Password Cracking and Attacks CEH Practice Questions (Page 5)

Questions 21–25

1. 21expert · hard

   A penetration tester is assessing a web application that uses a login form with a CAPTCHA and an account lockout after 3 failed attempts. The tester has also obtained a database dump with password hashes. Which attack strategy is most effective to recover passwords?

   • ACrack the hashes offline using Hashcat with a dictionary and rules
   • BUse a rainbow table attack on the hashes if they are salted
   • CPerform an online brute-force attack using a botnet to bypass CAPTCHA
   • DUse a password spraying attack with a single password across all users
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 22application · medium

   A small business wants to enforce a strong password policy without burdening users. Which policy is most effective against common password-cracking attacks while remaining user-friendly?

   • ARequire a 20-character random password with no reuse
   • BUse passphrases of at least 15 characters and enable multi-factor authentication
   • CRequire a complex 8-character password with symbols, numbers, and uppercase
   • DAllow password reuse but require a change every 30 days
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 23application · medium

   A developer proposes storing user passwords using unsalted MD5 hashes. As the security architect, which recommendation best addresses the vulnerability of this storage scheme?

   • AUse a faster hash like SHA-256 without salt
   • BAdd a per-user salt and use a slow key-derivation function like bcrypt
   • CStore passwords in plaintext for easier recovery
   • DUse MD5 with a global static salt
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 24expert · hard

   A security team is designing a password policy for a high-security environment. The team must balance security with usability. The team is considering requiring 15-character passphrases versus 8-character complex passwords. Which policy is more secure against brute-force attacks?

   • ABoth are equally secure
   • B8-character complex passwords with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols
   • C8-character complex passwords are more secure because they are harder to guess
   • D15-character passphrases
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 25application · medium

   A penetration tester is assessing a VPN gateway that uses a shared secret for authentication. The tester has captured a packet containing the hash of the shared secret. Which attack would be most effective to recover the secret?

   • AOnline dictionary attack against the VPN login
   • BOffline brute-force using Hashcat on the captured hash
   • CPassword spraying against the VPN with common secrets
   • DMan-in-the-middle attack to intercept the shared secret in plaintext
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first