Wireshark Port Scan

Here are some common filter in wiereshark to detect port scanning including TCP and UDP

TCP Scan

Flag Combination Description (Nmap Context) Decimal Value Filter (tcp.flags == X) Boolean Filter (tcp.flags.flag == 1)
SYN Start connection (Request: SYN Scan, Connect Scan) tcp.flags == 2 tcp.flags.syn == 1
ACK Acknowledgment (Data Transfer) tcp.flags == 16 tcp.flags.ack == 1
SYN, ACK Acknowledgment of SYN + Synchronize (Open port response) tcp.flags == 18 (tcp.flags.syn == 1) and (tcp.flags.ack == 1)
RST Reset/Immediate end of connection (Stealth Scan close) tcp.flags == 4 tcp.flags.reset == 1
RST, ACK Reset/Immediate end + Acknowledgment (Closed port response) tcp.flags == 20 (tcp.flags.reset == 1) and (tcp.flags.ack == 1)
FIN Finish/Graceful end of connection (FIN Scan) tcp.flags == 1 tcp.flags.fin == 1
NULL No flags set (NULL Scan) tcp.flags == 0 (No specific single flag filter)
Global Search Any TCP Traffic (Not applicable) tcp

UDP Scan

Packet Type Description Wireshark Filter Port Status Indication
ICMP Type 3, Code 3 Destination Unreachable, Port Unreachable icmp.type==3 and icmp.code==3 Closed UDP Port

last modified: 2025-12-14