diff --git a/conf.c b/conf.c
index 3eb117f..b275886 100644
--- a/conf.c
+++ b/conf.c
@@ -1721,6 +1721,7 @@ void conf(struct ctx *c, int argc, char **argv)
 	/* Inbound port options & DNS can be parsed now (after IPv4/IPv6
 	 * settings)
 	 */
+	fwd_probe_ephemeral();
 	udp_portmap_clear();
 	optind = 0;
 	do {
diff --git a/fwd.c b/fwd.c
index 8fa312a..a505098 100644
--- a/fwd.c
+++ b/fwd.c
@@ -28,8 +28,65 @@
 #include "flow_table.h"
 
 /* Empheral port range: values from RFC 6335 */
-static const in_port_t fwd_ephemeral_min = (1 << 15) + (1 << 14);
-static const in_port_t fwd_ephemeral_max = NUM_PORTS - 1;
+static in_port_t fwd_ephemeral_min = (1 << 15) + (1 << 14);
+static in_port_t fwd_ephemeral_max = NUM_PORTS - 1;
+
+#define PORT_RANGE_SYSCTL	"/proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_local_port_range"
+
+/** fwd_probe_ephemeral() - Determine what ports this host considers ephemeral
+ *
+ * Work out what ports the host thinks are emphemeral and record it for later
+ * use by fwd_port_is_ephemeral().  If we're unable to probe, assume the range
+ * recommended by RFC 6335.
+ */
+void fwd_probe_ephemeral(void)
+{
+	char *line, *tab, *end;
+	struct lineread lr;
+	long min, max;
+	ssize_t len;
+	int fd;
+
+	fd = open(PORT_RANGE_SYSCTL, O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC);
+	if (fd < 0) {
+		warn_perror("Unable to open %s", PORT_RANGE_SYSCTL);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	lineread_init(&lr, fd);
+	len = lineread_get(&lr, &line);
+	close(fd);
+
+	if (len < 0)
+		goto parse_err;
+
+	tab = strchr(line, '\t');
+	if (!tab)
+		goto parse_err;
+	*tab = '\0';
+
+	errno = 0;
+	min = strtol(line, &end, 10);
+	if (*end || errno)
+		goto parse_err;
+
+	errno = 0;
+	max = strtol(tab + 1, &end, 10);
+	if (*end || errno)
+		goto parse_err;
+
+	if (min < 0 || min >= NUM_PORTS ||
+	    max < 0 || max >= NUM_PORTS)
+		goto parse_err;
+
+	fwd_ephemeral_min = min;
+	fwd_ephemeral_max = max;
+
+	return;
+
+parse_err:
+	warn("Unable to parse %s", PORT_RANGE_SYSCTL);
+}
 
 /**
  * fwd_port_is_ephemeral() - Is port number ephemeral?
diff --git a/fwd.h b/fwd.h
index 99dd66c..3562f3c 100644
--- a/fwd.h
+++ b/fwd.h
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ struct flowside;
 /* Number of ports for both TCP and UDP */
 #define	NUM_PORTS	(1U << 16)
 
+void fwd_probe_ephemeral(void);
 bool fwd_port_is_ephemeral(in_port_t port);
 
 enum fwd_ports_mode {