CompTIA Security+ guideHigh-value skills
Do You Need to Memorize Ports for Security+?
SY0-701 asks you to select protocols and ports in context. It does not publish a numbered port list the way older advice assumed.
Short answer
You need to reason about ports and protocols. You do not need a memorized SY0-601-style port sheet. The current SY0-701 objectives mention open service ports, disabling ports and protocols, firewall rules that use ports and protocols, and implementation of secure protocols including port selection. They do not publish a table of numbers you must recite. Know what the protocol is for, and whether the safer protocol should replace it.
What the current objectives actually say
The SY0-701 objectives, document version 6.0, talk about ports in context. They mention open service ports as a vulnerability, disabling ports and protocols as a mitigation, firewall rules that include ports and protocols, and “implementation of secure protocols” with protocol selection, port selection, and transport method. That is a decision skill.
They do not include a numbered list of ports to memorize. Older Security+ advice, including many SY0-601 writeups, treated a long port sheet as the assignment. CompTIA retired the English SY0-601 exam on July 31, 2024. Do not import that sheet as a SY0-701 requirement. A forum post that says “I saw port 22” is an anecdote. It does not amend the objectives. If the harder question is whether you need the Network+ credential before this exam, that decision is in do you need Network+ before Security+.
What is worth knowing
You should be able to do four things without a chart in your lap.
- Say what the protocol is for.
- Say whether a safer protocol is the usual replacement.
- Notice when a firewall rule allows a service the scenario never needed.
- Notice an exposed management service as a vulnerability, even if you are not asked for the number.
The numbers below are common protocol knowledge so you can follow a flow. They are not an official SY0-701 answer key, and they are not a claim that these items will appear.
| Protocol | What it is for | The reasoning, not a flashcard |
|---|---|---|
| SSH | Remote administration of a host | Prefer it when the alternative is a clear-text remote shell. An allow rule for administration from the whole internet is still a problem even if the protocol is SSH. |
| HTTPS | Web traffic protected with TLS | Allowing it to a public site can be correct. The same allow does not inspect a SQL payload. That is a web-application question, not a port question. |
| DNS | Name lookup | A host that can browse the web and cannot resolve names is a different failure from a blocked web port. |
| RDP | A graphical remote desktop | Convenient for support, and a common thing to expose by mistake. Ask who needs it and from where before you treat the port as the whole answer. |
| SMTP with no protection | Sending mail in the clear | The objectives care that you can choose a protected option. The number is secondary to “this path is readable.” |
If a stem gives you the number and not the name, translate the number into the job, then decide. If a stem gives you the name, you may not need the number at all.
A small practice habit
Read a one-line firewall rule and answer only this: what job did I just allow, and does this scenario need that job from the addresses in the rule? That habit matches “port selection” better than a nightly recital of forty numbers.
The PBQ guide uses the same habit on a rule list. A multiple-choice scenario can ask the decision. It will not ask you to fill in a blank port from a dumped list.
Trust the source
Official sources
Exam policies can change. Use these primary sources for the most current details.