Netcat fails to start in listening mode

I'm using CentOS 6.7 (Final) system, and when I try to run nc in listening mode it prints the following:

# nc -l 1234
nc: Protocol not available

The port is not bound. I tried other port numbers too. This bug seem to have been reported already: https://access.redhat.com/solutions/1753753. Unfortunately it is not very detailed.

Package information:

Name        : nc
Arch        : x86_64
Version     : 1.84
Release     : 24.el6

Is there something else I need to try out?

Solution 1:

I ran into the same issue. You can solve it this way:

# Removes the old package
yum erase nc

# Manually downloads the working package from the Official Repository
wget http://vault.centos.org/6.6/os/x86_64/Packages/nc-1.84-22.el6.x86_64.rpm

# Installs the package
rpm -iUv nc-1.84-22.el6.x86_64.rpm

Please note that the package is for x86_64 (64-bit). If you need i386 (32-bit), the correct one is:

wget http://vault.centos.org/6.6/os/i386/Packages/nc-1.84-22.el6.i686.rpm

Solution 2:

This particular version of netcat has a bug. Until there's a fix out for it, the only thing you can do is to downgrade to a previous version - sudo yum remove nc-1.84-24.el6.x86_64; sudo yum install nc-1.84-22.el6.x86_64 should do the trick.

Solution 3:

Replying the question:

1. YES, downgrade is needed so that nc can listen. and as for the other comments:

a) -p is not supposed to be used when in listening mode. from nc manpage:

-l Used to specify that nc should listen for an incoming connection rather than initiate a connection to a remote host. It is an error to use this option in conjunction with the -p, -s, or -z options.

b) downgrade can be done in one step, yum downgrade command works with the url to the package:

$ rpm -q nc
nc-1.84-24.el6.x86_64
$ nc -l 12345 #Although the syntax is correct, the command fails
nc: Protocol not available
$ nc -l -p 12345 #attempt to run with incorrect syntax
usage: nc [-46DdhklnrStUuvzC] [-i interval] [-p source_port]
          [-s source_ip_address] [-T ToS] [-w timeout] [-X proxy_version]
          [-x proxy_address[:port]] [hostname] [port[s]]
$ sudo yum downgrade http://vault.centos.org/6.6/os/x86_64/Packages/nc-1.84-22.el6.x86_64.rpm  #shortcut to downgrade
...
Setting up Downgrade Process
nc-1.84-22.el6.x86_64.rpm                                                              |  57 kB     00:00
Examining /var/tmp/yum-root-Iq4yc7/nc-1.84-22.el6.x86_64.rpm: nc-1.84-22.el6.x86_64
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package nc.x86_64 0:1.84-22.el6 will be a downgrade
---> Package nc.x86_64 0:1.84-24.el6 will be erased
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

==============================================================================================================
 Package          Arch                 Version                     Repository                            Size
==============================================================================================================
Downgrading:
 nc               x86_64               1.84-22.el6                 /nc-1.84-22.el6.x86_64               109 k

Transaction Summary
==============================================================================================================
Downgrade     1 Package(s)

Total size: 109 k
Is this ok [y/N]: y
...
Removed:
  nc.x86_64 0:1.84-24.el6

Installed:
  nc.x86_64 0:1.84-22.el6

Complete!
$ nc -l -p 12345 #attempt to run with incorrect syntax
usage: nc [-46DdhklnrStUuvzC] [-i interval] [-p source_port]
          [-s source_ip_address] [-T ToS] [-w timeout] [-X proxy_version]
          [-x proxy_address[:port]] [hostname] [port[s]]
$ nc -l 12345 # try to listen again
^C
$#nc successully opens a socket on 12345. had to stop it with ctrl+C