Syn packets hitting port 80, not webserver

From: Neil Dickey (neilat_private)
Date: Fri Sep 28 2001 - 11:23:31 PDT

  • Next message: Matthew Leeds: "Re: Syn packets hitting port 80, not webserver"

    I have a puzzle I'm hoping some of you can help me with.  One of
    my machines, which is not configured as a web server ( port 80 is
    blocked ), has been getting hit with SYN packets directed to that
    port literally from all over the world.  Since about midday last
    Monday, Sept. 24,  when I rolled over my log, they have been coming
    in at the rate of one every few minutes to a total as I write of
    approximately 1700.  None of my other machines is receiving traffic
    of this sort.
    
    Commonly the maximum number of hits from a single IP address is
    four, though one site I saw went as high as nine.  Most hit twice
    and subside.
    
    Here is a representative example of one of the packets, taken with
    tcpdump:
    
    09:39:07.148532 65.197.243.120.2557 > mercury.80: S [tcp sum ok]
           263101219:263101219(0) win 8192 <mss 1380> (DF) (ttl 106,
           id 39171, len 44)
    0x0000         4500 002c 9903 4000 6a06 b6eb 41c5 f378        E..,..@.j...A..x
    0x0010         839c 0803 09fd 0050 0fae 9b23 0000 0000        .......P...#....
    0x0020         6002 2000 027b 0000 0204 0564 0000             `....{.....d..
    
    I had tcpdump listen to all inbound traffic to port 80, and this
    sort of thing is all it saw.
    
    So, it isn't CodeRed(X) or Nimda.  This machine saw lots of hits,
    as did the others, during the outbreaks of these worms, but SYN
    traffic directed at this machine continues.
    
    Does anyone have any ideas why this might be?
    
    Best regards,
    
    Neil Dickey, Ph.D.
    Research Associate/Sysop
    Geology Department
    Northern Illinois University
    DeKalb, Illinois
    60115
    
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