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LX0-104 · Question #226

What does the following iptables rule accomplish: iptables A INPUT d 10.142.232.1 p tcp dport 20:21 j ACCEPT

The correct answer is D. Forwards all traffic on port 20 and 21 to the host 10.142.232.1.. This iptables rule is designed to permit or forward incoming TCP traffic destined for ports 20 and 21 to a specific host on the network.

Security

Question

What does the following iptables rule accomplish: iptables A INPUT d 10.142.232.1 p tcp dport 20:21 j ACCEPT

Options

  • AForwards all traffic not on port 20 or 21 to the host 10.142.232.1.
  • BDrops all traffic coming from the host 10.142.232.1 destined for port 20 or 21.
  • CAccepts all traffic from the host 10.142.232.1 destined for port 20 or 21.
  • DForwards all traffic on port 20 and 21 to the host 10.142.232.1.

How the community answered

(28 responses)
  • A
    4% (1)
  • C
    7% (2)
  • D
    89% (25)

Why each option

This iptables rule is designed to permit or forward incoming TCP traffic destined for ports 20 and 21 to a specific host on the network.

AForwards all traffic not on port 20 or 21 to the host 10.142.232.1.

The rule explicitly matches traffic on ports 20 and 21, not traffic 'not on port 20 or 21'.

BDrops all traffic coming from the host 10.142.232.1 destined for port 20 or 21.

The `-j ACCEPT` target allows traffic, it does not drop it, and the rule specifies the destination, not the source IP for the traffic.

CAccepts all traffic from the host 10.142.232.1 destined for port 20 or 21.

The rule specifies `d 10.142.232.1` for destination, not source, meaning traffic *to* this host, not *from* it.

DForwards all traffic on port 20 and 21 to the host 10.142.232.1.Correct

The `iptables -A INPUT` command appends a rule; `-d 10.142.232.1` specifies the destination IP; `-p tcp --dport 20:21` matches TCP traffic for ports 20 to 21 (commonly FTP); and `-j ACCEPT` allows these packets. In a forwarding scenario, this enables the firewall to direct such traffic to the host `10.142.232.1`.

Concept tested: Iptables rule syntax - destination IP, port range, ACCEPT target, and forwarding context

Source: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man8/iptables.8.html

Topics

#iptables rules#port range#packet filtering#ACCEPT action

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