How to disable NetBIOS port 137 (UDP) (2024)

View the security misconfiguration catalog

  • Misconfiguration Name
  • Inbound connection in port 137 (UDP) is not blocked in Windows firewall
  • Description
  • Port 137 is utilized by NetBIOS Name service. Enabling NetBIOS services provide access to shared resources like files and printers not only to your network computers but also to anyone across the internet. Therefore it is advisable to block port 137 in the Firewall.
  • Severity
  • Moderate
  • Category
  • Windows Firewall
  • Resolution
  • Follow the below steps to resolve the misconfiguration.Step 1: Open the Control PanelStep 2: Click on Windows Firewall/ Windows Defender firewallStep 3: Navigate to advanced settings.Step 4:Right click on inbound rules and click on new rule.Step 6:Select port and press nextStep 7:Specify the port 137 under specific local ports, select UDP and press next.Step 8:click on block the connection and click next.Step 9:Select Domain, Private and Public and click next.Step 10:Give a name and description and click finish.
  • Does remediation require reboot?
  • No

Vulnerability Manager Plus tracks security configurations and remediate misconfigurations in your network systems from a centralized console. View a list of all the security misconfigurations detected by Vulnerability Manager Plus.

How to disable NetBIOS port 137 (UDP) (2024)

FAQs

How to disable port 137 in NetBIOS? ›

Step 1: Open the Control Panel Step 2: Click on Windows Firewall/ Windows Defender firewall Step 3: Navigate to advanced settings. Step 4:Right click on inbound rules and click on new rule. Step 6:Select port and press next Step 7:Specify the port 137 under specific local ports, select UDP and press next.

How do I completely disable NetBIOS? ›

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Network Connections. Right-click the local area connection that you want to be statically configured, and then click Properties. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) > Properties > Advanced, and then click the WINS tab. Click Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.

What happens if I disable NetBIOS? ›

Disabling the use and support of NetBIOS can help to mitigate an attacker's ability to: poison and spoof responses, obtain a user's hashed credentials, inspect web traffic, etc. It's important to point out that NetBIOS itself is an API, not a networking protocol.

Should NetBIOS be blocked? ›

It is also recommended to disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP to improve network performance. Disabling NetBIOS over TCP/IP is especially recommended on Hyper-V and Windows Server cluster hosts with dedicated NICs used for traffic, such as iSCSI and Live Migration.

How do I block a NetBIOS port? ›

Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), click Properties, and then click Advanced. Click the WINS tab, and in the NETBIOS setting section, click Disable NETBIOS over TCP/IP. Click OK to close the properties windows.

How do I know if NetBIOS is disabled? ›

Click on Start > Run > cmd. this means NetBIOS is enabled. Confirm that it's been disabled by going to Start > Run > cmd > nbstat -n.

Is NetBIOS UDP or TCP? ›

NetBIOS provides three distinct services: Name service for name registration and resolution (ports: 137/udp and 137/tcp) Datagram distribution service for connectionless communication (port: 138/udp) Session service for connection-oriented communication (port: 139/tcp)

How do I close NetBIOS ports in Windows Firewall? ›

Step 1: Open the Control Panel Step 2: Click on Windows Firewall/ Windows Defender firewall Step 3: Navigate to advanced settings. Step 4:Right click on inbound rules and click on new rule. Step 6:Select port and press next Step 7:Specify the port 139 under specific local ports, select TCP and press next.

What software uses NetBIOS? ›

NetBIOS, an abbreviation for Network Basic Input/Output System, is a networking industry standard. It was created in 1983 by Sytek and is often used with the NetBIOS over TCP/IP protocol. However, it's also used in Token Ring networks, as well as by Microsoft Windows.

What is the purpose of NetBIOS? ›

NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System) is a network service that enables applications on different computers to communicate with each other across a local area network (LAN). It was developed in the 1980s for use on early, IBM-developed PC networks.

How do I change my NetBIOS settings? ›

Configuring NetBIOS
  1. Navigate to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings. ...
  2. Right–click on Local Area Connection and select Properties.
  3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and select Properties.
  4. Click Advanced > WINS.

What is the importance of NetBIOS? ›

The primary purpose of NetBIOS is to allow applications on separate computers to communicate and establish sessions to access shared resources, such as files and printers, and to find each other over a local area network (LAN).

