Sunday, September 21, 2025

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Ping Sweep for SSH Hosts



Looking for that Raspberry Pi on your local network, but can't remember the IP Address?  Here's an answer.

To perform a "ping sweep" specifically looking for port 22 (SSH) on a network using Nmap, the goal is to identify hosts that are alive and have port 22 open. This is more than just a traditional ICMP ping sweep; it involves a port scan focused on port 22.
The following Nmap command can be used:
Code
nmap -p 22 --open -sS <target_range>nmap -p 22 --open -sS 192.168.1.0/24nmap -p 22 --open -sS 172.16.0.0/12Note: You may need to use sudosudo nmap -p 22 --open -sS 192.168.1.0/24
Explanation of the command:
  • nmap: Invokes the Nmap network scanner.
  • -p 22: Specifies that only port 22 (SSH) should be scanned.
  • --open: Filters the output to only show hosts where port 22 is found to be open.
  • -sS: Performs a TCP SYN (Stealth) scan. This is a common and efficient port scanning technique that can often bypass basic firewalls and is less "noisy" than a full TCP connect scan.
  • <target_range>: Represents the target IP address or network range to be scanned. Examples include:
    • 192.168.1.1 (single IP address)
    • 192.168.1.0/24 (a /24 subnet, scanning all 254 possible hosts)
    • 192.168.1.1-254 (a range of IP addresses)
This command will scan the specified target(s) and report any hosts that are responsive and have port 22 open, indicating a potential SSH server.