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Port 139 NetBIOS Session

SMB over NetBIOS, Windows file sharing in old networks.

Protocol
TCP
Service
NetBIOS Session
Category
File sharing
Exposing to the internet
Do not expose

Check if port 139 is open

Is it safe to open

File-sharing protocols are not designed for the internet: they leak data and spread ransomware. Keep them inside the LAN and give remote users a VPN or an HTTPS-based service instead.

How to open port 139

Open to everyone

# Linux iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 139 -j ACCEPT
# Ubuntu ufw
ufw allow 139/tcp
# firewalld
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=139/tcp && firewall-cmd --reload
# MikroTik
/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=139 action=accept place-before=0 comment="port 139"
# Windows (PowerShell)
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Port 139 TCP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 139 -Action Allow

Only for your addresses

# allow only one address or network (replace 203.0.113.0/24)
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 139 -s 203.0.113.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 139 -j DROP
ufw allow from 203.0.113.0/24 to any port 139 proto tcp
/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=139 src-address=203.0.113.0/24 action=accept
/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=139 action=drop

If the server is behind a router, you also need a port forward (dst-nat). Behind ISP CGNAT (100.64.0.0/10 on the WAN) forwarding will not help: you need a public IP or a VPN.

What is listening

Check on the server

# what listens on the port
ss -lntup | grep ':139 '
netstat -ano | findstr :139   # Windows
lsof -i :139   # macOS
# test from another machine
nc -vz example.com 139

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