A company has five different subnets: 192.168.1.0, 192.168.2.0, 192.168.3.0, 192.168.4.0 and 192.168.5.0. How can NMAP be used to scan these adjacent Class C networks?

NMAP accepts hyphenated ranges within any octet, so the notation 192.168.1-5.0 instructs NMAP to scan all addresses across 192.168.1.0 through 192.168.5.0 in a single command. This range syntax is the most concise method for targeting exactly these five adjacent Class C networks without over-scanning or using invalid notation. The five subnets are addressed precisely with no unintended hosts included.

The CIDR notation 192.168.0.0/16 would scan all 65,536 addresses in the entire 192.168.x.x space, vastly exceeding the five specific target subnets and generating excessive noise.

NMAP does not support comma-separated partial octet notation in the format shown; that syntax is not valid for specifying multiple discrete subnets in a single scan command.

The expression 192.168.1/17 is not valid NMAP target syntax or legitimate CIDR notation, as a /17 prefix cannot be correctly applied at that position to describe the five target subnets.