SNMP is a protocol used to query hosts, servers, and devices about performance or health...

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is a protocol which can be used by administrators to remotely manage a computer or network device. There are typically 2 modes of remote SNMP monitoring. These modes are roughly 'READ' and 'WRITE' (or PUBLIC and PRIVATE). If an attacker is able to guess a PUBLIC community string, they would be able to read SNMP data (depending on which MIBs are installed) from the remote device. This information might include system time, IP addresses, interfaces, processes running, etc. Version 1 of SNMP has been criticized for its poor security. Authentication of clients is performed only by a "community string", in effect a type of password, which is transmitted in cleartext.