Port 12009 GHVPN
Port 12009 is the IANA-assigned ghvpn port for Green Hills VPN (UDP).
What is port 12009 used for?
Port 12009 is assigned to ghvpn and uses UDP. The IANA registry describes the service as “Green Hills VPN”. It sits above the registered range, where most numbers are transient client ports. A fixed high port is worth documenting precisely because tooling often assumes the default.
Ports are the transport-layer address a service listens on. This entry has no TCP assignment: UDP is connectionless, so a client that gets no reply may be hitting either an idle service or a firewall drop. That is why a port conflict appears whenever two processes try to bind the same number.
Use the commands below to confirm whether port 12009 is actually in use before you change firewall rules. Blocking the port stops new inbound traffic at the firewall, but it does not stop a local process from listening, and it does not remove the service from the machine.
Browse all VPN and tunnelling ports
Source: IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry. Registered assignee: [Green_Hills_Software].
Check and block port 12009
Copy-ready commands for the protocols assigned to this port. Run the check first, then block only what should not be reachable.
Check on Linux
sudo ss -ulpn 'sport = :12009'Check on Windows
Get-NetUDPEndpoint -LocalPort 12009 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueBlock with UFW
sudo ufw deny 12009/udpBlock with iptables
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 12009 -j DROPThese commands are examples for a typical host. Check the listener before you change firewall rules, and persist iptables rules with iptables-save or netfilter-persistent. On Windows, use Windows Defender Firewall or New-NetFirewallRule for persistent blocks. The iptables rules here cover IPv4; mirror them with ip6tables if IPv6 is enabled.
Is port 12009 safe to expose?
This port is not on our curated list of services with a widely exploited profile. Exposure is only safe when the listening service is intended, patched and protected by a firewall. Keep the listening service patched and remove it if unused. A default-deny firewall policy with explicit allow rules is still the safest baseline.
Where port 12009 is usually used
Most traffic on port 12009 falls into these scenarios. The demo below is a safe way to confirm the listener before you change anything.
- Remote workers establishing an encrypted tunnel to the office or cloud network.
- Site-to-site links between networks that must not expose internal services.
- Road-warrior clients roaming between Wi-Fi and mobile networks.
Confirm the VPN listener
VPN products use different control protocols. Confirm the socket on the gateway first, then check the product's own status command (for WireGuard, wg show).
sudo ss -ulpn 'sport = :12009'Common problems with port 12009
No reply from the service
Because UDP has no handshake, a missing reply can mean the service is idle, the packet was dropped, or the client sent it to the wrong interface. Check the listener locally before blaming the network.
Port already in use
Find the process holding the port with sudo ss -ulpn 'sport = :12009' or sudo lsof -i :12009. Stop that process or configure it to bind another port; killing it without identifying it can take down a production service.
Firewall rule did not survive a reboot
UFW and Windows Firewall keep rules across restarts. Raw iptables rules do not: save them with iptables-save or the netfilter-persistent package, and re-apply after upgrades that reset the ruleset.
The port is blocked but still reachable
A firewall rule filters inbound traffic; it does not close the listener. Confirm with the check command above and bind the service to 127.0.0.1 when only local clients need it.
Port 12009 at a glance
| Port number | 12009 |
|---|---|
| Service name | ghvpn |
| Transport protocol | UDP |
| Category | VPN and tunnelling |
| Range | High port (10001–65535) |
| Risk level | Standard/Low |
| Registered assignee | [Green_Hills_Software] |
| Registry description | Green Hills VPN |
| Source | IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry |
Frequently asked questions
What is port 12009 used for?
Port 12009 (GHVPN) uses UDP. Green Hills VPN.
How do I check if port 12009 is open?
On Linux run `sudo ss -ulpn 'sport = :12009'`. On Windows run `Get-NetUDPEndpoint -LocalPort 12009 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue` in PowerShell. If the port is open, the output shows a process listening on port 12009; empty output usually means nothing is bound to it.
How do I block port 12009?
With UFW run `sudo ufw deny 12009/udp`. With iptables run `sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 12009 -j DROP`. Persist the iptables rules with your distribution's netfilter-persistent or iptables-save tooling so they survive a reboot.
Is port 12009 safe to expose?
This port is not on our curated list of services with a widely exploited profile. Exposure is only safe when the listening service is intended, patched and protected by a firewall. Nevertheless, keep the listening service patched and remove it if unused. A default-deny firewall policy with explicit allow rules is still the safest baseline.
Related ports
- Port 12008 · accuracer-dbmsAccuracer Database System Admin
- Port 12010 · edbsrvrElevateDB Server
- Port 4500 · ipsec-nat-tIPsec NAT-Traversal
- Port 30004 · amicon-fpsu-sAmicon FPSU-IP VPN
- Port 4112 · apple-vpns-rpApple VPN Server Reporting Protocol
- Port 51820 · WireGuardConventional WireGuard listener port used by wg-quick and most…
Primary data: IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry.
Last reviewed 2026-10-30 · Methodology · About · Privacy