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LFCS · Question #297

While performing a security audit, an administrator discovers that a machine is accepting connections on TCP port 184, but it is not obvious which process has the port open. Which of the following…

The correct answer is E. lsof. To identify which process is listening on a specific TCP port, the administrator should use the lsof command.

Submitted by certguy· Apr 18, 2026Operation of Running Systems

Question

While performing a security audit, an administrator discovers that a machine is accepting connections on TCP port 184, but it is not obvious which process has the port open. Which of the following programs should the administrator use to find out?

Options

  • Atraceroute
  • Bstrace
  • Cdebug
  • Dnessus
  • Elsof

How the community answered

(64 responses)
  • B
    2% (1)
  • C
    2% (1)
  • D
    5% (3)
  • E
    92% (59)

Why each option

To identify which process is listening on a specific TCP port, the administrator should use the `lsof` command.

Atraceroute

`traceroute` maps the network path to a destination and does not show local port usage or the processes holding them.

Bstrace

`strace` traces system calls and signals of a process, useful for debugging a running process, but not for identifying an unknown process listening on a port.

Cdebug

`debug` is a generic term and not a specific Linux command for this task.

Dnessus

`nessus` is a vulnerability scanner, used for identifying security flaws, not for directly identifying the local process holding a specific open port.

ElsofCorrect

The `lsof` (list open files) command can display information about files opened by processes, including network sockets. Using `lsof -i :184` will precisely show the process ID (PID) and command name of the process that has TCP port 184 open and is currently accepting connections.

Concept tested: Identifying listening processes by port

Source: https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/jammy/en/man8/lsof.8.html

Topics

#Process management#Network troubleshooting#lsof command#Network sockets

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