214
Summary
- // if you see it open
- No CVEs, exploit-DB entries, or documented malware/trojan associations found for port 214/vmpwscs (checked NVD/CVE search, Exploit-DB, GRC Port Authority). Scan-observed openness is minute (nmap-services ~0.000038 on tcp, ~0.000445 on udp); no Shodan/Censys exposure statistics were found. The protocol is tied to discontinued IBM mainframe/PS-2 hardware from the 1980s-90s, so genuine vmpwscs traffic today would be unusual; any observed activity on 214/tcp is more plausibly scan noise than a real service, but that inference is not independently sourced.
About port 214/tcp.
Port 214/tcp is registered with IANA under the service name vmpwscs, described simply as "VM PWSCS," with registrant Dan_Shia and no reference/RFC listed in the registry — the Reference column is blank in the source, so no RFC is cited here. The same entry is dual-registered on 214/udp with identical service name and description. "VM PWSCS" expands to VM Programmable Workstation Communication Services, a legacy IBM mainframe connectivity protocol dating to the late 1980s/1990s VM/CMS era. It provided a way for IBM PS/2-class workstations to talk to VM mainframes, with an OS/2-based SNA LU 6.2 gateway variant documented in IBM product-announcement material, generally over a Micro Channel or LAN link rather than the modern internet. No IANA reference/RFC is cited for the assignment, no CVEs or exploit-database entries were found tied to this port, and no internet-wide scanning statistics from Shodan or Censys turned up; the nmap-services dataset does carry a measured figure, and it is minute — an observed open-frequency of about 0.000038 for 214/tcp, roughly 4 in 100,000 scanned hosts, against about 0.000445 on the UDP side. Given the protocol's age and its tie to discontinued IBM hardware, a live vmpwscs listener would be highly unusual on a contemporary network; any traffic observed on 214/tcp today is more plausibly opportunistic port-scan noise than genuine VM PWSCS activity, though that inference is reasoning rather than a sourced fact and is flagged as such below.
- IANA assignment
vmpwscs— "VM PWSCS"; reference (blank — no RFC cited in IANA registry); assignee/contact[Dan_Shia]; dual-registered 214/tcp + 214/udp [Confirmed] — IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry (the IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry-531; https://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-port-numbers/service-names-port-numbers.txt)- Range class
- well-known (0–1023)
- Registration/modification dates
- blank in the IANA source registry; left blank rather than invented [Confirmed] — the IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry
- Prevalence
- nmap-services observed open-frequency 214/tcp ≈ 0.000038 (very low — roughly 4 in 100,000 scanned hosts in the nmap-services sample); the dual-registered 214/udp side is higher at ≈ 0.000445 [Confirmed] — nmap-services dataset. The figure records scan-observed openness on the port number, not confirmed VM PWSCS traffic; no Shodan/Censys exposure statistics specific to 214 were found [Unknown]
- Related ports
- 213/tcp (
ipx, immediately preceding entry — noted only to correct an earlier data-quality flag, see below)
Primary use
IBM VM Programmable Workstation Communication Services (VM PWSCS) — legacy IBM mainframe-to-PS/2-workstation connectivity, including an SNA LU 6.2 gateway variant, from the late-1980s/1990s VM/CMS era [Likely] — https://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?appname=skmwww&htmlfid=897/ENUS292-549&infotype=AN, http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/port-number/214/
Other/unofficial modern uses
none found; no contemporary (2020s) software is known to bind this port [Unknown]
Security implications
no CVEs, exploit-DB entries, or documented malware/trojan associations found (checked NVD/CVE search, Exploit-DB, GRC Port Authority); essentially obsolete protocol tied to discontinued IBM hardware, so a live listener today would be atypical
Typically seen on
historically, IBM VM mainframe hosts with PS/2 workstation gateways; otherwise no modern association
- Data-quality note
- an initial automated Wikipedia fetch misattributed port 214 to IPX; that is incorrect (IPX is 213, not 214) and was corrected against the primary IANA registry text plus independent secondary sources (t1shopper, connected.app, SpeedGuide) that all agree 214 = vmpwscs[Confirmed] — https://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-port-numbers/service-names-port-numbers.txt
About port 214/udp.
Port 214/udp is registered with IANA as vmpwscs — "VM PWSCS" — with contact and assignee listed as Dan Shia, and it is dual-registered on tcp: the identical service name, description, and assignee occupy the immediately preceding row of the registry for 214/tcp. The Registration Date, Modification Date, and Reference (RFC) columns are all blank in the source CSV, consistent with an assignment made before the registry began tracking per-entry dates; no date or RFC is invented to fill the gap. The literal service name, together with IBM's own product literature, points to VM Programmable Workstation Communication Services — a legacy IBM VM/CMS mainframe-era product from the early 1990s that included an OS/2 SNA LU 6.2 gateway component for connecting programmable workstations to IBM VM hosts. This expansion is treated as likely rather than confirmed, since the IANA entry itself does not spell it out. No actively maintained modern software is known to use this port under its registered name, and nmap's scan-derived frequency data shows it observed open only extremely rarely across the internet (udp ≈0.000445, tcp ≈0.000038) — a negligible real-world footprint. No CVEs or CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities entries were found tied to this port or to vmpwscs. One AI-generated search summary claimed an association with an "ISX-11 protocol"; this could not be corroborated against the IANA registry or any other source and is treated as an unverified summarizer artifact rather than fact. For an analyst, a responsive 214/udp is more plausibly a non-standard custom service, a misconfiguration, or background scanning noise than genuine legacy VM PWSCS traffic, given how rarely the registered service is actually seen open.
- IANA assignment
vmpwscs— "VM PWSCS"; assignee/contact [Dan_Shia]; Registration Date, Modification Date, and Reference blank in the registry; dual-registered 214/tcp + 214/udp with identical service name/description/assignee [Confirmed] — the IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry (rows 530–531); IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry- Range class
- well-known / System Port range (0–1023) [Confirmed]
- Prevalence
- nmap-services open-frequency 214/udp ≈ 0.000445, 214/tcp ≈ 0.000038 — extremely rarely observed open [Likely] — nmap-services frequency file
- Related ports
- 214/tcp — dual registration, identical service name/description/assignee [Confirmed]
Primary use
likely IBM VM Programmable Workstation Communication Services — a legacy IBM VM/CMS mainframe product (early 1990s) with an OS/2 SNA LU 6.2 gateway component; the IANA registry does not itself spell out this expansion
Other/unofficial uses
none identified; no actively maintained modern software is known to use this port [Likely]
Security implications
no CVEs or CISA KEV entries found tied to this port or to vmpwscs; negligible documented real-world attack surface
Typically seen on
none confirmed; unexpected traffic on this port is more plausibly a non-standard/custom service, misconfiguration, or internet-wide scan noise than genuine VM PWSCS [Likely]
- Disregarded claim
- an AI-generated search summary asserted an "ISX-11 protocol" association; this could not be corroborated against IANA or any other source and is excluded as an unverified artifact, not fact [Unknown]
Service assignments.
| Name | Protocol | Description | Open frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| vmpwscs | UDP | — | 0.04% |
| vmpwscs | TCP | VM PWSCS | 0.00% |
Service assignments from the IANA Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry, with open-frequency data from nmap-services.