What is the best method of preventing NetBIOS attacks? ›

In addition to turning off the NetBIOS service, you can prevent misuse of the NetBIOS service by closing TCP & UDP port 137 in your Windows firewall.

Is NetBIOS a security risk? ›

Why is it a risk? Using a command called NBSTAT (link below), an attacker can discover computer names, IP addresses, NetBIOS names, Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) names, session information and user IDs. This information can be used to mount focussed attacks on administrative accounts.

Is port 137 vulnerable? ›

Vulnerabilities in Windows Host NetBIOS to Information Retrieval is a Low risk vulnerability that is one of the most frequently found on networks around the world.
...
Vital Information on This Issue.
Vulnerability Name:Windows Host NetBIOS to Information Retrieval
Test ID:12035
Risk:Low
Category:SMB/NetBIOS
Type:Attack
7 more rows

How do I force a port to stop? ›

How to kill the process currently using a port on localhost in...
  1. Run command-line as an Administrator. Then run the below mention command. netstat -ano | findstr : port number. ...
  2. Then you execute this command after identify the PID. taskkill /PID typeyourPIDhere /F.

Can you disable a port? ›

You can enable or disable network ports of switches that are part of your network. When you enable or disable a port, the administrative status of the port changes to UP or DOWN respectively. When you disable a port, the system marks that port as administratively down, without removing the port configurations.

How do I check my NetBIOS status? ›

Both your Active Directory domain FQDN and NetBIOS can be confirmed using simple command prompt commands. Type nbtstat -n and it will display some information. Under Name will be several entries: the NetBIOS will be one of the Group type.

How do I resolve NetBIOS? ›

The three standard ways of resolving NetBIOS names to IP addresses are through a local broadcast, using the local cache, or by using a NetBIOS name server. With a local broadcast, a broadcast is sent out on the network requesting the IP address of a specific host.

Is NetBIOS the same as DNS? ›

NetBIOS domain name: Typically, the NetBIOS domain name is the subdomain of the DNS domain name. For example, if the DNS domain name is contoso.com, the NetBIOS domain name is contoso. If the DNS domain name is corp.contoso.com, the NetBIOS domain name is corp.

What type of traffic is normally seen over UDP port 137? ›

UDP: Typically, NBNS uses UDP as its transport protocol. The well known UDP port for NBNS traffic is 137.

Does UDP use IP? ›

UDP uses IP to get a datagram from one computer to another. UDP works by gathering data in a UDP packet and adding its own header information to the packet. This data consists of the source and destination ports on which to communicate, the packet length and a checksum.

What port does NetBIOS listen on with UDP? ›

More information. NetBIOS over TCP traditionally uses the following ports: NBName: 137/UDP. NBName: 137/TCP.

How do I close a port that is already in use? ›

Here's how you can close it without having to reboot your computer or change your application's port.
  1. Step 1: Find the connection's PID. netstat -ano | findstr :yourPortNumber. ...
  2. Step 2: Kill the process using it's PID. tskill yourPID. ...
  3. Step 3: Restart your server. ...
  4. Step 4: Stop your server properly.

Which ports should I close? ›

Ports 80, 443, 8080 and 8443 (HTTP and HTTPS)

HTTP and HTTPS are the hottest protocols on the internet, so they're often targeted by attackers. They're especially vulnerable to cross-site scripting, SQL injections, cross-site request forgeries and DDoS attacks.

How do I disable a port in Windows? ›

How to Block or Open a Port in Windows 10/8/7 Firewall
  1. Open Windows Firewall and find the Advanced Settings. ...
  2. Open the List of Inbound Rules. ...
  3. Set up a New Rule. ...
  4. Open the New Inbound Rule Wizard. ...
  5. Block the Connection. ...
  6. Apply Your New Rule to Each Profile Type. ...
  7. Name Your Rule and Configure the Settings.

Is NetBIOS a port scanner? ›

NetBIOS scan uses UDP port 137 to send and receive the NetBIOS data. If this port is blocked by your computer or in the remote network computers that you scan, the NetBIOS scan will not work. When you run NetBScanner in the first time, you might get a warning from the Firewall of Windows.

Does Windows still use NetBIOS? ›

This means NetBIOS is now only used as a fallback in case mDNS and LLMNR queries fail. This means that devices will typically no longer use NetBIOS name resolution unless it is manually re-enabled, since mDNS responds first in most cases.

