Well-known · Cross-platform

123 NTP

TCP Assigned
UDP Yes
SCTP
DCCP

What it is

Network Time Protocol for clock synchronization.

When / why

Essential everywhere; allow UDP/123 outbound to time sources. Restrict inbound to avoid amplification.

Protocol status detail

TransportStatusMeaning
TCP Assigned Assigned by IANA, but not standardized, specified, or widely used on this port.
UDP Yes Assigned by IANA and standardized, specified, or widely used on this port.
SCTP Not applicable for this transport.
DCCP Not applicable for this transport.

Port range

Well-known (0–1023). System port for a core service. On Unix-like systems, binding it requires superuser privileges.

Browse all ports →

Firewall rules for port 123

Copy-ready inbound rules for the active transports. Replace every <source> placeholder with the specific host, subnet, or CIDR that should reach this port.

⚠ UDP amplification risk — restrict or disable on internet-facing interfaces.

ufw

sudo ufw allow proto udp from <source> to any port 123

Allow UDP 123 (NTP). Replace <source> with the network/host that should reach it.

firewalld

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-rich-rule='rule family="ipv4" source address="<source>" port port="123" protocol="udp" accept'

Allow UDP 123 (NTP) from <source>. Run 'firewall-cmd --reload' afterwards.

nftables

nft add rule inet filter input ip saddr <source> udp dport 123 accept

Allow UDP 123 (NTP). Assumes table 'inet filter' with an 'input' chain.

iptables

sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp -s <source> --dport 123 -j ACCEPT

Allow UDP 123 (NTP). Persist with iptables-save/netfilter-persistent.

Azure NSG

az network nsg rule create -g <resource-group> --nsg-name <nsg> -n Allow-ntp-123 --priority 1000 --access Allow --direction Inbound --protocol UDP --source-address-prefixes <source> --destination-port-ranges 123

Inbound rule for 123 (NTP). Set <source> to a CIDR; lower priority number = higher precedence.

AWS Security Group

aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress --group-id <sg-id> --ip-permissions IpProtocol=udp,FromPort=123,ToPort=123,IpRanges="[{CidrIp=<source-cidr>}]"

Inbound UDP 123 (NTP). Replace <source-cidr> (e.g. 10.0.0.0/16).

GCP firewall

gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-ntp-123 --direction=INGRESS --action=ALLOW --rules=udp:123 --source-ranges=<source-cidr> --network=<network>

Ingress rule for 123 (NTP). Scope with --source-ranges and optionally --target-tags.

Windows netsh

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Allow NTP 123/UDP" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=123 remoteip=<source>

Inbound UDP 123 (NTP). Set remoteip to a host/subnet; 'any' is discouraged.

Windows PowerShell

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow NTP 123/UDP" -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 123 -RemoteAddress <source>

Inbound UDP 123 (NTP). Replace <source> with a host or subnet.

Rules are generated only for transports marked active for this port. They default to an inbound allow with an explicit source placeholder — never any. Review direction, scope, and rule precedence before applying in production.