MITRE ATT&CK Technique
Command and Control T1043
Description

**This technique has been deprecated. Please use [Non-Standard Port](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1571) where appropriate.** Adversaries may communicate over a commonly used port to bypass firewalls or network detection systems and to blend with normal network activity to avoid more detailed inspection. They may use commonly open ports such as * TCP:80 (HTTP) * TCP:443 (HTTPS) * TCP:25 (SMTP) * TCP/UDP:53 (DNS) They may use the protocol associated with the port or a completely different protocol. For connections that occur internally within an enclave (such as those between a proxy or pivot node and other nodes), examples of common ports are * TCP/UDP:135 (RPC) * TCP/UDP:22 (SSH) * TCP/UDP:3389 (RDP)

Supported Platforms
Linux macOS Windows
Created

April 29, 2026

Last Updated

April 29, 2026

STIX Data
{'created': '2017-05-31T21:30:42.657Z',
 'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'description': '**This technique has been deprecated. Please use '
                '[Non-Standard '
                'Port](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1571) where '
                'appropriate.**\n'
                '\n'
                'Adversaries may communicate over a commonly used port to '
                'bypass firewalls or network detection systems and to blend '
                'with normal network activity to avoid more detailed '
                'inspection. They may use commonly open ports such as\n'
                '\n'
                '* TCP:80 (HTTP)\n'
                '* TCP:443 (HTTPS)\n'
                '* TCP:25 (SMTP)\n'
                '* TCP/UDP:53 (DNS)\n'
                '\n'
                'They may use the protocol associated with the port or a '
                'completely different protocol. \n'
                '\n'
                'For connections that occur internally within an enclave (such '
                'as those between a proxy or pivot node and other nodes), '
                'examples of common ports are \n'
                '\n'
                '* TCP/UDP:135 (RPC)\n'
                '* TCP/UDP:22 (SSH)\n'
                '* TCP/UDP:3389 (RDP)',
 'external_references': [{'external_id': 'T1043',
                          'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
                          'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1043'},
                         {'description': 'Gardiner, J.,  Cova, M., Nagaraja, '
                                         'S. (2014, February). Command & '
                                         'Control Understanding, Denying and '
                                         'Detecting. Retrieved April 20, 2016.',
                          'source_name': 'University of Birmingham C2',
                          'url': 'https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1408/1408.1136.pdf'}],
 'id': 'attack-pattern--f879d51c-5476-431c-aedf-f14d207e4d1e',
 'kill_chain_phases': [{'kill_chain_name': 'mitre-attack',
                        'phase_name': 'command-and-control'}],
 'modified': '2025-10-24T17:49:38.270Z',
 'name': 'Commonly Used Port',
 'object_marking_refs': ['marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168'],
 'revoked': False,
 'spec_version': '2.1',
 'type': 'attack-pattern',
 'x_mitre_attack_spec_version': '3.2.0',
 'x_mitre_deprecated': True,
 'x_mitre_detection': '',
 'x_mitre_domains': ['enterprise-attack'],
 'x_mitre_is_subtechnique': False,
 'x_mitre_modified_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
 'x_mitre_platforms': ['Linux', 'macOS', 'Windows'],
 'x_mitre_version': '1.1'}
Quick Actions