlettPackard/ilo-redfish-emulator) (github.com)
- iana — [IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry](https://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-port-numbers/service-names-port-numbers.xhtml) (iana.org)

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HTML: <https://whatport.net/17988/> · JSON: <https://whatport.net/17988.json> · full dataset: <https://whatport.net/ports.json>