What Port 455 Is
Port 455 is a well-known port (part of the 0-1023 range managed by IANA) officially assigned to a service called "CreativePartnr." Both TCP and UDP protocols are registered for this port.12
That's where the facts end and the mystery begins.
The Service That Vanished
No documentation exists for what CreativePartnr actually was. No protocol specification. No RFC. No company website archived anywhere. No software downloads. No user manuals. The service has completely disappeared from history, leaving only its name in the IANA registry.
Someone built something called CreativePartnr. Someone convinced IANA it was important enough to deserve a well-known port number—a spot in the exclusive 0-1023 range reserved for fundamental Internet services. Then it vanished.
What Well-Known Ports Mean
Well-known ports (0-1023) are assigned by IANA through a formal process requiring documentation and justification. Getting a port in this range means your service was considered significant enough to warrant permanent reservation. Port 22 is SSH. Port 80 is HTTP. Port 443 is HTTPS.
Port 455 is CreativePartnr—whatever that was.
The registry doesn't explain what CreativePartnr did, what protocol it used, or why it needed a dedicated port. Just the name, both protocols (TCP/UDP), and silence.
Security Note
Some security databases flag port 455 as having been used by malware in the past.3 This doesn't mean CreativePartnr itself was malicious—abandoned ports often get repurposed by malware precisely because they're empty and unwatched.
If you see traffic on port 455, investigate it. Legitimate use would be extraordinarily rare given that the original service is extinct.
How to Check What's Listening
On Linux/macOS:
On Windows:
If something is listening on port 455, find out what it is. The legitimate service is gone.
Why Ghost Ports Matter
The IANA registry is full of these ghosts—services that got official assignments then disappeared. They represent the archaeology of the Internet: protocols that seemed important in their moment, companies that don't exist anymore, standards that never took hold.
Port 455 got its number. CreativePartnr made it into the permanent record. Then the service died, but the port remains, like a gravestone with a name but no dates.
The well-known range is supposed to be sacred ground—ports for services that matter, that endure. Port 455 is a reminder that permanence is an illusion. Services die. Companies fold. Protocols get abandoned. The registry remembers names long after everyone forgets what they meant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Ports
- Port 445 — SMB/CIFS file sharing (very active, frequently targeted)
- Port 456 — MACON-UDP (another obscure assigned service)
- Ports 0-1023 — Well-known ports range (IANA-assigned services)
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