Nmap

• Discovers live hosts and open ports on target networks
• Identifies running services and their version information
• Scripting engine automates vulnerability detection and enumeration
• Output formats (XML, grepable, normal) support pipeline integration
• Scan only systems you own or have written authorization to test

Common use cases

• Map your organization’s external attack surface with nmap -sS -sV to identify internet-facing services that shouldn’t be exposed
• Validate that firewall rules are working by scanning from both inside and outside the network and comparing results
• Identify outdated services during asset inventory by running version detection across a known subnet and cross-referencing against CVE data