“Hosts” refers to targets discovered on a network with services running. It’s not a single protocol, but the concept used in network enumeration and pentesting.
Common security issues
Open services without patches
Weak firewall rules
Unnecessary legacy services
Poor segmentation
Reconnaissance
Guides for mapping hosts via passive OSINT, network sweeps, and active prob
Network Mapping
Passive Reconnaissance
Enumeration
Guides on host discovery, port scanning, OS fingerprinting, and NSE scans
ICMP Host Discovery and Ping Sweeps
Nmap Service Enumeration (NSE)
OS Fingerprinting and Banner Grabbing
Port Scanning with Nmap
Vulnerability Discovery
Guides for scanning hosts to find CVEs and misconfigs with Nmap NSE
Nmap Vulnerability Scanning (NSE)
Data Exfiltration
Exfiltrate data via ICMP when TCP and UDP egress is blocked