Which Nmap scan type checks which IP protocols are supported on the target by sending raw IP packets?

Which Nmap scan type checks which IP protocols are supported on the target by sending raw IP packets?

• A. -sO
• B. -sP
• C. -sR
• D. -sS

Answer: (A)

IP protocol discovery in Nmap aims to determine which IP-layer protocols the target supports by sending raw IP packets with different protocol numbers in the IP header and watching how the host responds. This reveals which protocols (like ICMP, TCP, UDP) the target handles and can expose firewall behavior or protocol filtering. The scan that does this is the IP Protocol scan, invoked with the -sO flag. It tests protocol numbers such as 1 (ICMP), 6 (TCP), 17 (UDP), and notes which provoke a response. Other scan types focus on discovering hosts, ports, or RPC services, not on listing supported IP protocols.

IP protocol discovery in Nmap aims to determine which IP-layer protocols the target supports by sending raw IP packets with different protocol numbers in the IP header and watching how the host responds. This reveals which protocols (like ICMP, TCP, UDP) the target handles and can expose firewall behavior or protocol filtering. The scan that does this is the IP Protocol scan, invoked with the -sO flag. It tests protocol numbers such as 1 (ICMP), 6 (TCP), 17 (UDP), and notes which provoke a response. Other scan types focus on discovering hosts, ports, or RPC services, not on listing supported IP protocols.