Should I open NetBIOS port? ›

If you are on Windows-based network that is running NetBios, it is perfectly normal to have port 139 open in order to facilitate that protocol. If you are not on a network using NetBios, there is no reason to have that port open.

What has replaced NetBIOS? ›

Today, DNS has replaced WINS, since Microsoft made changes to NetBIOS, allowing it to use the TCP/IP stack to perform its job (NetBIOS over TCP/IP) and most DNS servers are able to handle NetBIOS requests.

Do printers use NetBIOS? ›

NetBIOS over TCP/IP allows files and/or printers to be shared over the network.

Which command is used for troubleshooting of NetBIOS problems? ›

The NBTSTAT Command

NetBT Statistics (Nbtstat.exe) is a command-line tool that can be used to view and troubleshoot network NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) name resolution.

What are the three most common ports that get hacked? ›

Pentesting is used by ethical hackers to stage fake cyberattacks. If you're attempting to pentest your network, here are the most vulnerably ports.
...
Here are some common vulnerable ports you need to know.
  1. FTP (20, 21) ...
  2. SSH (22) ...
  3. SMB (139, 137, 445) ...
  4. DNS (53) ...
  5. HTTP / HTTPS (443, 80, 8080, 8443) ...
  6. Telnet (23) ...
  7. SMTP (25) ...
  8. TFTP (69)
Mar 29, 2022

What is udp137? ›

137. tcp,udp. netbios-ns. NetBIOS is a protocol used for File and Print Sharing under all current versions of Windows.

What port is best for DDoS? ›

Common UDP ports are 53 (DNS), 88 (Kerberos), 137/138/445 (Windows), and 161 (SNMP). When investigating a DDoS attack, look for UDP traffic with high numbered network ports (1024+).

How do I enable a port to disable? ›

Enabling or Disabling Switch Ports
  1. Select the Configuration > Ports > Ports page.
  2. If not already selected, select the fabric and the switches to edit.
  3. Select the ports to configure: ...
  4. Select Actions > Enable/Disable and in the drop-down list, select either Enable or Disable.

Is port 137 a SMB? ›

SMB is a network file sharing protocol that requires an open port on a computer or server to communicate with other systems. SMB ports are generally port numbers 139 and 445.

What ports do hackers look for? ›

Which ports are most vulnerable?
  • FTP (20, 21)
  • SSH (22)
  • Telnet (23)
  • SMTP (25)
  • DNS (53)
  • NetBIOS over TCP (137, 139)
  • SMB (445)
  • HTTP and HTTPS (80, 443, 8080, 8443)
Aug 4, 2022

How do you check if a device is listening on a port? ›

In order to check which application is listening on a port, you can use the following command from the command line:
  1. For Microsoft Windows: netstat -ano | find "1234" | find "LISTEN" tasklist /fi "PID eq 1234"
  2. For Linux: netstat -anpe | grep "1234" | grep "LISTEN"
May 19, 2022

How can you prevent an attacker from accessing the port? ›

Firewall protection:

A proper firewall ensures that ports are not open for vulnerable attacks by Cybercriminals.

Is a port open if it is listening? ›

The listening port listens to applications or processes on the network port. It is acting just like the communication endpoint. Using the firewall, we can open or closed each listening port. The open port can be defined as a network port used to accept incoming packets from remote locations.

How do I check if a port is disabled? ›

When a port is in error-disabled state, it is effectively shut down and no traffic is sent or received on that port. The port LED is set to the orange color and, when you issue the show interfaces command, the port status shows as Errdisabled.

Which command will enable port? ›

Use the switchport port-security command to enable port security.

How do you check the port is enable or not? ›

Enter "telnet + IP address or hostname + port number" (e.g., telnet www.example.com 1723 or telnet 10.17. xxx. xxx 5000) to run the telnet command in Command Prompt and test the TCP port status. If the port is open, only a cursor will show.

Is NetBIOS TCP or UDP? ›

NetBIOS provides three distinct services: Name service for name registration and resolution (ports: 137/udp and 137/tcp) Datagram distribution service for connectionless communication (port: 138/udp) Session service for connection-oriented communication (port: 139/tcp)

What is NetBIOS used for? ›

NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System) is a network service that enables applications on different computers to communicate with each other across a local area network (LAN). It was developed in the 1980s for use on early, IBM-developed PC networks.

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