Port 80: HTTP
Analyze default service protocols, historical security vulnerabilities, hardening methods, and firewall rules for port 80.
1. Port Purpose & Usage
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol used to transmit web pages and other resources. Port 80 is the default port for unencrypted web traffic.
Common Service Implementations
A high-performance HTTP server and reverse proxy.
Robust, full-featured web server software.
Web server package for Windows operating environments.
2. Security Risks & Vulnerability Profiles
HTTP transmits all website data, form submissions, and cookie tokens in plaintext. This makes connections highly vulnerable to eavesdropping, credential hijacking, and traffic injection by ISPs or local network attackers.
Historical CVE References
Apache HTTP Server Path Traversal. A flaw in URL normalization allowed remote attackers to read arbitrary files or execute CGI scripts via path traversal.
Windows HTTP Protocol Stack RCE. A vulnerability in the HTTP.sys stack allowed unauthenticated remote code execution on Windows servers.
3. Hardening & Mitigation Checklist
4. Firewall Command Examples
Use the following system configurations to restrict open port exposure on Linux hosts:
Further Analysis
Web Infrastructure Ports
Ports often operate in clusters. When analyzing a service on Port 80, security engineers typically check the status of these related ports.