Ethical Hacking Network Penetration Testing 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which Nmap scan type sends a SYN packet and waits for a SYN-ACK without completing the handshake?
- Full connect scan
- SYN stealth scan (Correct answer)
- UDP scan
- XMAS scan
Correct answer: SYN stealth scan
A SYN stealth scan (half-open scan) sends SYN and records the SYN-ACK response without completing the TCP handshake, making it harder to detect.
Question 2: What is the default port used by the SMB protocol that penetration testers frequently target?
- 21
- 80
- 445 (Correct answer)
- 3389
Correct answer: 445
SMB (Server Message Block) uses TCP port 445 by default and is a common target for exploitation in network penetration tests.
Question 3: Which tool is primarily used for automated network vulnerability scanning during a penetration test?
- Metasploit
- Nessus (Correct answer)
- Burp Suite
- Aircrack-ng
Correct answer: Nessus
Nessus is a widely-used automated vulnerability scanner that identifies security weaknesses across network devices and services.
Question 4: What does a penetration tester use 'Netcat' for during a network test?
- Password cracking
- Creating reverse shells and banner grabbing (Correct answer)
- Wireless packet injection
- SQL injection testing
Correct answer: Creating reverse shells and banner grabbing
Netcat is a versatile networking utility used for creating reverse shells, banner grabbing, port scanning, and transferring files during penetration tests.
Question 5: Which attack involves an attacker inserting themselves between two communicating hosts to intercept traffic?
- DoS attack
- Replay attack
- Man-in-the-Middle attack (Correct answer)
- Brute force attack
Correct answer: Man-in-the-Middle attack
A Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack positions the attacker between two parties to intercept, read, or modify communications without detection.
Question 6: What is the purpose of running a 'banner grab' during network reconnaissance?
- Capture authentication tokens
- Identify service version information (Correct answer)
- Perform SQL injection
- Crack password hashes
Correct answer: Identify service version information
Banner grabbing retrieves service banners that reveal software names and version numbers, helping attackers identify potentially vulnerable services.
Ethical Hacking Network Penetration Testing 1
Which Nmap scan type sends a SYN packet and waits for a SYN-ACK without completing the handshake?